Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 - May 11,
2006) was an American professional boxer who held the undisputed world
heavyweight championship. At the age of 21, he became the youngest
boxer to win the world heavyweight title, and was also the first heavyweight
to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur he won a gold medal
at the 1952 Olympics in the middleweight division.
Although
Mike Tyson later became the youngest boxer to win a world heavyweight
title at the age of 20, Patterson remains the youngest undisputed
heavyweight champion. He was trained by the legendary Cus D'Amato.
Early
life
Born into a poor family in Waco, North Carolina, Patterson was
the youngest of eleven children and experienced an insular and troubled
childhood. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Floyd was
a truant and petty thief. At age ten, he was sent to the Wiltwyck
School for Boys, a reform school in upstate New York, which he credited
with turning his life around. He stayed there for almost 2 years.
He attended high school in New Paltz, NY where he succeeded in all
sports (to this day the New Paltz football field is named in his honor).
At age fourteen, he started to box, trained by Cus D'Amato at his
Gramercy Gym. Aged just 17, Patterson won the Gold medal in the 1952
Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. 1952 turned out to be a good
year for the young Patterson; in addition to Olympic gold Patterson
won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and New York Golden
Gloves Middleweight Championship.
Patterson's amateur record
over 44 fights was 40-4, with 37 knockouts.
Patterson carried
his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters
called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance.
Early pro career
Patterson
turned pro and steadily rose through the ranks, his only early defeat
being an eight round decision to former Light Heavyweight Champion
Joey Maxim on June 7, 1954, at the Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn,
New York. Most people think Patterson did enough to win, and Maxim's
greater fame at the time helped to sway the judges.
Championship
Although
Patterson fought around the light heavyweight limit for much of his
early career, he and manager Cus D'Amato always had plans to fight
for the Heavyweight Championship. In fact, D'Amato made these plans
clear as early as 1954, when he told the press that Patterson was
aiming for the heavyweight title. However, after Rocky Marciano announced
his retirement as World heavyweight Champion on April 27, 1956, Patterson
was ranked by The Ring magazine as the top light heavyweight contender.
After Marciano's annoncement, Jim Norris of the International Boxing
Club stated that Patterson was one of the six fighters who would take
part in an elimination tournament to crown Marciano's successor. The
Ring then moved Patterson into the heavyweight rankings, at number
five.
Patterson vs Moore
After beating Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson
in and elimination fight, Patterson faced former Light Heavyweight
Champion Archie Moore on November 30, 1956, for the World Heavyweight
Championship. He beat Moore by a knockout in five rounds and became
the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history, at the age of
21 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 5 days. He was the first Olympic
gold medalist to win a professional Heavyweight title.
Patterson
vs Johansson I,II & III
After a series of defenses against fringe
contenders (Hurricane Jackson, Pete Rademacher, Roy Harris, and Brian
London), Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, the number one
contender, in the first of three fights. Johansson triumphed over
Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee Ruby Goldstein stoping
the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson
down seven times. Johansson became Sweden's first World Heavyweight
Champion.
