Floyd entered the 1956 heavyweight elimination tournament to find a new champion since Rocky Marciano had retired. Patterson defeated ‘Hurricane Jackson’, setting up a fight with light heavyweight champ Archie Moore on November 30, 1956. Floyd knocked out Moore in five rounds at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, and became the youngest heavyweight champion ever at 21 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 5 days.
After a series of title defenses against mediocre opponents, Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden on June 26, 1959 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The number one contender shocked everyone when he knocked Floyd down seven times, stopping him in the third round. He became the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933.
Patterson got his revenge in the rematch on June 20, 1960 at the Polo Grounds in New York. Floyd knocked out Johansson cold with a beautiful hook in the fifth round, becoming the first boxer in history to regain the heavyweight championship of world.
The pair would fight one more time on March 13, 1961 in Miami Beach, Florida. Floyd got off the floor in the opening round, and stopped Ingemar in the sixth round, retaining his championship, That bout ended one of great trilogies in boxing history.
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