Floyd Patterson: Boxing's Gentleman Champion

"They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most."
Floyd Patterson

The singular moment that defined Floyd Patterson both as a boxer and a man came immediately after his rematch with Ingemar Johansson of Sweden. Patterson had avenged his crushing knockout defeat at the hands of "Ingo," making history by becoming the first man to ever recapture the crown and become a two-time heavyweight champion. But Patterson did not dance a jig, do a flip, climb the corner ropes and bang his chest, or even pump his fist in the air like so many others would have. Instead, he gently helped Johansson back to his corner and offered him a rematch. Although Patterson established records made boxing history, he is remembered first and foremost as the sport's great heavyweight gentleman.

The Last of an Era

Floyd Patterson was born January 4th, 1935, one of 11 children in a poor North Carolina family. After moving to Brooklyn as a boy, Patterson was getting himself into petty street trouble, skipping school and stealing. He was sent to reform school, which turned his life around. He took up boxing after that, and was schooled by the great trainer Cus D'Amato (D'Amato would later serve as Mike Tyson's first trainer). At 17, Patterson went to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and won the Gold Medal as a middleweight. Rounding out his stellar amateur career, Patterson also won the 1952 National Amateur Athletic Union and the New York City Golden Gloves middleweight titles that same year. He turned pro in September, weighing in at 164.5 lbs for his first bout.