Biography

He grew up there in poor circumstances, got on the wrong track as a child and became enthusiastic about boxing at an early age. At the age of 14, Patterson began boxing. At the beginning of the 1950s he initially pursued an amateur career in the middleweight division. From 1951 to 1952 he was US champion in this weight class. At the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952, at the age of 17, he won the gold medal. Immediately after winning the Olympics, Patterson began his career in professional boxing. After a few victorious fights, he won by knockout in the fifth round against Archie Moore in 1956. of this: This brought him - at the age of 21 as the youngest heavyweight champion - the world heavyweight title.

Patterson was able to successfully defend his world title four times. In 1959 he lost to the Swedish challenger Ingemar Johansson, who became the new world champion. The following year, Patterson knocked out Johansson in the rematch, regaining the world title. The world champion was subsequently able to defend his title several times - including again against Johansson in 1961 - only to lose it in September 1962 to Sonny Liston, whom he defeated by knockout. lost in the first round. After losing his world championship title, Patterson continued his professional career until the early 1970s.

In 1965 he took on the newly crowned world champion Muhammad Ali, but he was knocked out in the 12th round. succumbed. On September 20, 1972, Patterson was in the ring for his last fight, which he won by knockout. lost again to Ali in the seventh round. Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York. In his professional career he had won 55 times in a total of 63 encounters, 40 of which were by knockout. After retiring from sports, he served as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission for many years.

Floyd Patterson died on May 11, 2006 in New York.