Ingemar Johansson
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Jens Ingemar "Ingo" Johansson (; 22 September 1932 – 30 January 2009) was a Swedish
professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the world
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
title from 1959 to 1960, and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. Johansson won the title by defeating
Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...
via third-round stoppage, after flooring him seven times in that round. For this achievement, Johansson was awarded the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year—the only non-American in its entire 27-year first run—and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and ''Sports Illustrated'' Sportsman of the Year. Johansson also held the European heavyweight title twice, from 1956 to 1958 and from 1962 to 1963. As an
amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...
. 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 on ''The Ring'' magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.


Professional career


Early years

Johansson's introduction to the top rank of the sport was inauspicious. At age nineteen he was disqualified for passivity at the Helsinki
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...
in the heavyweight competition in a fight against eventual Olympic gold medalist Ed 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. 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. 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 Dane Erik 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 former European Heavyweight Champion Hein ten Hoff in the first round. He took the Scandinavian heavyweight title in 1953 and, on 30 September 1956, he won the European Heavyweight Championship by scoring a 13th-round KO over Italy's Franco Cavicchi in Milan. Johansson successfully defended his European crown against ranked heavyweights
Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fi ...
(fifth-round KO on 19 May 1957) and Joe Erskine, with a TKO in round 13 on 21 February 1958.


World heavyweight champion

Johansson earned his shot at the world heavyweight crown when he knocked out top ranked contender
Eddie Machen Edward Mills "Eddie" Machen (June 15, 1932 – August 8, 1972) was an American professional boxer. He was one of six children of a rural mail carrier. Machen dropped out of high school and became an amateur boxer. However, after just three bouts h ...
in the first round of their elimination match on 14 September 1958. In front of 53,615 fans in Ullevi 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 the Catskill resort of Grossingers. 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 for ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
''. He entered the ring in
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...
on 26 June 1959, as a 5–1 underdog. 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.New York Times – Johansson
Retrieved 24 June 2015
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 referee Ruby Goldstein. 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." When Johansson returned to Sweden, he flew in on a helicopter, landing in the main football stadium in
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, his home town, and was cheered by 20,000 people. He appeared on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'', as well as the cover of ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine on 20 July 1959, alongside Birgit. Johansson was a flamboyant champion – a precursor to the "
Swinging Sixties The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...
". One publication dubbed Johansson "boxing's Cary Grant" and in 1960 he appeared in the movie '' All the Young Men'' as a marine, alongside stars
Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...
and Sidney Poitier. Wherever he went, in the U.S. or in Sweden, he had a beautiful woman on his arm, with paparazzi snapping pictures. At that point, retired heavyweight champion
Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...
, 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.


Rematch with Patterson

Johansson proposed to his girlfriend Birgit in April 1960 after the champion visited
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Then he turned his attention to defending his title against Floyd Patterson. 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.


Third match with Patterson

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 in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', 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.


Later career and retirement

Johansson, then only 29, returned to Europe. He recaptured the European crown from Dick Richardson by an eight-round KO on 17 June 1962. By this time,
Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( – December 30, 1970), nicknamed "the Big Bear", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1962 after k ...
had captured the heavyweight crown from Patterson, and efforts were underway to match Johansson with Liston. Johansson, however, fought journeyman heavyweight
Brian London Brian Sidney Harper (19 June 1934 – 23 June 2021), better known by the ring name Brian London, was an English professional boxer who competed from 1955 to 1970. He held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight title from 1958 to 1959, and twi ...
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 the
European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the EBU European Championship, in addition to their ...
resigning his title and retiring from boxing at the age of 30.


Life after boxing

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 the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
film ''All 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 Champion
Karl Mildenberger Karl Mildenberger (23 November 1937 – 4 October 2018) was a German heavyweight boxer. He was the European heavyweight champion from 1964 to 1968, during which he retained the title six times. He unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the ...
for his first co-promotion. He also owned a fishing boat and a bar called "Ingo's". By the 1970s, he resided in
Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and 36 miles north of Miami. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part ...
, where he owned a hotel. He ran in marathons (including the
New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...
and
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
) 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 of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
incapacitated them both. It is believed now that both suffered from
chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...
(CTE), as it has been discovered in many contact 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 great
Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...
and Alpine skiing great Ingemar Stenmark. In 2002, he was inducted to the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...
. Having suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia since the mid-1990s, he lived in a nursing home in
Kungsbacka Kungsbacka () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sw ...
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.Ingemar Johansson, Who Beat Patterson for Heavyweight Title, Dies at 76
New York Times. 31 January 2009.
At the time of his death, he was at age 76 the oldest living heavyweight champion. Johansson was married three times and is survived by five children. In January 2011, the 1959 Johnny Lion song "Ingemar Johansson", which chronicles the 1959 Patterson fight, was re-released on the compilation album ''From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1''.Baptista, Todd (March 2011). "Lost and Found", '' Goldmine'', Volume 37, Issue 797, Page 97.


Legacy

While his victory over
Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...
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's
Brian London Brian Sidney Harper (19 June 1934 – 23 June 2021), better known by the ring name Brian London, was an English professional boxer who competed from 1955 to 1970. He held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight title from 1958 to 1959, and twi ...
, 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 since Primo Carnera in 1933, who lost the title to Max Baer almost exactly 25 years before Johansson's triumph. Johansson would be the last European to win the heavyweight title until Italy's Francesco Damiani became the inaugural WBO 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's
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...
was awarded the WBC 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 against
Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...
, 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's
Gerrie Coetzee Gerhardus Christian Coetzee OIB (8 April 1955 – 12 January 2023) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1986, and in 1993 and 1997. He was the first African in history to ever fight for, and win, a world heavyweight ...
won the WBA 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 since Ezzard Charles's loss to
Jersey Joe Walcott Arnold Raymond Cream (January 31, 1914 – February 25, 1994), best known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), National Boxing Associa ...
in 1951. This would not happen again until September 1978, when Leon Spinks dropped the title back to
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
, 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 are
Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...
, Gene Tunney and
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...
. 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 Edward Mills "Eddie" Machen (June 15, 1932 – August 8, 1972) was an American professional boxer. He was one of six children of a rural mail carrier. Machen dropped out of high school and became an amateur boxer. However, after just three bouts h ...
, in 1958 is also noteworthy and provides evidence of the power the Swede held in his right hand. Machen would go on to take
Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( – December 30, 1970), nicknamed "the Big Bear", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1962 after k ...
the twelve-round distance in 1960 and lasted into the tenth round against
Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...
in 1966. Johansson also held the
European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the EBU European Championship, in addition to their ...
Heavyweight title on two occasions, scoring stoppage victories over notable foes such as
Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fi ...
, Dick Richardson and Joe Erskine.


Professional boxing record


Exhibition boxing record


Titles in boxing


Major world titles

* NYSAC
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
champion (200+ lbs) * NBA (WBA) heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)


''The Ring'' magazine titles

* ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)


Regional/International titles

* Scandinavian
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
champion (200+ lbs) * European heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) (2×)


Undisputed titles

* Undisputed heavyweight champion


See also

*
List of heavyweight boxing champions At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight class (boxing), weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 Pound (mass), pounds (12 st ...


Notes


References


Further reading

''Ingemar Johansson'', McFarland Publishing (2015) by Ken Brooks. 272 pages.


External links

* *
Ingemar Johansson profile
at Cyber Boxing Zone
ESPN.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johansson, Ingemar 1932 births 2009 deaths Boxers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Heavyweight boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Olympic boxers for Sweden Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Boxers from Gothenburg World Boxing Association champions World heavyweight boxing champions Deaths from pneumonia in Sweden Olympic medalists in boxing European Boxing Union champions Swedish male boxers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics The Ring (magazine) champions 20th-century Swedish sportsmen