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Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American heavyweight boxing champion. At 21, he became the youngest man then to have won the heavyweight championship, although this was later surpassed by Mike Tyson. He had a record of 55 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by knockout. He once said that a champion should conduct himself as a gentleman in real life as well as in the ring.
Childhood and amateur careerBorn 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 persistent 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 2 years.
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 careerPatterson turned pro and steadily rose through the ranks, his only early defeat was a controversial decision, an eight-round decision to former light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim. ChampionAlthough 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.[1] He got his chance when he fought Archie Moore on November 30, 1956, for the world heavyweight championship left vacant by Rocky Marciano. He beat Moore by a knockout in five rounds, and became at the time boxing's youngest world heavyweight champion in history, at the age of 21. As a result, he was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a heavyweight title. However, his height (5'11") and short reach (71 inches) meant he was more adapted to the light heavyweight division.
Patterson knocked Johansson out in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, with a leaping left hook to become the first man to recover the world's undisputed heavyweight title. The punch caught Johansson's chin and he hit the canvas with a thud, out before he landed flat on his back. With blood trickling from his mouth, his glazed eyes staring up at the ring lights, and his left foot quivering, the Swede was counted out. After the count, Patterson showed his concern for Johansson by cradling his motionless opponent, and promising him a second rematch. Johansson lay unconscious for five minutes before he was placed on a stool brought into the ring. He was still dazed and unsteady fifteen minutes after the knockout as he was helped out of the ring. Patterson further endeared himself with the people who had made Johansson their national hero, and when he went on a European exhibition tour after that rematch, he was greeted by Swedish fans, who were eager to shake hands, ask for autographs and take photos with Patterson everywhere he went during his stay there. A third fight between them was held on March 13, 1961, and while Johansson put Patterson on the floor, Patterson retained his title by a knockout in six to win a wild rubber match in which Patterson was decked twice and Johannson once in the first round. Patterson became the first man in the history of boxing to regain the world heavyweight belt and this is what he will be remembered for. Some of the more questionable opponents he faced as Champion, including 1960 Olympic Champion Pete Rademacher fighting in his first professional match, led to charges that Patterson was ducking former convict Sonny Liston. Patterson, eventually stung by the criticism, agreed to fight Liston during a press event with President Kennedy at the White House. After one more defense, Patterson lost his title on September 25, 1962, by a knockout in the first round to Sonny Liston. The two fighters were a marked contrast. In the ring, Liston's size and power proved too much for Patterson's guile and agility. Ten months later on July 22,1963, Patterson attempted to become the first boxer ever to win the world's Heavyweight title three times, but Liston once again knocked him out in the first round. Following these defeats, Patterson went through a depression, often donning sunglasses and hats to disguise himself in public. However, he eventually recovered and began winning fights again, until he became the number one challenger of the man who twice beat Liston, Muhammad Ali. On November 22, 1965, in yet another attempt to be the first to win the world's heavyweight title three times, Patterson lost by technical knockout at the end of the 12th round. Ali had been enraged by Patterson's criticisms of his membership of the Nation of Islam. In the build up to their fight he continually taunted Patterson, dubbing him "The Rabbit" because of the docile manner of his two defeats to Liston, turning up one time to Patterson's training camp to hand him some carrots. Despite this blow, Patterson was still a legitimate contender. In 1966 he traveled to England and defeated British boxer Henry Cooper in just four rounds at Wembley Stadium. In 1967, Ali was stripped of the heavyweight title for refusing military service after being drafted into the United States Army. Despite the previous bad-blood between the two men, Patterson came to Ali's defense and opposed Ali losing the title over his stance. The World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament to determine Ali's successor. Patterson, in a third and final attempt at winning the title a third time, lost a fifteen-round referee's decision to Jimmy Ellis in Sweden despite breaking Ellis' nose and scoring a knockdown. Patterson went on, defeating Oscar Bonavena in ten rounds in 1972. However, a final defeat to Muhammad Ali in a rematch for the North American Heavyweight title on September 20, 1972 convinced Patterson to retire at the age of 37. Floyd is still the youngest lineal heavyweight champion at 21, Mike Tyson became lineal champion on June 27th 1988, 3 days shy of his 22nd birthday. Retired lifeIn retirement, he and Johansson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year, and he became chairman of the New York state Athletic commission, a job that he held until recently. He also became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Floyd was known as the gentleman of boxing as he was a gentleman in real life. In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Ingemar Johansson. Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York for many years and was known as a true gentlemen around town. He was a convert to Roman Catholicism and a member of the Knights of Columbus. His adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, was a world champion boxer in the 1990s and was trained by Floyd during part of his career. DeathFloyd Patterson suffered from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer and had been hospitalized for a week prior to his death. He died at home in New Paltz in 2006 at age 71. He is buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York. Pop Culture References
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External linkReferences and Notes
de:Floyd Patterson es:Floyd Patterson fr:Floyd Patterson it:Floyd Patterson nl:Floyd Patterson ja:フロイド・パターソン no:Floyd Patterson pl:Floyd Patterson pt:Floyd Patterson fi:Floyd Patterson sv:Floyd Patterson
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