Ingemar Johansson
Statistics
Real name	Ingemar Johansson
Nickname(s)	Ingo The Hammer of Thor[1]
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Reach	183 cm (72 in)
Nationality	Sweden
Born	(1932-09-22)September 22, 1932 Gothenburg, Sweden
Died	January 30, 2009(2009-01-30) (aged 76) Kungsbacka, Sweden
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	28
Wins	26
Wins by KO	17
Losses	2
Draws	0
No contests	0

Medal record
Competitor for  Sweden
Men's Boxing
Olympic Games
Silver	1952 Helsinki	Heavyweight

Jens Ingemar Johansson^[2] (September 22, 1932 – January 30, 2009) was a Swedish boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world. Johansson was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. In 1959 he defeated Floyd Patterson by TKO in the third round, after flooring Patterson seven times in that round, to win the World Heavyweight Championship. As a result, Johansson won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year".

Johansson enjoyed a successful career as a heavyweight. When he retired in 1963 he had a record of 26 wins, 17 by KO, and only 2 losses. He called his right fist "toonder and lightning" for its concussive power (it was also called "Ingo's Bingo" and the "Hammer of Thor"), and in 2003 he was ranked at #99 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.^[3][4] He reputedly had bone trouble in his right hand on and off throughout his career as a result.

Early career[link]

Johansson's introduction to the sport's limelight was inauspicious. He was disqualified for running from the eventual Olympic gold medalist, Ed Sanders, during the final of the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics heavyweight competition. Johansson maintained he was not fleeing Sanders, but rather was trying to tire his huge opponent for a planned third round onslaught. Johansson said he had been limited to a 10-day training camp, he had been trained by novices and he had been told by his team leader to let Sanders be the aggressor. Nevertheless, his silver medal was withheld for this poor performance, but he was presented with the medal in 1982.

After the Olympics Johansson went into seclusion for six months, and considered quitting boxing. But he returned to the ring and turned professional under the guidance of the Swedish publisher and boxing promoter Edwin Ahlquist, and won his first 21 professional fights. He captured the Scandinavian pro title by knocking down and outscoring the Dane Erik Jensen (breaking his vaunted right hand in the process) A broken hand and a one year military service kept him out of the ring until late 1954. In August 1955, in his twelfth professional fight, Johansson knocked out former European Heavyweight Champion Hein Ten Hoff in the first round. He took the Scandinavian heavyweight title in 1953 and September 30, 1956 he won the European Heavyweight championship by scoring a 13 round KO over Italy’s Franco Cavicchi in 13 rounds in Milan for the European title.

Johansson successfully defended his European Crown against ranked heavyweights Henry Cooper (5th round KO on May 19, 1957) and Joe Erskine, whom he TKOed in 13 on February 21, 1958.^[5]

Champion[link]

Johansson earned his shot at the world heavyweight crown when he KOed top ranked contender Eddie Machen in the first round of their elimination match on September 14, 1958. In front of 53.615 screaming fans in Ullevi football stadium, Johansson downed Machen three times, finally flattening him for a knockout at 2:16 of the first round. Johansson then signed to fight champion Floyd Patterson.

Johansson was a colorful figure in New York as he trained for the fight. Eschewing the monastic training regimen favored by Patterson and other fighters, Johansson trained at the Catskill resort of Grossingers. He didn't seem to train particularly hard, and was often seen at night spots with his attractive "secretary." Accordingly, he entered the ring in Yankee Stadium on June 26, 1959, as a 5-1 underdog.

Johansson spent the first two rounds of the encounter retreating and flicking a light left jab at the champion. In the third round, Johansson threw a wide left hook that Patterson blocked with his right hand. When he moved his right hand away from its protective peek-a-boo position before his chin, Johansson drilled him with a short powerful right hand. Patterson went down, arose on unsteady legs and was out on his feet. Johansson followed up his advantage and sent Patterson down 6 more times in the round before the bout was stopped by referee Ruby Goldstein. Johansson celebrated with his girlfriend and future wife Birgit Lundgren and the next day a headline in a New York newspaper expressed the city's amazement. It read: "Ingo -- It's Bingo." ^[6] When Johansson returned to Sweden, he flew in on a helicopter, landing in the main soccer stadium in Gothenburg, his home town, and was cheered by 20,000 people.^[7] He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, as well as the cover of Life Magazine on July 20, 1959, alongside Birgit.

Johansson was a flamboyant champion - a precursor to the "Swinging Sixties". One publication dubbed Johansson "boxing’s Cary Grant" and in 1960 he appeared the movie All the Young Men as a Marine, alongside stars Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier. Wherever he went, in the U.S. or in Sweden he had a beautiful woman on his arm and paparazzi snapping pictures.^[8]

To train for the fight with Patterson, Ingemar sparred with Muhammad Ali, known then as Cassius Clay. After Ali had "boxed his way around the ring, as if it was he, using Ingo as a sparring partner," somebody offered $100,000 to Ingemar to fight in a televised event with Cassius Clay, but Ingemar declined saying that the fight wouldn't draw three ticket holders and that Clay didn't have the ability to step in the ring with him at that time.^[9]

Rematch with Patterson[link]

Johansson proposed to girlfriend Birgit in April 1960 after the champion visited Egypt. Then he turned his attention to defending his title against Floyd Patterson.^[10] The two signed for a rematch on June 20, 1960. Patterson knocked Johansson out in the fifth round with a leaping left hook to become the first man to recover the world's undisputed heavyweight title. The punch caught Johansson's chin and he hit the canvas with a thud, out cold before he landed flat on his back. With blood trickling from his mouth, his glazed eyes staring up at the ring lights, and his left foot twitching the Swede was counted out. After the count, Patterson showed his concern for Johansson by cradling his motionless opponent, and promising him a second rematch. Johansson lay flat on his back on the canvas for five minutes before he was placed on a stool brought into the ring. He was still dazed and unsteady fifteen minutes after the knockout as he was helped out of the ring.

Ingemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson and becomes boxing heavyweight champion of the world, June 26, 1959.

Patterson and Johansson fought once more on March 13, 1961. Although Johansson appeared to be in the worst physical condition of his three bouts with Patterson. A. J. Liebling, writing in The New Yorker, said the outcome seemed preordained and that Johansson was not dieting for the fight eating creamed chicken, strawberry shortcake, and cherry cheesecake. Nonethess he caught Patterson leaping at him in the very first round and knocked him down. He followed his advantage up by scoring another knockdown, but was himself caught going in wide open by a Patterson left hook that knocked him down. As the fight progressed, it became obvious that Johansson was spent. Patterson eventually knocked him out in round six.

Later career and retirement[link]

Johansson then returned to Europe, and recaptured the European crown from Dick Richardson by an eight round KO on June 17, 1962. By this time Sonny Liston had captured the heavyweight crown from Patterson, and efforts were underway to match Johansson with Liston. Johansson, however, fought journeyman heavyweight Brian London on April 21, 1963, in a non-title twelve-round match. Johansson won most of the eleven preceding rounds but in round twelve with four seconds remaining in the fight London tagged Johansson with a powerful right hand that knocked him down flat on his back. Johansson arose at the count of four just as the bell rang to end the fight. It is widely believed that Johansson was out cold or on his back but the film of this fight clearly illustrates Ingo was upright but groggy at the sound of the bell. The next day’s Stockholm's newspaper's front page showed a photo of him dizzy climbing the ropes with the headline "Wake up Ingo – You won!" After seeing this he sat down and wrote a letter to the European Boxing Union resigning his title and retiring from boxing.^[11]

26 Wins (17 (T)KO's), 2 Losses

Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
1963-04-21	Win	Brian London	Johanneshov Ice Stadium,	Stockholm, Sweden	PTS	12	3:00	26-2
1962-06-17	Win	Dick Richardson	Nya ullevi	Gothenburg, Sweden	KO	8	2:13	25-2
1962-04-15	Win	Wim Snoek	Kungliga Tennishallen	Stockholm, Sweden	KO	5	1:15	24-2
1962-02-09	Win	Joe Bygraves	Mässhallen Sports Hall	Gothenburg, Sweden	TKO	7	2:08	23-2
1961-03-13	Loss	Floyd Patterson	Convention Hall	Miami Beach, USA	KO	6	2:45	22-2	For World Heavyweight Title

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Retired life[link]

Ingemar Johansson and Floyd Patterson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year.

Johansson made several films in Sweden and appeared as a Marine in the Korean War film All the Young Men (1960).

In the 1960s along with other business interests, Johansson co-promoted boxing cards in Sweden, including several with ex-champ Sonny Liston (1966 and 1967). On April 22, 1966, he boxed a five-round exhibition with European Heavyweight Champion Karl Mildenberger for his first co-promotion. He also owned a fishing boat and a bar called "Ingo's".

By the 1970s he resided in Pompano Beach, Florida, for part of each year and ran in marathons (including the Boston Marathon) all over the world until the mid-1980s. In 1985 he completed the Stockholm Marathon. Although the press rumoured his weight later ballooned up to 20 stone..

During the 1990s Johansson and Patterson would attend boxing conventions and also sign their autographs on boxing memorabilia. They continued to be friends until the onset of Alzheimer's disease incapacitated them both. In the 1990s Johansson's business interests in Sweden included sports apparel and a light lager beer entitled HAMMER, named for his punching prowess.

In 2000, the Swedish Sports Academy selected Johansson as Sweden's third-best athlete of the 20th century, behind tennis great Björn Borg and Alpine skiing great Ingemar Stenmark. In 2002, he was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Having suffered from Alzheimer's disease and dementia since the mid 1990s, he lived in a nursing home in Kungsbacka while his health deteriorated. In the later stages of his illness, he was reunited with his second wife, Birgit, who was at his side when he died on January 30, 2009, from complications following pneumonia.^[12][13] At the time of his death, he was at age 76 the oldest living heavyweight champion. Johansson was married and divorced twice, and is survived by five children.^[14]

In January 2011, the 1959 Johnny Lion song "Ingemar Johansson", which chronicles the 1959 Patterson fight, was re-released on the compilation album From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1.^[15]

See also[link]

• List of heavyweight boxing champions
• List of European Boxing Union heavyweight champions

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Ingemar Johansson
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Professional boxing record for Ingemar Johansson from BoxRec

• Ingemar Johansson at IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423959/
• svenska.yle.fi/arkivet: Interview with Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson

Floyd Patterson
Statistics
Real name	Floyd Patterson
Nickname(s)	The Gentleman of Boxing
Rated at	Light heavyweight Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Reach	71 in (180 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1935-01-04)January 4, 1935 Waco, North Carolina
Died	May 11, 2006(2006-05-11) (aged 71) New Paltz, New York
Stance	Peek-a-Boo
Boxing record
Total fights	64
Wins	55
Wins by KO	40
Losses	8
Draws	1
No contests	0
Medal record Men's Boxing Competitor for  United States Gold 1952 Helsinki Middleweight

Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer and former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by knockout. He won the gold medal at the 1952 Olympic Games as a middleweight.

Although Mike Tyson later became the youngest boxer to win a world heavyweight title, Patterson remains the youngest Undisputed Heavyweight Champion.

Early life[link]

Born into a poor family in Waco, North Carolina, Patterson was the youngest of eleven children and experienced an insular and troubled childhood. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Floyd was a truant and petty thief. At age ten, he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in upstate New York, which he credited with turning his life around. He stayed there for almost 2 years.

At age fourteen, he started to box, trained by Cus D'Amato at his Gramercy Gym. Aged just 17, Patterson won the Gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. 1952 turned out to be a good year for the young Patterson; in addition to Olympic gold Patterson won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and New York Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship.

Olympic results[link]

• Defeated Omar Tebakka (France) 3-0
• Defeated Leonardus Jansen (Canada) TKO 1
• Defeated Stig Sjölin (Sweden) DQ 3
• Defeated Vasile Tiţă (Romania) KO 1

Patterson's amateur record over 44 fights was 40-4, with 37 knockouts.

Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance.

Early pro career[link]

Patterson turned pro and steadily rose through 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.

Championship[link]

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 the press that Patterson was aiming for the heavyweight title.^[1] 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 the heavyweight rankings, at number five.^[2]

After beating Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson in an elimination fight, Patterson faced former 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 and 10 months. He was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional Heavyweight title.

Ingemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson and becomes boxing heavyweight champion of the world, June 26, 1959.

Patterson vs. Johansson[link]

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 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.

Regains title[link]

Patterson knocked out Johansson in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, to become the then first man to in history to ever regain the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. Johansson hit 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 lay 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 the rubber match in which Patterson was decked twice and Johansson once in the first round. Johansson dropped Patterson twice in round one. 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 6th round, Johansson caught Patterson with a solid right. But the power in Ingemar’s punches was gone. Patterson won the fight in the 6th round by knockout.^[3]

Patterson vs. Liston[link]

After the third Johansson fight, Patterson defended the title on December 4, 1961 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 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, Sonny 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 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.^[4] Patterson also claimed that John F. Kennedy did not want him to fight Liston either.^[5]

Patterson lost his title to Liston on September 25, 1962 in Chicago, 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 didn't 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 the head. The result at the time was the third-fastest knockout in boxing history.^[6] 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 or not 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.^[7]

The rematch was set for April 1963, however, Liston injured his knee swinging a golf club and the fight was delayed to July 22, 1963. 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 the first round. Patterson lasted four seconds longer than in the first bout.

Post title career[link]

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 getting Ring Magazine's 'Fight of the Year' award.

Patterson was now the number one challenger for the title held by Muhammad Ali. On November 22, 1965, in yet another attempt to be the first to win the World Heavyweight title three times, Patterson lost by technical knockout at the end of the 12th round, going into the fight with an injured sacro-iliac joint in a bout in which Ali was clearly dominant.^[8] Ali called Patterson an "Uncle Tom" for refusing to call him Muhammad Ali (Patterson continued to call him Cassius Clay) and for this outspokenness against black muslims.^[9] Instead of scoring a quick knockout, Ali mocked, humiliated and punished Patterson throughout the fight.^[10]

Patterson was still a legitimate contender. In 1966 he traveled to England and knocked out British boxer Henry Cooper in just four rounds at Wembley Stadium. In comparison, Ali never scored a knockdown against Cooper in their two bouts, in the first of which he stooped to cheat to win.

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.

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 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 Sweden, despite breaking Ellis' nose and scoring a disputed knockdown.

Patterson continued on, defeating Oscar Bonavena in a close fight over ten rounds in early 1972.

Finally a rematch with Muhammad Ali for the NABF Heavyweight title on September 20, 1972, convinced Patterson to retire at the age of 37.

Retired life[link]

In retirement, he and Johansson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year and he became chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. He was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.

In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Ingemar Johansson.

Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York for many years and was known as a true gentleman around town.

His adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, was a world champion boxer in the 1990s and was trained by Floyd during part of his career. Floyd also trained Canadian heavyweight Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in 1992 for this fight with Greg Page.^[11]

The New Paltz High School football field was named "Floyd Patterson Field" in 1985.

Death[link]

The grave of Floyd Patterson

Floyd Patterson suffered from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer and had been hospitalized for a week prior to his death. He died at home in New Paltz in 2006 at age 71. He is buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York. Patterson's demise was likely the result of Dementia pugilistica.^[12]

Quotes[link]

• "It's easy to do anything in victory. It's in defeat that a man reveals himself."

• "They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most." (This quote was used in the tenth episode of the 2009 TV series, V.)

• "When you have millions of dollars, you have millions of friends."^[13]

• On boxing: "It's like being in love with a woman. She can be unfaithful, she can be mean, she can be cruel, but it doesn't matter. If you love her, you want her, even though she can do you all kinds of harm. It's the same with me and boxing. It can do me all kinds of harm but I love it."

See also[link]

• List of heavyweight boxing champions

Professional boxing record[link]

55 Wins (40 knockouts, 15 decisions), 8 Losses (5 knockouts, 3 decision), 1 Draw[14]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	55-8-1	Muhammad Ali	TKO	7 (15)	28/09/1972	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	For NABF Heavyweight title.
Win	55-7-1	Pedro Agosto	TKO	6 (10)	14/07/1972	Singer Bowl, Flushing, Queens, New York, United States
Win	54-7-1	Oscar Bonavena	UD	10	11/02/1972	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	53-7-1	Charlie Harris	KO	6 (10)	23/11/1971	Portland, Oregon, United States
Win	52-7-1	Vic Brown	UD	10	21/08/1971	Peace Bridge Arena, Buffalo, New York, United States
Win	51-7-1	Charley Polite	UD	10	17/07/1971	Erie Arena, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	50-7-1	Terry Daniels	UD	10	26/05/1971	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	49-7-1	Roger Russell	TKO	9 (10)	29/03/1971	Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	48-7-1	Levi Forte	KO	2 (10)	16/01/1971	Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	47-7-1	Charley Green	KO	10 (10)	15/09/1970	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Loss	46-7-1	Jimmy Ellis	PTS	15	14/09/1968	Solna Fotbollsstadum, Stockholm, Sweden	For WBA Heavyweight title.
Loss	46-6-1	Jerry Quarry	MD	12	28/10/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Elimination tournament for WBA Heavyweight title.
Draw	46-5-1	Jerry Quarry	MD	12	09/06/1967	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	46–5	Bill McMurray	KO	1 (10)	09/06/1967	Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	45–5	Willie Johnson	KO	3 (10)	13/02/1967	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	44–5	Henry Cooper	KO	4 (10)	20/09/1966	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Loss	43–5	Muhammad Ali	TKO	12 (15)	22/11/1965	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For World Heavyweight title.
Win	43–4	Tod Herring	TKO	3 (10)	14/05/1965	Johanneshov, Stockholm, Sweden
Win	42–4	George Chuvalo	UD	12	01/02/1965	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Fight was named The Ring Magazine Fight of the Year for 1965.
Win	41–4	Charlie Powell	KO	6 (10)	12/12/1964	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win	40–4	Eddie Machen	PTS	12	05/07/1964	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Solna, Sweden
Win	39–4	Santo Amonti	TKO	8 (10)	06/01/1964	Johanneshov, Stockholm, Sweden
Loss	38–4	Sonny Liston	KO	1 (15)	22/07/1963	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For World Heavyweight title.
Loss	38–3	Sonny Liston	KO	1 (15)	25/09/1962	Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States	Lost World Heavyweight title.
Win	38–2	Tom McNeeley	KO	4 (15)	04/12/1961	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	37–2	Ingemar Johansson	KO	6 (15)	13/03/1961	Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	36–2	Ingemar Johansson	KO	5 (15)	20/06/1960	Polo Grounds, New York, New York, United States	Won World Heavyweight title. Fight was named The Ring Magazine Fight of the Year for 1960. Patterson became the first person to regain the World Heavyweight title.
Loss	35–2	Ingemar Johansson	TKO	3 (15)	26/06/1959	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States	Lost World Heavyweight title.
Win	35–1	Brian London	KO	11 (15)	01/05/1959	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	34–1	Roy Harris	RTD	12 (15)	18/08/1958	Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	33–1	Pete Rademacher	KO	6 (15)	22/08/1957	Sick's Stadium, Seattle, Washington, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	32–1	Tommy Jackson	TKO	10 (15)	29/07/1957	Polo Grounds, New York, New York, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	31–1	Archie Moore	KO	5 (15)	30/11/1956	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, United States	Won vacant World Heavyweight title.
Win	30–1	Tommy Jackson	SD	12	08/06/1956	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	World Heavyweight Title Eliminator.
Win	29–1	Alvin Williams	KO	3 (10)	10/04/1956	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win	28–1	Jimmy Walls	TKO	2 (10)	12/03/1956	New Britain, Connecticut, United States
Win	27–1	Jimmy Slade	TKO	7 (10)	08/12/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	26–1	Calvin Brad	KO	1 (10)	13/10/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	25–1	Dave Whitlock	KO	3 (10)	29/09/1955	Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California, United States
Win	24–1	Alvin Williams	TKO	8 (10)	08/09/1955	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Win	23–1	Archie McBride	KO	7 (10)	06/07/1955	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	22–1	Yvon Durelle	RTD	7 (10)	23/06/1955	Newcastle, New Brunswick, Canada
Win	21–1	Esau Ferdinand	TKO	10 (10)	17/03/1955	Auditorium, Oakland, California, United States
Win	20–1	Don Grant	TKO	5 (10)	17/01/1955	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	19–1	Willie Troy	TKO	5 (8)	07/01/1955	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	18–1	Jimmy Slade	UD	8	19/11/1954	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	17–1	Joe Gannon	UD	8	22/10/1954	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	16–1	Esau Ferdinand	UD	8	11/10/1954	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States
Win	15–1	Tommy Harrison	TKO	1 (8)	02/08/1954	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	14–1	Jacques Royer Crecy	TKO	7 (8)	12/07/1954	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States
Loss	13–1	Joey Maxim	UD	8	07/06/1954	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	13–0	Jesse Turner	UD	8	10/05/1954	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	12–0	Alvin Williams	UD	8	19/04/1954	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	11–0	Sammy Brown	TKO	2 (10)	30/03/1954	Turner's Arena, Washington, United States
Win	10–0	Yvon Durelle	UD	8	15/02/1954	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	9–0	Dick Wagner	TKO	5 (8)	14/12/1953	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	8–0	Wes Bascom	UD	8	19/10/1953	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	7–0	Gordon Wallace	TKO	3 (8)	01/06/1953	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	6–0	Dick Wagner	SD	8	13/04/1953	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	5–0	Chester Mieszala	TKO	5 (6)	28/01/1953	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	4–0	Lalu Sabotin	TKO	5 (8)	29/12/1952	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	3–0	Lester Johnson	TKO	3 (6)	31/10/1952	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	2–0	Sammy Walker	TKO	2 (6)	06/10/1952	Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win	1–0	Eddie Godbold	KO	4 (6)	12/09/1952	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States