After knocking out Pete Rademacher in his pro debut on August 22, 1957, Floyd Patterson fought only once in 1958. The August 18, 1958 bout at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles saw Floyd defeat Roy Harris rather easily. Another nine months passed by before Patterson fought again, this time in Indianapolis against Brian London on May 1, 1959. Stopped London in eleven, which set up his bout with Ingemar Johansson on June 26 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
Johansson shocked the world by knocking Floyd down seven times before the fight was stopped in the third. The Swedish heavyweight was the new champion of the world, and Patterson went home to lick his wounds. The media was cruel to Floyd, who was never respected that much before this bout. How the ex-champ reacted would determine if they were right or not.
The rematch between the two would not take place for a year, until June 20, 1960 at the Polo Grounds in New York. Patterson was in control the whole time, before knocking out Johnansson five rounds. The win made Floyd the first heavyweight champion to regain the title a second time. His name was restored to the boxing public, who immediately demanded a third fight between the two men.
The third and final bout between the two was set for March 13, 1961 at the Miami Beach Convention Hall. Both fighters hit the canvas in the opening round, Johansson twice, and Patterson once. Floyd took over and finished Ingemar in the sixth round, ending any speculation as to who the better fighter was. He retained his belt, and went home to New York to rest.
Floyd finally returned to ring action nine months later, against the light regarded Tom McNeeley on December 4 at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. McNeely was floored eleven times before the massacre was halted in the fourth. Floyd retained his championship, but his reputation wasn’t helped at all.
The problem for Patterson was the fact that the menacing Sonny Liston was now breathing down his neck. Floyd’s manager Cus D’Amato kept refusing to mention Liston as a contender because of his ties to organized crime. The real reason is that he was protecting his fighter from a brutal defeat.
Unfortunately for Cus, Patterson ignored his manager, and agreed to fight the brutish Liston the following September. As history would show, he should have listened to D’Amato.
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