Patterson Couldn’t Survive Toonder-Storm

Even 40 years ago, knowledgeable fight fans knew how to snicker and sneer when a promoter claimed he had found just the challenger who could knock off a champion.

And when a Swede, Ingemar Johansson, was served up to heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, the snickering became outright laughter.

When it was further pointed out the Swede had a “Toonderbolt” right hand, the laughter became hysterical.

Stop it, many said. Hey, isn’t this the same Ingemar Johansson who in the gold-medal bout in the 1952 Olympics spent two rounds running backward when matched with American Ed Sanders, finally being disqualified for refusing to fight?

So please, stop with the “Toonderbolt.”

At the time, the 24-year-old Patterson hadn’t been shown to have a fragile chin. The speed of his combinations surpassed anything seen in previous champions. Forty years ago tonight, Floyd Patterson, it seemed, would be champion for a long time.

Early in the third round, “Ingo” put Patterson on his back with a right. He arose, barely beating the count, then took a hands-down walk to his corner, when Johansson, a 5-1 underdog, dropped him again.

The champion was down seven times in the round before it was stopped and boxing had its first non-American heavyweight king since Primo Carnera (1933-34).

Johansson’s blows didn’t separate Patterson from his sense of humor, however.

Afterward, Patterson was asked if he’d ever been hit that hard before.

“Evidently not,” he said.