Background and career
Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He has been named among the top 15 heavyweights of all time. In 1956 and 1960, Patterson was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1995, Patterson was honored with the Barney Nagler Award by the BWAA in recognition of his long and meritorious service.
Born January 4, 1935, into a poor family in Waco, North Carolina, Patterson was one of eleven children. In 1936, his family moved to the New York City borough of Brooklyn, 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 were eleven children to feed. Patterson felt helpless that he could not help his mother and father more. He felt stupid and powerless. Starting at 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 was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in Esopus, New York, 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 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 a professional heavyweight boxer. He has lived in Gothenburg, Sweden, since 1965 and has worked as a truck driver at Volvo Lastvagnar after his boxing career.
Round of 16: Defeated Omar Tebakka (France) on points, 3–0 Quarterfinal: Defeated Leonardus Jansen (Netherlands) by a first-round stoppage Semifinal: Defeated Stig Sjölin (Sweden) by disqualification in the third round Defeated Vasile Tiță (Romania) by a first-round knockout Patterson's amateur record was 40 wins (37 by knockout) and 4 defeats. He 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 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 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 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 the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional heavyweight title.
