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35-630: In 1956 and 1960, Patterson was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America . He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Born January 4, 1935, into a poor family in Waco, North Carolina , Patterson was one of eleven children. Savannah Joe Patterson was his first cousin from out of Arkansas, he went and visited during

70-400: A Fighter of the Year since 1928, which this list covers. The award, selected by the magazine editors, is based on a boxer's performance in the ring. Numbers in brackets indicate the number of times a boxer has won the award by that year. Pete Rademacher Thomas Peter Rademacher (November 20, 1928 – June 4, 2020) was an American heavyweight boxer. As an amateur , he was

105-539: A knockout in round six. Legendary boxing promoter Jack Hurley promoted the match. Rademacher fought Zora Folley , Brian London , George Chuvalo , Buddy Turman , and the former world light heavyweight champion, Archie Moore . He lost to Moore, Folley and London but beat Chuvalo, LaMar Clark , and Turman, among others. His last bout was with former world middleweight champion Carl "Bobo" Olson , whom he beat by decision. Rademacher had Finnish ancestry; his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Finland . He

140-452: A close fight over ten rounds in early 1972. At age 37, Patterson was stopped after seven rounds with a cut eye while still competitive in a rematch with Muhammad Ali for the NABF heavyweight title on September 20, 1972. The defeat proved to be Patterson's last fight, although there was never an announcement of retirement. In retirement, he and Ingemar Johansson became good friends who flew across

175-545: A controversial 12-round decision to Quarry. Subsequently, in a third and final attempt at winning the title a third time, Patterson lost a controversial 15-round referee's decision to Jimmy Ellis in Stockholm, in 1968, despite breaking Ellis's nose and scoring a disputed knockdown. In September 1969 he divorced his first wife, Sandra Hicks Patterson, who wanted him to quit boxing, while he still had hopes for another title shot. Patterson continued on, defeating Oscar Bonavena in

210-601: A gold medalist at the 1956 Olympics . Rademacher became the only person to challenge for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional bout when he faced Floyd Patterson in Seattle on August 22, 1957. He compiled a 15-7-1 record over 23 professional bouts. A former college football player at Washington State , Rademacher took up boxing as a form of rehabilitation during his recovery from rheumatic fever , which he contracted in military school. In his amateur career, Rademacher won 72 bouts and lost 7. He won

245-472: A legitimate contender. In 1966 he traveled to England and knocked out British boxer Henry Cooper in the fourth round at Wembley Stadium. When Ali was stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military, the World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament to determine his successor. Patterson fought Jerry Quarry to a draw in 1967. In a rematch four months later, Patterson lost

280-454: A number of social implications. Liston's connections with the mob were well known and the NAACP was concerned about having to deal with Liston's visibility as World Champion and had encouraged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would tarnish the civil rights movement. Patterson said John F. Kennedy also did not want him to fight Liston. In David Remnick's book, King of

315-475: A professional heavyweight boxer and has lived in Gothenburg , Sweden, since 1965 and has worked as a truck driver at Volvo Lastvagnar after his boxing career. Patterson's amateur record was 40 wins (37 by knockout) and 4 defeats. Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a " peek-a-boo " stance. Patterson turned pro and steadily rose through

350-640: A series of tournaments, including the 1949 and 1951–1953 Seattle Golden Gloves (he lost in 1950 to Zora Folley , who was his frequent opponent throughout his boxing career), and the US Amateur Championship as a heavyweight in 1953—avenging his earlier loss to Folley. He captured the Chicago Golden Gloves, the All- Army championship, and the Service championship in 1956, before qualifying for

385-512: A solid right. But the power in Johansson's punches was gone. Patterson won the fight in the sixth round by knockout. After the third Johansson fight, Patterson defended the title in Toronto on December 4 against Tom McNeeley and retained the title with a fourth-round knockout. However he did not fight number-one contender Sonny Liston . This was due in part to Cus D'Amato, who did not want Patterson in

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420-435: The 1983 New York City Marathon in 3:35:27. His adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson , was a world champion boxer in the 1990s and was trained by Floyd during part of his career. They are the first father and son to win world titles in boxing. Floyd also trained Canadian heavyweight Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in 1992 for his fights with Greg Page , Phil Jackson , and Lennox Lewis . The New Paltz High School football field

455-540: The Olympic team. At the Olympics , he captured a gold medal in the heavyweight division and served as the U.S. flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Rademacher also attended college, playing offensive line on the football team for Washington State . After winning the gold medal, Rademacher started saying that he would be able to become world heavyweight champion in his first professional fight. He made his belief public and

490-674: The Atlantic to visit each other every year and he served two terms as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission . He was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York , for many years with his second wife, Janet Seaquist. They had two daughters, Jennifer and Janene. In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Ingemar Johansson. He completed

525-454: The World, he calls Patterson a "sensitive" champion. Patterson was very open about his fears and feelings going into a fight, which was new behavior in the world of boxing. He was regarded as a very polite, well-mannered, and likeable champion. This contrasted the media's portrayal of Liston, who's mob ties and criminal history made it easy to paint as the villain of the fight. In the media, Patterson

560-632: The Year " award. Patterson was now the number-one challenger for the title held by Muhammad Ali . On November 22, 1965, in Las Vegas, in yet another attempt to be the first to win the world heavyweight title three times, he went into the fight with an injured sacro­iliac joint which worsened after the first round and greatly reduced his mobility in a bout in which Ali was clearly dominant. Ali called Patterson an "Uncle Tom" for refusing to call him Muhammad Ali (Patterson continued to call him Cassius Clay) and for his outspokenness against black Muslims. Before

595-403: The age of nine, Floyd became a truant and petty thief. It began with him stealing little things like milk and fruit to bring back to his mother to help. However, as he transitioned into a teenager, he would frequently be seen in court for- stealing, truancy, and running away. He estimated that he had been in court, thirty to forty times. At age 10, a judge was so tired of seeing him in court that he

630-416: The canvas hard, seemingly out before he landed flat on his back. With glazed eyes, blood trickling from his mouth and his left foot quivering, he was counted out. Johansson laying unconscious for five minutes before he was helped onto a stool. A third fight between them was held on March 13, 1961, and while Johansson put Patterson on the floor, Patterson retained his title by knockout in the sixth round to win

665-449: The defeat, Patterson received $ 2 million, to be paid over 17 years. The rematch was set for April 1963; however, Liston injured his knee swinging a golf club and the fight was delayed three months to July 22. It was the first million-dollar purse with both fighters receiving $ 1,434,000 each. In Las Vegas that night, Patterson attempted to become the first boxer to win the heavyweight title three times, but Liston once again knocked him out in

700-424: The early summer years. He experienced an insular and troubled childhood. His family moved to Brooklyn , New York, in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant otherwise known as Bed-Stuy. During this time, his parents were working extremely hard to provide for the family. There was eleven children to feed. Patterson felt helpless that he could not help his mother and father more. He felt stupid and powerless. Starting at

735-409: The first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional heavyweight title. After a series of defenses against fringe contenders (Hurricane Jackson, Pete Rademacher , Roy Harris, and Brian London ), Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, the number one contender, in the first of three fights. Johansson triumphed over Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee Ruby Goldstein stopping the fight in

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770-483: The first round. Patterson lasted four seconds longer than in the first bout. The Liston fights were the only times Patterson was actually counted out in his 20-year professional career. Following these defeats, Patterson went through a depression. However, he eventually recovered and began winning fights again, including top victories over Eddie Machen and George Chuvalo ; the Chuvalo match won The Ring ' s " Fight of

805-473: The head. The result at the time was the third-fastest knockout in boxing history. After being knocked out, Patterson left Comiskey Park in Chicago wearing dark glasses and a fake beard for the drive back to New York. After the fight, questions were raised on whether the fight was fixed to set up a more lucrative rematch. Overnight, Patterson seemed to lose his public support as a result of his swift knockout. Despite

840-473: The heavyweight rankings, at number five. After beating Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson in an elimination fight, Patterson faced Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore on November 30, 1956, for the World Heavyweight Championship. He beat Moore by a knockout in five rounds and became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history, at the age of 21 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 5 days. He was

875-523: The match, Patterson had said: "This fight is a crusade to reclaim the title from the Black Muslims. As a Catholic, I am fighting Clay as a patriotic duty. I am going to return the crown to America." Ali hit Patterson repeatedly with jabs from the second round until the referee stopped the fight in the 12th round. In the post-fight interview, Ali praised Patterson for being able to take punches and said Patterson's age counted against him. Patterson remained

910-565: The press that Patterson was aiming for the heavyweight title. However, after Rocky Marciano announced his retirement as World Heavyweight Champion on April 27, 1956, Patterson was ranked by The Ring magazine as the top light heavyweight contender. After Marciano's announcement, Jim Norris of the International Boxing Club stated that Patterson was one of the six fighters who would take part in an elimination tournament to crown Marciano's successor. The Ring then moved Patterson into

945-618: The ranks, his only early defeat being an eight-round decision to former light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim on June 7, 1954, at the Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn, New York. Although Patterson fought around the light heavyweight limit for much of his early career, he and manager Cus D'Amato always had plans to fight for the Heavyweight Championship. In fact, D'Amato made these plans clear as early as 1954, when he told

980-602: The ring with a boxer with mob connections. As a result, D'Amato turned down any challenges involving the IBC . Eventually, due to a monetary dispute with Jimmy Jacobs , Patterson removed D'Amato from handling his business affairs and agreed to fight Liston. Leading up to the fight, Liston was the major betting-line favorite, though Sports Illustrated predicted that Patterson would win in 15 rounds. Jim Braddock , Jersey Joe Walcott , Ezzard Charles , Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson picked Patterson to win. The fight also carried

1015-415: The rubber match in which Patterson was decked twice and Johansson once, in the first round. Johansson had landed both right hands over Floyd's left jab. After getting up from the second knockdown, Floyd abandoned his jab and connected with a left hook that knocked down Johansson. After that, Patterson came on with a strong body attack that wore down Johansson. In the sixth round, Johansson caught Patterson with

1050-560: The third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. Johansson became Sweden's first World Heavyweight Champion, thus becoming a national hero as the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933 . Patterson knocked out Johansson in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, to become the first man in history to regain the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. Johansson hit

1085-616: Was able to lure world Heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson into defending his crown against him in his professional debut. It is the only time to date that a fighter making his professional debut has challenged for the world heavyweight title. The bout, at Sick's Stadium in Seattle, was refereed by former light-heavyweight champion Tommy Loughran , who himself had contended for the heavy crown once, vs. Primo Carnera , in 1934. Rademacher dropped Patterson in round two, but Patterson recovered and knocked Rademacher down seven times, defeating him by

Floyd Patterson - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-508: Was named "Floyd Patterson Field" in 1985. Patterson suffered from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer in his final years. He died at home in New Paltz, on May 11, 2006, at the age of 71. His body was buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, Ulster County , New York . The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year The Ring magazine was established in 1922 and has named

1155-716: Was painted as the good guy, and Liston was the antagonist. This rhetoric surrounded the fight, raising the stakes and putting pressure on Patterson to retain his title. Patterson lost his title to Liston in Chicago on September 25, 1962, by a first-round knockout in front of 18,894 fans. The two fighters were a marked contrast. In the ring, Liston's size and power proved too much for Patterson's guile and agility. However, Patterson did not use his speed to his benefit. According to Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin, Patterson did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. Liston battered Patterson with body shots and then shortened up and connected with two double hooks high on

1190-603: Was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in Esopus, New York , He was sent off there in September 1945. During this time, he was furious thinking he was being sent to jail until his mother explained the blessing. He credited this to turning his life around. He stayed there for almost two years. He attended high school in New Paltz, New York , where he succeeded in all sports. Patterson took up boxing at age fourteen, and

1225-645: Was training with the Bedford-Stuyvesant Boxing Association Gym. Three years later, he won the gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight . In 1952, he won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and New York Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship. At that time he was spotted by Cus D'Amato , and trained at the Gramercy Gym. Patterson's younger brother Raymond (born 1942) also became

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