Ingemar Johansson
Ingo of Gothenburg, first Swedish world heavyweight champion in 1959
Overview
Johansson won European fame by refusing to fight in the 1952 Olympic final, then built a knockout run in the pros. In June 1959 he floored Floyd Patterson repeatedly in round three at Yankee Stadium to become world champion, a national hero in Sweden with his right hand nicknamed Ingo Bingo. He lost two of three to Patterson in one of boxing great trilogies.
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