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Ingmar Johansson

Ingemar Johansson
IngemarJohansson 2.jpg
Statistics
Nickname(s)
  • Ingo
  • The Hammer of Thor
Rated at Heavyweight
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Reach 183 cm (72 in)
Nationality Swedish
Born (1932-09-22)22 September 1932
Gothenburg, Sweden
Died 30 January 2009(2009-01-30) (aged 76)
Kungsbacka, Sweden
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 28
Wins 26
Wins by KO 17
Losses 2

Jens Ingemar Johansson (Swedish: [ˈɪŋːɛmar ²juːhansˌsɔn]; 22 September 1932 – 30 January 2009) was a Swedish professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960, and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. Johansson won the title after defeating Floyd Patterson by third-round stoppage, after flooring him seven times in that round. For this achievement, Johansson was awarded the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year—the only non-American to do so in the belt's entire 27-year existence—and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

Johansson also held the European heavyweight title twice, from 1956 to 1958 and from 1962 to 1963. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He affectionately named 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 No. 99 on The Ring magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time. He reputedly had recurring bone trouble in his right hand throughout his career as a result.

Johansson's introduction to the top rank of the sport was inauspicious. At age eighteen he was disqualified for passivity at the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics in the heavyweight competition in a fight against eventual Olympic gold medalist Ed Sanders. Johansson maintained he was not evading Sanders (who also got a warning for passivity), but rather was trying to tire his opponent. Johansson said he had been limited to a 10-day training camp, had only trained with newcomers, and had been told by his coach to let Sanders be the aggressor. Nevertheless, his silver medal was withheld for poor performance and only presented to him in 1982.


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