Swedish Heavyweight Champ Ingemar Johansson In Profile
Ingemar Johannson died in a Swedish nursing home in January 2009 at the age of 76. He’d lived in the nursing home in the Swedish coastal city of Kungsbacka since the mid’90’s when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and had suffered from a tough case of pneumonia immediately prior to his death.
Johannson became a worldwide fistic superstar when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their June’59 fight to become heavyweight champion of the world. At the time, he was only the 5th champ to be born outside of the United States. He wasn’t given much of a chance going into the fight due to his lax training and frequent partying during the weeks before the bout.
Despite his devil may care approach to training, he shocked the boxing world on that night in Yankee Stadium. After a lackluster first two rounds, Johannson knocked Patterson to the canvas with a right hand early in the third. Patterson never recovered and was knocked down a total of seven times before the ref waved off the fight and awarded the victory to Johannson.
Johannson would hold the title for just under a year before he lost it back to Patterson in a rematch at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Patterson was the aggressor from the opening bell, and would eventually regain his title as he knocked Johannson out cold in the fifth round with a looping left hook. Johannson went down like he got shot, and took a ten count staring up at the lights with his leg twitching and blood dribbling out of his mouth. In the immediate aftermath of his victory, Patterson displayed the class of a champion as he was more concerned about Johanssons well being than celebrating his win. Patterson sat on the canvas with his fallen opponent cradling his head as medical personnel tended to Johannson. Floyd Patterson had just become the first man to regain the undisputed heavyweight championship, but his thoughts were with the man hed taken the title from.
The two men would fight for a third time nine months later in Miami Beach, Florida. Though Johannson appeared to be out of shape entering the battle, he fought bravely in an exciting slugfest that saw both men taste the canvas at various points in the bout. The first round was particularly epic, with Patterson down twice and Johannson once. Soon after, however, it became apparent that Johannson knew an early assault was his only real chance at victory. The superior conditioning of Patterson took over, and he put his opponent away for good in the 6th round. Johannson would fight four more times , posting victories in Sweden before retiring from the ring in’63.
Patterson and Johannson remained close lifelong friends and would travel to visit each other every year until the American champion died in 2006. While it is commonplace today for former in-ring adversaries to become close personal friends(eg: Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosely, Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti), it was less common in the’60s. Johannson remained a big star in Sweden, occasionally appearing in movies and enjoyed good health well into his 60’s when old age began to take its toll.
Johannson was married and divorced twice, and is survived by five children. Ingemar Johannson enjoyed rock star like status in Sweden during his title reign, and will be remembered by the international fight community for his role in helping fuel the worldwide interest in the sweet science.
Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.
