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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Nicknames |
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| Born | Jens Ingemar Johansson (1932-09-22)22 September 1932 Gothenburg, Sweden | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 30 January 2009(2009-01-30) (aged 76) Kungsbacka, Sweden | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||
| Boxing career | |||||||||||||||
| Reach | 178 cm (70 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 28 | ||||||||||||||
| Wins | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Win by KO | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Losses | 2 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jens Ingemar "Ingo"Johansson[a] (Swedish:[ˈɪ̌ŋː(ɛ)marˈjûːanˌsɔn];[3] 22 September 1932 – 30 January 2009) was a Swedishprofessional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the worldheavyweight title from 1959 to 1960, and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. Johansson won the title by defeatingFloyd Patterson via third-roundstoppage, after flooring him seven times in that round. For this achievement, Johansson was awarded theHickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year—the only non-American in its entire 27-year first run—and was named theAssociated Press Male Athlete of the Year andSports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Johansson also held theEBUEuropean Heavyweight Champion title twice, from 1956 to 1958 and from 1962 to 1963. As anamateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the1952 Summer Olympics. He affectionately named his right fist "toonder and lightning" for its concussive power (it was also called "Ingo's bingo" and the "Hammer of Thor"), and in 2003 he was ranked at No. 99 onThe Ring magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.[4]
Johansson's introduction to the top rank of the sport was inauspicious. At age nineteen he wasdisqualified for passivity at the Helsinki1952 Summer Olympics in the heavyweight competition in a fight against eventual Olympic gold medalistEd Sanders. Johansson maintained he was not evading Sanders (who also got a warning for passivity), but rather was trying to tire his opponent. Johansson said he had been limited to a 10-day training camp, had only trained with newcomers, and had been told by his coach to let Sanders be the aggressor. Nevertheless, his silver medal was withheld for poor performance and presented to him only in 1982.[5]
Johansson had earned his spot in the Olympics by winning the Swedish National Championship earlier the same year, 1952, after he knocked out his opponent in the first round of the final.[6]
After the Olympics Johansson went into seclusion for six months and considered quitting boxing. However, he returned to the ring and turned professional under the guidance of the Swedish publisher and boxing promoter Edwin Ahlquist, subsequently winning his first 21 professional fights. He won the Scandinavian pro title by knocking down and outscoring the DaneErik Jensen (breaking his right hand in the process). A broken hand and a one-year military service kept him out of the ring until late 1954. In August 1955, in his twelfth professional fight, Johansson knocked out formerEuropean Heavyweight ChampionHein ten Hoff in the first round. He took the Scandinavian heavyweight title in 1953 and, on 30 September 1956, he won theEuropean Heavyweight title by scoring a 13th-round KO over Italy's Franco Cavicchi in Milan.
Johansson successfully defended his European crown against ranked heavyweightsHenry Cooper (fifth-round KO on 19 May 1957) andJoe Erskine, with a TKO in round 13 on 21 February 1958.[7]
Johansson earned his shot at the world heavyweight crown when heknocked out top ranked contenderEddie Machen in the first round of their elimination match on 14 September 1958. In front of 53,615 fans inUllevi football stadium, Johansson downed Machen three times, finally finishing him with a barrage of punches at 2:16 of the first round. Johansson then signed to fight champion Floyd Patterson.
Johansson was a colourful figure in New York City as he trained for the fight. Eschewing the monastic training regimen favored by Patterson and other fighters, Johansson trained at theCatskill resort ofGrossingers. He did not seem to train particularly hard, and was often seen at night spots with his attractive girlfriend, Elaine Sloane, whom he asked out while she was working forSports Illustrated.
He entered the ring inYankee Stadium on 26 June 1959, as a 5–1 underdog.[8]Johansson spent the first two rounds of the encounter retreating and flicking a light left jab at the champion. In the third round, Johansson threw a wide left hook that Patterson blocked with his right hand.[9] When he moved his right hand away from its protective peek-a-boo position before his chin, Johansson drilled him with a short powerful right hand. Patterson went down, arose on unsteady legs and was out on his feet. Johansson followed up his advantage and sent Patterson down six more times in the round before the bout was stopped by refereeRuby Goldstein.[8][9] Johansson celebrated with his girlfriend and future wife Birgit Lundgren and the next day a headline in a New York newspaper expressed the city's amazement. It read: "Ingo – It's Bingo."[10] When Johansson returned to Sweden, he flew in on a helicopter, landing in the main football stadium inGothenburg, his home town, and was cheered by 20,000 people.[11] He appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated, as well as the cover ofLife magazine on 20 July 1959, alongside Birgit.[9]
Johansson was a flamboyant champion – a precursor to the "Swinging Sixties". One publication dubbed Johansson "boxing's Cary Grant" and in 1960 he appeared in the movieAll the Young Men as a marine, alongside starsAlan Ladd andSidney Poitier. Wherever he went, in the U.S. or in Sweden, he had a beautiful woman on his arm, with paparazzi snapping pictures.[12]
At that point, retired heavyweight championRocky Marciano, who sat ringside and witnessed as Johansson knocked out Patterson, considered a possible comeback for a championship bout versus Johansson. He entered a training camp, keeping it low profile, but dropped the idea because he could not get into the condition he previously had, feeling he was too old for a title fight.[13]
Johansson proposed to his girlfriend Birgit in April 1960 after the champion visitedEgypt. Then he turned his attention to defending his title against Floyd Patterson.[14] The two signed for a rematch on 20 June 1960. Patterson knocked Johansson out in the fifth round 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 cold 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 twitching, 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 flat on his back on the canvas 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 and Johansson fought their final match on 13 March 1961. Johansson appeared to be in the worst physical condition of his three bouts with Patterson. A. J. Liebling, writing inThe New Yorker, said the outcome seemed preordained and that Johansson was not dieting for the fight, eating creamed chicken, strawberry shortcake, and cherry cheesecake. Nonetheless, the fight was competitive. Johansson caught Patterson leaping at him in the very first round and knocked him down. He followed his advantage up by scoring another knockdown, but was himself caught going in wide open by that famous Patterson left hook, resulting in a knockdown. As the fight progressed, it became obvious that Johansson was spent. Patterson won when the referee swiftly stopped the contest in round six after Johansson had been knocked down once again.
Johansson, then only 29, returned to Europe. He recaptured the European crown fromDick Richardson by an eight-round KO on 17 June 1962. By this time,Sonny Liston had captured the heavyweight crown from Patterson, and efforts were underway to match Johansson with Liston.
Johansson, however, fought journeyman heavyweightBrian London on 21 April 1963, in a non-title 12-round match. Johansson won most of the rounds but seldom threw a serious right-hand punch with the exception of round seven when a short right from Johansson staggered London (Las Vegas Sun, April 22, 1963, p. 24). In round 12, with four seconds remaining in the fight, London hit Johansson with a powerful right hand that knocked him on his back. Johansson arose at the count of four, just as the bell rang to end the fight. Johansson was groggy, but was the points winner. UPI scored the fight 11–1 in favour of Johansson (Las Vegas Sun, April 22, 1963, p. 24).
The next day, the front page of Stockholm's newspapers showed a photo of him dizzy, climbing the ropes, with the headline "Wake up Ingo – You won!" After seeing this, he wrote a letter to theEuropean Boxing Union resigning his title and retiring from boxing at the age of 30.
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Ingemar Johansson and Floyd Patterson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year.
Johansson made several films in Sweden and appeared as a marine in theKorean War filmAll the Young Men (1960). In the 1960s along with other business interests, Johansson co-promoted boxing cards in Sweden, including several with ex-champ Sonny Liston (1966 and 1967). On 22 April 1966, he boxed a five-round exhibition with European Heavyweight ChampionKarl Mildenberger for his first co-promotion. He also owned a fishing boat and a bar called "Ingo's".
By the 1970s, he resided inPompano Beach, Florida, where he owned a hotel. He ran in marathons (including theNew York City Marathon[15] andBoston Marathon) all over the world until the mid-1980s. In 1985 he completed the Stockholm Marathon.
During the 1990s, Johansson and Patterson would attend boxing conventions and also sign their autographs on boxing memorabilia. They continued to be friends until the onset ofAlzheimer's disease incapacitated them both. It is believed now that both suffered fromchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), as it has been discovered in manycontact and combat sports athletes, including boxing, although his career was fairly short compared with some champions. In the 1990s Johansson's business interests in Sweden included sports apparel and a light lager beer called "Hammer", named for his punching prowess.
In 2000, the Swedish Sports Academy selected Johansson as Sweden's third-best athlete of the 20th century, behind tennis greatBjörn Borg and Alpine skiing greatIngemar Stenmark. In 2002, he was inducted to theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame.
Having suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia since the mid-1990s, he lived in a nursing home inKungsbacka while his health deteriorated. In the later stages of his illness, he was reunited with his second wife, Birgit, who was at his side when he died on 30 January 2009, from complications following pneumonia.[11][16] At the time of his death, he was at age 76 the oldest living heavyweight champion. Johansson was married three times[11] and is survived by five children.[17]
In January 2011, the 1959 Johnny Lion song "Ingemar Johansson", which chronicles the 1959 Patterson fight, was re-released on the compilation albumFrom The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1.[18]
While his victory overFloyd Patterson was a huge upset at the time, Johansson's standing within heavyweight history is fairly poor. Considered to be an ordinary fighter with a very good right hand, the Swede was perhaps fortunate to have met Patterson, one of history's more vulnerable heavyweight champions, for the title. Patterson also likely took the challenge of Johansson lightly, given the Swede's apparently lackadaisical approach to training. This was also at a time when it was considered a virtual impossibility that a European heavyweight could inflict a defeat on an American champion on U.S. soil. Furthermore, Patterson had defended the title just 56 days previously, against Britain'sBrian London, and likely considered Johansson to be another inept challenger from Europe.
Johansson's world title victory is still historically significant within European boxing, as he became only the fourth-ever European to become heavyweight champion, and the first sincePrimo Carnera in 1933, who lost the title toMax Baer almost exactly 25 years before Johansson's triumph. Johansson would be the last European to win the heavyweight title until Italy'sFrancesco Damiani became the inauguralWBO heavyweight champion in May 1989. As the WBO was a fledgling sanctioning body at the time and not considered a legitimate world title, it was not until Great Britain'sLennox Lewis was awarded theWBC title in 1992, 33 years after Johansson's victory over Patterson, that a European again held a recognized version of the heavyweight title. It was also not until 1999, when Lewis unified the titles againstEvander Holyfield, that a European again held the undisputed heavyweight championship, as Johansson had 40 years earlier. Johansson was also the last non-American to hold the heavyweight title until South Africa'sGerrie Coetzee won theWBA version in 1983.
Despite never successfully defending the title, Johansson can claim to have been a heavyweight champion in two decades (the 1950s and 1960s). He was the first heavyweight champion to lose the title to the man whom he had beaten to become champion sinceEzzard Charles's loss toJersey Joe Walcott in 1951. This would not happen again until September 1978, whenLeon Spinks dropped the title back toMuhammad Ali, having beaten him in February of that year to become champion.
Outside of Europe, Johansson is best remembered as the opponent whom Patterson beat to become the first man to regain the heavyweight championship. As this loss, and the one which he suffered to the American in their third fight, are his only defeats, Johansson is one of four heavyweight champions to have retired with victories over every opponent he faced as a professional. The others areRocky Marciano,Gene Tunney andLennox Lewis.Although the win over Patterson to claim the heavyweight title is his most famous, Johansson's first-round victory over the undefeated American,Eddie Machen, in 1958 is also noteworthy and provides evidence of the power the Swede held in his right hand. Machen would go on to takeSonny Liston the twelve-round distance in 1960 and lasted into the tenth round againstJoe Frazier in 1966.
Johansson also held theEuropean Boxing Union Heavyweight title on two occasions, scoring stoppage victories over notable foes such asHenry Cooper,Dick Richardson andJoe Erskine.
| 28 fights | 26 wins | 2 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 17 | 2 |
| By decision | 8 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Win | 26–2 | Brian London | PTS | 12 | 21 Apr 1963 | Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 27 | Win | 25–2 | Dick Richardson | KO | 8 (15),2:13 | 17 Jun 1962 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Won European heavyweight title |
| 26 | Win | 24–2 | Wim Snoek | KO | 5 (10),1:15 | 15 Apr 1962 | Kungliga tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 25 | Win | 23–2 | Joe Bygraves | TKO | 7 (12),2:08 | 9 Feb 1962 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 24 | Loss | 22–2 | Floyd Patterson | KO | 6 (15),2:45 | 13 Mar 1961 | Exhibition Hall,Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. | For NYSAC, NBA, andThe Ring heavyweight titles |
| 23 | Loss | 22–1 | Floyd Patterson | KO | 5 (15),1:51 | 20 Jun 1960 | Polo Grounds, New York City, New York, U.S. | Lost NYSAC, NBA, andThe Ring heavyweight titles |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Floyd Patterson | TKO | 3 (15),2:03 | 26 Jun 1959 | Yankee Stadium, New York City, U.S. | WonNYSAC,NBA, andThe Ring heavyweight titles |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Eddie Machen | KO | 1 (12),2:16 | 14 Sep 1958 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Heinz Neuhaus | TKO | 4 (12),2:56 | 13 Jul 1958 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Joe Erskine | TKO | 13 (15) | 21 Feb 1958 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | Retained European heavyweight title |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Archie McBride | PTS | 10 | 13 Dec 1957 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Henry Cooper | KO | 5 (15),2:57 | 19 May 1957 | Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden | Retained European heavyweight title |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Peter Bates | KO | 2 (10),1:45 | 28 Dec 1956 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Franco Cavicchi | KO | 13 (15),1:16 | 30 Sep 1956 | PalaDozza,Bologna, Italy | WonEuropean heavyweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Hans Friedrich | PTS | 10 | 15 Apr 1956 | Kungliga tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Joe Bygraves | PTS | 8 | 24 Feb 1956 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Hein ten Hoff | KO | 1 (8),1:00 | 28 Aug 1955 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Günter Nurnberg | KO | 7 (8) | 12 Jun 1955 | Westfalenhalle,Dortmund, Germany | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Uber Bacilieri | UD | 8 | 3 Apr 1955 | Kungliga tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Aldo Pellegrini | DQ | 5 (8) | 4 Mar 1955 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | Pellegrini disqualified for repeated low blows |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Kurt Schiegl | TKO | 5 (8),2:28 | 13 Feb 1955 | Kungliga tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ansell Adams | PTS | 8 | 6 Jan 1955 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Werner Wiegand | TKO | 5 (8),2:45 | 5 Nov 1954 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Raymond Degl'lnnocenti | KO | 2 (6) | 3 Dec 1953 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Erik Jensen | PTS | 6 | 12 Mar 1953 | K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark | Won vacant Scandinavianheavyweight title |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Lloyd Barnett | PTS | 8 | 6 Mar 1953 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Emile Bentz | KO | 2 (6),0:32 | 6 Feb 1953 | Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Robert Masson | KO | 4 (8),1:30 | 5 Dec 1952 | Exhibition and Congress Centre,Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 1 fight | 0 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| Non-scored | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | 0–0(1) | Muhammad Ali | — | 3 | Feb 6, 1961 | Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. | Non-scored bout |
03/03/1961-New York: The tale of the tape offers a physical comparison between challenger Ingemar Johansson (left) and heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson (right). They meet for the third time for the heavyweight title in Miami, Florida, on March 13th.
Ingemar Johansson, McFarland Publishing (2015) by Ken Brooks. 272 pages.
| Sporting positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional boxing titles | ||||
| Preceded by Franco Cavicchi | European heavyweight champion 30 September 1956 – July 1958 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Dick Richardson | ||
| Preceded by Dick Richardson | European heavyweight champion 17 June 1962 – 1963 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Henry Cooper | ||
| World boxing titles | ||||
| Preceded by | NYSAC heavyweight champion 26 June 1959 – 20 June 1960 | Succeeded by Floyd Patterson | ||
| NBA heavyweight champion 26 June 1959 – 20 June 1960 | ||||
| The Ring heavyweight champion 26 June 1959 – 20 June 1960 | ||||
| Undisputed heavyweight champion 26 June 1959 –20 June 1960 | ||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
