The Patterson vs Johansson Fight That Could Never Happen Now as it Did Then

Published

5 years ago

June 20, 2019

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Dr. Margaret Goodman, the Las Vegas-based neurologist and former chief ringside physician for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, has never seen the tape of the first of three Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson fights, which took place on June 26, 1959, in Yankee Stadium. But she has heard the details of the remarkable third round of that heavyweight championship bout and, as a tireless crusader for increased safety in boxing, she never does want to see it.

The mere idea of Patterson, the about-to-be-dethroned champ, being floored seven times in a single round, and clearly discombobulated after the first of those floorings, is enough to make the good doctor, recipient of the 2016 Boxing Writers Association of America’s Barney Nagler Award for long and meritorious service to the sport, cringe.

“Seven knockdowns in one round are obviously excessive,” she said. “Thank goodness times have changed, but I still see some fights now that I think should have been stopped a lot earlier. (Anthony) Joshua was knocked down four times against (Andy) Ruiz and he was quoted as saying he didn’t remember what happened after the second knockdown, or maybe it was the third.

“The standard for the way things were handled back then (1959) were different. There was a greater likelihood of allowing a fighter to continue taking that kind of punishment. How horrible is that?

“Is boxing safer today? I think maybe it is in some ways. Maybe we’re just more aware of what’s going on. I do wish fighters were evaluated more closely. And it’s not just the number of knockdowns that matter; one knockdown can be just as much of a concern in some instances. And so much depends on other factors. What is a fighter’s prefight history? Was he taking multiple shots in the gym that went unrecognized that might have contributed to his being knocked down more readily in an actual fight? Then there’s hereditary factors, genetic factors. There are a lot of questions that aren’t always answered. I’d much rather see a fighter quickly knocked out than to suffer blow after blow after blow to the head.”

This story was to have been a simple look back at a classic fight that is fast approaching its 60-year anniversary. Johansson – Sweden’s once-disgraced heavyweight silver medalist at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics – would ride the momentum of those seven knockdowns, squeezed into just 123 elapsed seconds of round three, into one of the most bountiful hauls of honors any fighter has ever received for a single performance. The handsome, charming 26-year-old, dubbed “boxing’s Cary Grant” by one publication, would be awarded the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of 1959 as well as being named Associated Press Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. His smiling face appeared on the covers of SI and Life magazines, the latter also adorned by Ingo’s smokin’ hot Swedish girlfriend, Birgit Lundgren. Johansson also snagged a role in a Hollywood movie, 1960’s All the Young Men, in which he played a U.S. Marine during the Korean War, albeit one with a distinctly Scandinavian accent, in support of leads Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier.

There would be no such high-profile victory tour for the vanquished Patterson, but he would get the better of Johansson in two subsequent bouts, each by knockout. And although both men would go on to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Patterson in 1991 and Johansson in 2002, the consensus among historians of the sport is that neither was as accomplished enough a heavyweight to be considered among the division’s all-time best. Patterson, a quiet and dignified gentleman outside the ring, and Ingo, the international bon vivant, were probably fortunate to have found each other during a comparatively fallow period for big-man boxing.

But one person’s snack is another’s feast, and especially so if the feaster is an 11-year-old boy whose dad, a former pro welterweight, was treating his only son to his first fight telecast at a closed-circuit venue, then the cutting edge of late 1950s technology. Instead of watching Patterson-Johansson at home on a small black-and-white television with a blurry screen, I got to see it in New Orleans’ magnificent Saenger Theater, in black-and-white on a much larger, blurry screen. When it was over and Ingo anointed as the new king of the heavyweights, the love affair I already had with boxing, which began years earlier with Friday night telecasts of the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, had deepened into what would become a life-long obsession.

The way a child looks at something, however, often differs from the way an adult does, and maybe even more so when your grown-up self is a veteran sports reporter who is paid to look beyond the surface to discern some greater truth, if there is one. The adrenaline rush I got at 11 from seeing seven quick knockdowns has since been tempered by asking myself the type of questions Dr. Goodman wishes would be asked and answered before any fighter steps inside the ropes.

Was Ruby Goldstein, then 51 and a former fighter who was one of high-level boxing’s most distinguished referees, remiss for allowing a dazed and stumbling Patterson to keep being battered as if he were a human piñata? By today’s more stringent safety standards, absolutely. Johansson was a fighter of relatively limited skills, but he was possessed of an overhand right so powerful that it bore three nicknames – the “Hammer of Thor,” “Ingo’s Bingo” and, when spoken in English coated by Johansson’s Swedish accent, “Toonder and Lightning,” the toonder a reference to thunder. When the challenger came straight down the pike with that three-headed monster of a right and it landed flush to the jaw, Patterson went down as he were a ship at port’s dropped anchor.

Floyd beat the count, but he was so hurt and flummoxed that he thought the round was over. He turned to scuffle back to his corner, presenting the opportunity for Johansson to run up alongside him and score knockdown No 2 with an uncontested left hook to the side of the head, followed up by a right to the back of the head. After that the fight resembled a basketball game, with Ingo making like Boston Celtics guard Bob Cousy and bouncing Patterson up and down off the canvas. This went on until even Goldstein had seen enough and waved off the massacre after an elapsed time of 2 minutes, 3 seconds.

It should be noted that Goldstein, a 1994 inductee into the IBHOF, was the referee for the March 24, 1962, death match in which Benny “Kid” Paret, hung up on the ropes in the 12th round, was pummeled into unconsciousness by Emile Griffith’s blistering, two-handed attack. He remained in a coma until his death 10 days later. Goldstein, remorseful that he was slow to react to Paret’s fast-worsening circumstances, never again served as the third man in the ring. I wonder if, in retrospect, he had misgivings about allowing the third round of Patterson-Johansson I to continue past a point when it was obvious to everyone, even an 11-year-old boy in a movie theater in New Orleans, that the champion had nothing left to give, much less any hope of mounting a miraculous comeback.

You also wonder whether Patterson and Johansson, if they could have peered into the future and seen how their lives would eventually play out, would still have chosen to make their mark in a blood sport that demands so much, and sometimes all, of its participants. Probably they would have; asked the same question, Muhammad Ali, his voice all but stilled by Parkinson’s Syndrome, said he wouldn’t have changed anything about a life lived larger than most people could ever imagine. Told once that he held the dubious record of being knocked down 17 times in heavyweight title bouts, nine of those coming against Johansson, Patterson said, “That’s true, but I also hold the record for getting up the most times.”

Floyd Patterson was 71 when he passed away on May 11, 2006, in New Paltz, N.Y. A two-term head of the New York State Athletic Commission, he resigned that post years earlier when subordinates began to notice that their boss could no longer remember the name of his secretary, or even that of his wife. Alzheimer’s disease had had the chilling effect of erasing most of his memories even before prostate cancer served to hasten the 10-count he never received from the recalcitrant Goldstein that fateful summer night in 1959.

Johansson’s death, at 76 on Jan. 30, 2009, in a nursing home in Kungsbacka, Sweden, mirrored that of his onetime arch-rival. Like Patterson, he spent his earthly championship rounds in a sort of netherworld, slipping ever deeper into the dark cave of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Ingo was too ill to attend his IBHOF induction, and he was two years gone when his hometown of Gothenburg unveiled a statue of him in 2011, outside the Ullevi stadium where, on Sept. 14, 1958, he had earned the shot at Patterson’s title by scoring a first-round knockout of highly ranked American contender Eddie Machen, before 53,615 screaming Swedes.

It is a testament to the unifying bonds of boxing that two men who had taken each other to hell and back could later become fast friends, forever to be linked in death as they for so long were linked in life. That is not always the case, of course, but then almost from the beginning Floyd and Ingo seemed to recognize that they were more alike than different, two sides of the same coin, too similar in many ways to be separated by skin color, lifestyle or an ocean.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 281: The Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia Show

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-281-The-Devin-and-Ryan-Show

Over the years bouts between old foes such as Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia tend to be surprising.

Yes, both are only 25 but have known each other for many years.

When undisputed super lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) steps into the prize ring at Barclays Center to meet challenger Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, April 20, fans will be witnessing the continuation of a feud that began more than a decade ago.

And though the champion is a heavy favorite, familiarity is Garcia’s best weapon heading into their fight on the Golden Boy Promotions card that will be shown on PPV.COM with Jim Lampley and friends. DAZN pay-per-view is also streaming the card.

In many ways Haney and Garcia have ventured down the same path. From amateur sensations to fighting in Mexico while teens to asking for the biggest challenges available.

“Whichever version of Ryan shows up on April 20, I will be ready for him. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent to me,” said Haney who holds the WBC super lightweight title after his win over Regis Prograis.

The first time I saw Haney as a pro he battled the dangerous Mexican contender Juan Carlos Burgos at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. It was an impressive performance against a fighter who fought three times for a world title.

Haney was 19 at the time.

My first look at Garcia as a pro was in his first bout in the U.S. when he met Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Cruz at the Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. The Boricua looked at Garcia and tried intimidating him with stares, taunts and the usual patter. During the fight both swung and missed until the second round when Garcia zeroed in and took him out.

Garcia had just turned 18, the legal age to fight in California.

Both fighters did not have the Olympics credentials that lead to fame. But their talent has allowed them to fight through the dense smoke that is professional boxing.

Haney has defeated numerous world champions such as Prograis, Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr., while Garcia has stopped champions Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell.

As amateurs, Garcia and Haney battled six times with each winning three.

“They know each other very well,” said Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. “Ryan is going to beat Devin Haney.”

Haney has a buttery-smooth style with one of the best jabs in boxing. He’s very adept at keeping distance and not allowing anyone to fight him inside. His reflexes are outstanding, yet he seldom fights inside. That’s his weakness.

Garcia fights tall and has superb hand speed and a lightning quick left hook. Though his defense lacks tightness his ability to rip off three-punch combinations in a blink of an eye pauses opponents from bullying their way inside.

“These guys always just look at me and look at me like I don’t know how to box,” said Garcia on social media. “Why was I one of the best fighters in the amateurs. Why was I a 15-time National champion…why did I beat everyone I came across.”

Haney is a strong favorite by oddsmakers to defeat Garcia. But you can never tell when it comes to fighters that know each other well and are athletically gifted.

When Sergio Mora challenged Vernon Forrest he was a big underdog. When Tim Bradley fought Manny Pacquiao the first time, he was also the underdog. And when Andy Ruiz met Anthony Joshua few gave him a chance.

Haney and Garcia have history in the ring. It should be an interesting battle.

PPV.COM

Jim Lampley will be leading the broadcast on PPV.COM for the Haney-Garcia card at Barclays and texting with fans on the card live. He will be accompanied by journalists Lance Pugmire, Dan Conobbio and former champion Chris Algieri.

The PPV.COM broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PT. and is available in Canada and the USA.

Other News

MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be holding a media day event on Friday, April 19, at NOVO at L.A. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Diaz and Masvidal will be boxing against each other in a grudge match on June 1 at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The two MMA stars met five years at UFC 244 with Masvidal winning by TKO over Diaz due to cuts.

This is a grudge match, but under boxing rules.

Fight card in Commerce, Calif.

360 Promotions returns to Commerce Casino on Saturday April 20 with undefeated super lightweight Cain Sandoval leading the charge.

Sandoval (12-0) faces Angel Rebollar (8-3) in the main event that will be shown live on UFC Fight Pass. Also on the card are two female events including hot prospect Lupe Medina (5-0) versus Sabrina Persona (3-1) in a minimumweight clash.

Doors open at 4 p.m.

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Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

There were few surprises when co-promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren and their benefactor HE Turki Alalshikh held a press conference in London this past Monday to unveil the undercard for the Beterbiev-Bivol show at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 1. Most of the match-ups had already been leaked.

For die-hard boxing fans, Beterbiev-Bivol is such an enticing fight that it really doesn’t need an attractive undercard. Two undefeated light heavyweights will meet with all four relevant belts on the line in a contest where the oddsmakers straddled the fence. It’s a genuine “pick-‘em” fight based on the only barometer that matters, the prevailing odds.

But Beterbiev-Bivol has been noosed to a splendid undercard, a striking contrast to Saturday’s Haney-Garcia $69.99 (U.S.) pay-per-view in Brooklyn, an event where the undercard, in the words of pseudonymous boxing writer Chris Williams, is an absolute dumpster fire.

The two heavyweight fights that will bleed into Beterbiev-Bivol, Hrgovic vs. Dubois and Wilder vs. Zhang, would have been stand-alone main events before the incursion of Saudi money.

Hrgovic-Dubois

Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 13 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) fought on the same card in Riyadh this past December. Hrgovic, the Croatian, was fed a softie in the form of Australia’s Mark De Mori who he dismissed in the opening round. Dubois, a Londoner, rebounded from his loss to Oleksandr Usyk with a 10^th-round stoppage of corpulent Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller.

There’s an outside chance that Hrgovic vs. Dubois may be sanctioned by the IBF for the world heavyweight title.

The May 18 showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury has a rematch clause. The IBF is next in line in the rotation system for a unified heavyweight champion and the organization has made it plain that the winner of Usyk-Fury must fulfill his IBF mandatory before an intervening bout.

The best guess is that the Usyk-Fury winner will relinquish the IBF belt. If so, Hrgovic and Dubois may fight for the vacant title although a more likely scenario is that the organization will keep the title vacant so that the winner can fight Anthony Joshua.

Wilder-Zhang

The match between Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) is a true crossroads fight as both Wilder, 38, and Zhang, who turns 41 in May, are nearing the end of the road and the loser (unless it’s a close and entertaining fight) will be relegated to the rank of a has-been. In fact, Wilder has hinted that this may be his final rodeo.

Both are coming off a loss to Joseph Parker.

Wilder last fought on the card that included Hrgovic and Dubois and was roundly out-pointed by a man he was expected to beat. It’s a quick turnaround for Zhang who opposed Parker on March 8 and lost a majority decision.

Other Fights

Either of two other fights may steal the show on the June 1 event.

Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) meets Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight contest. New Jersey’s Ford will be defending the WBA world title he won with a come-from-behind, 12th-round stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov in an early contender for Fight of the Year. Liverpool’s “Wrecking” Ball, a relentless five-foot-two sparkplug, had to settle for a draw in his title fight with Rey Vargas despite winning the late rounds and scoring two knockdowns.

Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KOs) meets fellow unbeaten Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KOs) in a 12-round middleweight match. East London’s Sheeraz, the son of a former professional cricket player, is unknown in the U.S. although he trained for his recent fights at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in California. Riding a skein of 13 straight knockouts, he has a date with WBO title-holder Janibek Alimkhanuly if he can get over this hurdle.

The Forgotten Heavyweight

“Unbeaten for seven years, the man nobody wants to fight,” intoned ring announcer Michael Buffer by way of introduction. Buffer was referencing Michael Hunter who stood across the ring from his opponent Artem Suslenkov.

This scene played out this past Saturday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was Hunter’s second fight in three weeks. On March 23, he scored a fifth-round stoppage of a 46-year-old meatball at a show in Zapopan, Mexico.

The second-generation “Bounty Hunter,” whose only defeat prior to last weekend came in a 12-rounder with Oleksandr Usyk, has been spinning his wheels since TKOing the otherwise undefeated Martin Bakole on the road in London in 2018. Two fights against hapless opponents on low-budget cards in Mexico and a couple of one-round bouts for the Las Vegas Hustle, an entry in the fledgling and largely invisible Professional Combat League, are the sum total of his activity, aside from sparring, in the last two-and-a-half years.

Hunter’s chances of getting another big-money fight took a tumble in Tashkent where he lost a unanimous decision in a dull affair to the unexceptional Suslenkov who was appearing in his first 10-round fight. The scores of the judges were not announced.

You won’t find this fight listed on boxrec. As Jake Donovan notes, the popular website will not recognize a fight conducted under the auspices of a rogue commission. (Another fight you won’t find on boxrec for the same reason is Nico Ali Walsh’s 6-round split decision over the 9-2-1 Frenchman, Noel Lafargue, in the African nation of Guinea on Dec. 16, 2023. You can find it on YouTube, but according to boxrec, boxing’s official record-keeper, it never happened.)

Anderson-Merhy Redux

The only thing missing from this past Saturday’s match in Corpus Christi, Texas, between Jared Anderson and Ryad Merhy was the ghost of Robert Valsberg.

Valsberg, aka Roger Vaisburg, was the French referee who disqualified Ingemar Johansson for not trying in his match with LA’s Ed Sanders in the finals of the heavyweight competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Valsberg tossed Johansson out of the ring after two rounds and Johansson was denied the silver medal. The Swede redeemed himself after turning pro, needless to say, when he demolished Floyd Patterson in the first of their three meetings.

Merhy was credited with throwing only 144 punches, landing 34, over the course of the 10 rounds. Those dismal figures yet struck many onlookers as too high. (This reporter has always insisted that the widely-quoted CompuBox numbers should be considered approximations.)

Whatever the true number, it was a disgraceful performance by Merhy who actually showed himself to have very fast hands on the few occasions when he did throw a punch. With apologies to Delfine Persoon, a spunky lightweight, U.S. boxing promoters should think twice before inviting another Belgian boxer to our shores.

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Anderson Cruises by Vapid Merhy and Ajagba edges Vianello in Texas

Published

6 days ago

April 14, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Anderson-Cruises-by-Vapid-Merhy-and-Ajagba-Edges-Vianello-in-Texas

Jared Anderson returned to the ring tonight on a Top Rank card in Corpus Christi, Texas. Touted as the next big thing in the heavyweight division, Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) hardly broke a sweat while cruising past Ryad Merhy in a bout with very little action, much to the disgruntlement of the crowd which started booing as early as the second round. The fault was all Merhy as he was reluctant to let his hands go. Somehow, he won a round on the scorecard of judge David Sutherland who likely fell asleep for a round for which he could be forgiven.

Merhy, born in the Ivory Coast but a resident of Brussels, Belgium, was 32-2 (26 KOs) heading in after fighting most of his career as a cruiserweight. He gave up six inches in height to Anderson who was content to peck away when it became obvious to him that little would be coming back his way.

Anderson may face a more daunting adversary on Monday when he has a court date in Romulus, Michigan, to answer charges related to an incident in February where he drove his Dodge Challenger at a high rate speed, baiting the police into a merry chase. (Weirdly, Anderson entered the ring tonight wearing the sort of helmet that one associates with a race car driver.)

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, a battle between six-foot-six former Olympians, Italy’s Guido Vianello started and finished strong, but Efe Ajagba had the best of it in the middle rounds and prevailed on a split decision. Two of the judges favored Ajagba by 96-94 scores with the dissenter favoring the Italian from Rome by the same margin.

Vianello had the best round of the fight. He staggered Ajagba with a combination in round two. At the end of the round, a befuddled Ajagba returned to the wrong corner and it appeared that an upset was brewing. But the Nigerian, who trains in Las Vegas under Kay Koroma, got back into the fight with a more varied offensive attack and better head movement. In winning, he improved his ledger to 20-1 (14). Vianello, who sparred extensively with Daniel Dubois in London in preparation for this fight, declined to 12-2-1 in what was likely his final outing under the Top Rank banner.

Other Bouts of Note

In the opening bout on the main ESPN platform, 35-year-old super featherweight Robson Conceicao, a gold medalist for Brazil in the 2016 Rio Olympics, stepped down in class after fighting Emanuel Navarrete tooth-and-nail to a draw in his previous bout and scored a seventh-round stoppage of Jose Ivan Guardado who was a cooked goose after slumping to the canvas after taking a wicked shot to the liver. Guardado made it to his feet, but the end was imminent and the referee waived it off at the 2:27 mark.

Conceicao improved to 18-1 (9 KOs). It was the U.S. debut for Guardado (15-2-1), a boxer from Ensenada, Mexico who had done most of his fighting up the road in Tijuana.

Ruben Villa, the pride of Salinas, California, improved to 22-1 (7) and moved one step closer to a match with WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas with a unanimous 10-round decision over Tijuana’s Cristian Cruz (22-7-1). The judges had it 97-93 and 98-92 twice.

Cruz, the son of former IBF world featherweight title-holder Cristobal Cruz, was better than his record. He entered the bout on a 21-1-1 run after losing five of his first seven pro fights.

Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason, who turned 20 earlier this month, continued his fast ascent up the lightweight ladder with a fourth-round stoppage of Ronal Ron.

Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) put Ron on the canvas in the opening round with a short left hook. He scored a second knockdown with a shot to the liver. A flurry of punches, a diverse array, forced the stoppage at the 1:02 mark of round four. A 25-year-old SoCal-based Venezuelan, the spunky but out-gunned Ron declined to 14-6.

Charly Suarez, a 35-year-old former Olympian from the Philippines, ranked #5 at junior lightweight by the IBF, advanced to 17-0 (9) with a unanimous 8-round decision over SoCal’s Louie Coria (5-7).

This was a tactical fight. In the final round, Coria, subbing for 19-0 Henry Lebron, caught the Filipino off-balance and knocked him into the ropes which held him up. It was scored a knockdown, but came too little, too late for Coria who lost by scores of 76-75 and 77-74 twice.

Suarez, whose signature win was a 12^th-round stoppage of the previously undefeated Aussie Paul Fleming in Sydney, may be headed to a rematch with Robson Conceicao. They fought as amateurs in 2016 in Kazakhstan and Suarez lost a narrow 6-round decision.

Photo credit: Mikey Willams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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