Difference between revisions of "Floyd Patterson" - New World Encyclopedia
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'''Floyd Patterson''' (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American [[List of Heavyweight Champions|heavyweight boxing champion]]. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man then to have won the world heavyweight championship. He had a record of 55 wins, 8 losses, and 1 draw, with 40 wins by knockout. | '''Floyd Patterson''' (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American [[List of Heavyweight Champions|heavyweight boxing champion]]. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man then to have won the world heavyweight championship. He had a record of 55 wins, 8 losses, and 1 draw, with 40 wins by knockout. | ||
| − | Patterson was the first heavyweight to win the world championship twice. He regained the title when he knocked out Sweden’s Ingemar Johansson in a 1960 bout that caught the world's attention. He was also first Olympic gold medallist to win a world heavyweight title | + | Patterson was the first heavyweight to win the world championship twice. He regained the title when he knocked out Sweden’s [[Ingemar Johansson]] in a 1960 bout that caught the world's attention. He was also first Olympic gold medallist to win a world heavyweight title. |
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| − | + | Patterson firmly believed that a champion should conduct himself as a gentleman in life as well as in the ring. He was widely known as a modest man who deplored the later violence and sleaze of the [[boxing]] world. | |
| − | + | In retirement, Patterson stayed involved with boxing and with sports, and founded an amateur athletic club. He served as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission and was elected to the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]]. | |
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| − | + | ==Childhood and early career== | |
| + | Born on January 4, 1935 into a poor family in [[Waco, North Carolina|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 he was a persistent truant and petty thief. At age 10, he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in upstate [[New York]], and stayed there for about two years. Patterson credited this experience with turning his life around. | ||
| − | + | At age 14, he started to box, trained by [[Cus D'Amato]] at his now-legendary [[Gramercy Gym]] in New York. Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance. | |
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| − | + | Aged just 17, Patterson won the gold medal in the 1952 [[Helsinki, Finland|Helsinki]] [[Olympic Games|Olympics]] as a middleweight. The year 1952 turned out to be a good one for the young Patterson; in addition to Olympic gold, he won the [[National Amateur Middleweight Champions]]hip and the New York [[Golden Gloves]] middleweight championship. | |
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Patterson's amateur record over 44 fights was 40-4, with 37 knockouts. | Patterson's amateur record over 44 fights was 40-4, with 37 knockouts. | ||
| − | + | After turning pro, he rose steadily through the ranks. His only early defeat was a controversial, an eight-round decision to former [[light heavyweight]] champion [[Joey Maxim]]. | |
| − | == | + | == Champion == |
| − | Patterson | + | 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. |
| − | + | Patterson 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. He was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a heavyweight title. | |
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| − | + | After a series of defenses, Patterson met [[Ingemar Johansson]] of [[Sweden]], in the beginning of what many consider one of boxing's most interesting trilogies of fights. Johansson triumphed over Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee [[Ruby Goldstein]] stopping the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. Johansson became that country's first world heavyweight champion and the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933. | |
| − | + | Patterson knocked Johansson out in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, delivering 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, knocked 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. | |
| − | Patterson | + | 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. 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 twice in the first round, Patterson retained his title by a knockout in six to win a wild [[rubber match]]. | |
| − | + | [[Image:Liston2.jpg|thumb|Sonny Liston]] | |
| − | + | The quality of some of Patterson's opponents as champion was questionable, including 1960 Olympic Champion [[Pete Rademacher]], fighting in his first professional match, leading to charges that Patterson was ducking the powerful contender and former convict, [[Sonny Liston]]. Patterson, eventually stung by the criticism, agreed to fight Liston while attending an event with President [[John F. Kennedy]] at the [[White House]]. | |
| − | After one more defense, Patterson lost his title on September 25, 1962, by a knockout in the first round | + | After one more defense, Patterson lost his title to Liston on September 25, 1962, by a knockout in the first round. 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 regain the title again, but Liston once knocked once more 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]]. | + | 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]]. In the build-up to the fight Ali had been offended by Patterson's criticisms of his membership in the [[Nation of Islam]]. As a result, Ali continually taunted Patterson, dubbing him "The Rabbit" because of his docile manner in his two defeats to Liston. Ali even turned up at Patterson's training camp to hand him some carrots. Despite this insult, Patterson was indeed a legitimate contender. |
| − | + | On November 22, 1965, in attempt regain the world's heavyweight yet again, Patterson lost to Ali by technical knockout at the end of the twelfth round. | |
| − | + | Although he was criticized by many as "washed up," in 1966 Patterson traveled to England and defeated the respected British heavyweight [[Henry Cooper (boxer)|Henry Cooper]] in just four rounds at [[Wembley Stadium]]. | |
| − | In | + | In 1967, Ali was stripped of the [[List of Heavyweight Champions|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. | + | In September of 1969 Patterson divorced his first wife [[Sandra Hicks Patterson]]. She wanted him to quit boxing, but he was not quite ready; he knew he could get another chance at the title. 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 | + | Patterson still continued to fight, defeating [[Oscar Bonavena]] in ten rounds in 1972. However, a final and decisive 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. Patterson is still the youngest man to gain the heavyweight champion at 21, [[Mike Tyson]] became champion on June 27, 1988, just three days shy of his twenty-second birthday. |
==Retired life== | ==Retired life== | ||
| − | In retirement, Patterson and Johansson became good friends who flew across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] to visit each other every year. Patterson became chairman of the [[New York]] State Athletic Commission, a job that he held almost to his death. He also became a member of the [[International Boxing Hall Of Fame]]. | + | In retirement, Patterson and Johansson became good friends who flew across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] to visit each other every year. Patterson became chairman of the [[New York]] State Athletic Commission, a job that he held almost to his death. He also became a member of the [[International Boxing Hall Of Fame]]. In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Johansson. |
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| − | In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with | ||
| − | Patterson lived in [[New Paltz (village), New York|New Paltz, New York]] for many years and was known as a true gentlemen around town. He was a [[Latin Rite]] [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] convert, and a member of the [[Knights of Columbus]]. | + | In retirement as during his boxing career, Patterson was known as the gentleman of boxing as he was a gentleman in real life. Patterson lived in [[New Paltz (village), New York|New Paltz, New York]] for many years and was known as a true gentlemen around town. He was a [[Latin Rite]] [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] convert, 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. | His adopted son, [[Tracy Harris Patterson]], was a world champion boxer in the 1990s and was trained by Floyd during part of his career. | ||
Revision as of 21:54, 24 July 2007
| Floyd Patterson | |
 | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Floyd Patterson |
| Nickname | The Gentleman of Boxing |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality | USA |
| Birth date | January 4, 1935 |
| Birth place | Waco, North Carolina, USA |
| Death date | May 11 2006 (aged 71) |
| Death place | New Paltz, New York, USA |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 64 |
| Wins | 55 |
| Wins by KO | 40 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American heavyweight boxing champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man then to have won the world heavyweight championship. He had a record of 55 wins, 8 losses, and 1 draw, with 40 wins by knockout.
Patterson was the first heavyweight to win the world championship twice. He regained the title when he knocked out Sweden’s Ingemar Johansson in a 1960 bout that caught the world's attention. He was also first Olympic gold medallist to win a world heavyweight title.
Patterson firmly believed that a champion should conduct himself as a gentleman in life as well as in the ring. He was widely known as a modest man who deplored the later violence and sleaze of the boxing world.
In retirement, Patterson stayed involved with boxing and with sports, and founded an amateur athletic club. He served as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission and was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Childhood and early career
Born on January 4, 1935 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 he was a persistent truant and petty thief. At age 10, he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in upstate New York, and stayed there for about two years. Patterson credited this experience with turning his life around.
At age 14, he started to box, trained by Cus D'Amato at his now-legendary Gramercy Gym in New York. Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance.
Aged just 17, Patterson won the gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. The year 1952 turned out to be a good one for the young Patterson; in addition to Olympic gold, he won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and the New York Golden Gloves middleweight championship.
Patterson's amateur record over 44 fights was 40-4, with 37 knockouts.
After turning pro, he rose steadily through the ranks. His only early defeat was a controversial, an eight-round decision to former light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim.
Champion
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.
Patterson 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. He was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a heavyweight title.
After a series of defenses, Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, in the beginning of what many consider one of boxing's most interesting trilogies of fights. Johansson triumphed over Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee Ruby Goldstein stopping the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. Johansson became that country's first world heavyweight champion and the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933.
Patterson knocked Johansson out in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, delivering 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, knocked 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. 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 twice in the first round, Patterson retained his title by a knockout in six to win a wild rubber match.
The quality of some of Patterson's opponents as champion was questionable, including 1960 Olympic Champion Pete Rademacher, fighting in his first professional match, leading to charges that Patterson was ducking the powerful contender and former convict, Sonny Liston. Patterson, eventually stung by the criticism, agreed to fight Liston while attending an event with President John F. Kennedy at the White House.
After one more defense, Patterson lost his title to Liston on September 25, 1962, by a knockout in the first round. 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 regain the title again, but Liston once knocked once more 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. In the build-up to the fight Ali had been offended by Patterson's criticisms of his membership in the Nation of Islam. As a result, Ali continually taunted Patterson, dubbing him "The Rabbit" because of his docile manner in his two defeats to Liston. Ali even turned up at Patterson's training camp to hand him some carrots. Despite this insult, Patterson was indeed a legitimate contender.
On November 22, 1965, in attempt regain the world's heavyweight yet again, Patterson lost to Ali by technical knockout at the end of the twelfth round.
Although he was criticized by many as "washed up," in 1966 Patterson traveled to England and defeated the respected British heavyweight 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.
In September of 1969 Patterson divorced his first wife Sandra Hicks Patterson. She wanted him to quit boxing, but he was not quite ready; he knew he could get another chance at the title. 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 still continued to fight, defeating Oscar Bonavena in ten rounds in 1972. However, a final and decisive 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. Patterson is still the youngest man to gain the heavyweight champion at 21, Mike Tyson became champion on June 27, 1988, just three days shy of his twenty-second birthday.
Retired life
In retirement, Patterson and Johansson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year. Patterson became chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, a job that he held almost to his death. He also became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Johansson.
In retirement as during his boxing career, Patterson was known as the gentleman of boxing as he was a gentleman in real life. Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York for many years and was known as a true gentlemen around town. He was a Latin Rite Catholic convert, 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.
Death
Floyd 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 on May 11, 2006, at age 71. He is buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York.
Legacy
- Received "Setting a Good Example Award" from President John F. Kennedy, 1961.
- Elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame, 1976.
- Received the "Pioneer of Excellence Award" from the World Institute of Black Communications and CBS Records, 1986.
- Inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, 1991.
- Patterson firmly believed that a champion should conduct himself as a gentleman in real life as well as in the ring. He is remembered as a modest man who deplored the later violence and sleaze of the boxing world.
Quotes
- On boxing: "It's like being in love with a woman. She can be unfaithful, she can be mean, she can be cruel, but it doesn't matter. If you love her, you want her, even though she can do you all kinds of harm. It's the same with me and boxing. It can do me all kinds of harm, but I love it."
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Patterson, Floyd, & Sugar, Bert Randolph. The International Boxing Hall of Fame's Basic Boxing Skills, Skyhorse Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1602390201
- Patterson, Floyd. Victory over Myself, Scholastic Book Services, 1963. ASIN B0007F6GT2
- Cayton, Bill. Archie Moore vs. Floyd Patterson (Audio CD), Cayton Sports, Inc., 2001. ISBN 978-0970837189
- Newcombe, Jack. Floyd Patterson: Heavyweight king, Bartholomew House, 1961. ASIN B0006AXG8C
External link
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