By Don Colgan
He has become an afterthought in the storied history of the heavyweight division. A streaking comet across the fistic scene nearly a half century ago he crept up on the heavyweight division, capturing the European Crown by halting Franco Cavicchi in 13 rounds. Thereafter he gained gradual prominence, stopping a young Henry Cooper, defeating Americans Archie McBride and Joe Erskine as well as dominating the thin class of European Heavyweights.
By 1958, Ingo was a ranked top ten heavyweight, yet earning little respect as a contender. Patterson was defending against the weakest contenders imaginable, Roy Harris, Pete Rademacher and Brian London. The upper crust of the division, consisting of the emerging Sonny Liston, hard punching Cleveland Williams, crafty Zora Folley and tough Eddie Machen couldn’t get a sniff against Floyd, who managed to find himself on the canvas against Harris and amateur Rademacher.
Machen was positioned to be Floyd’s first major defense. Ranked #1 in 1958, he was a polished and cagy boxer with a reasonable wallop and was widely viewed as a
serious threat to Patterson’s championship. Yet Floyd’s cautious brain trust, with
Cus D’Amato at the helm, wasn’t prepared to give the worthy Machen a title opportunity. Machen needed a test, and a journey to Goteborg, Sweden to meet the
relatively untested Johansson seemed like a safe proposition.
Whether Machen underestimated Ingo was problematical. Johansson and Machen sparred for a moment. Then the Swede, working behind his trademark probing left jab, exploded his “Toonder” against Machen’s chin. The American went down,
staggered to his feet, was dropped twice more until the bout was halted. Johansson had stopped the number one ranked heavyweight in the world in less than one heat, and few took notice, or took Ingo seriously.
Less than a year later Ingo demolished Floyd Patterson in equally spectacular fashion. After seven pulverizing knockdowns in the third round, Patterson was an ex champion and the heavyweight championship of the world resided in Goteborg, Sweden.
Floyd was unprepared, mentally and physically, for Johansson. He trained hard and was in peak form yet his mental approach to the bout was lackadaisical. After one year in exile, Floyd was looked upon as an afterthought in the heavyweight division, easy prey for Ingo in their June 1960 return. Floyd had garnered little respect as champion and his soft defenses and occasional trips to the canvas against second rate opposition only made the Johansson knockout seem like an act of fistic destiny.
Floyd, of course, brutally knocked out Ingemar in their second bout and outlasted the Swede in a thrilling rubber match that featured on of the most exciting first rounds in heavyweight championship history. The crushing left hook to Johansson’s jaw the rendered him unconscious for 15 minutes also rendered him as a diminished contender. He regained the European championship with a knockout over Dick Richardson and lingered among the top six heavyweight in the world until Ingo received a awakening call in the form of a trip hammer right cross delivered by journeyman Brian London during their 1963 contest.
Ingo was knocked as cold as he had been against Floyd. He was in dreamland when the verdict was announced in his favor. London, who “could not beat Johansson’s sister” in Ingo’s own words, had conclusively and permanently ended the Swede’s career.
Boxing historians have long relegated Johansson to the bottom tier of heavyweight champions. Along with Marvin Hart, John Tate and Leon Spinks. A flash in the pan with a glass jaw he appeared on the scene at a fortunate time against a very vulnerable champion. He has garnered little appreciation in the decades since his demise yet it has to be argued that he was, for two years, a dominant and imposing force in the heavyweight division.
No one in their right mind would mention Johansson in the same sentence with Liston. Certainly, had they met, Ingo would have been destroyed in round, two at the most. Yet Johansson knocked out Machen in one round. Liston was extended the full twelve round distance against the clever Machen and never really got to him.
Patterson’s china chin notwithstanding, Ingo’s third round stoppage of Floyd was a very worthy achievement. Patterson had a successful, durable career and achieved notoriety by becoming the first former heavyweight titleholder to recapture the crown. Johansson only lost two bouts and had one of the best winning percentages of any of the heavyweight champions, included Ali.
Johansson was a fine heavyweight and a dominant force in the division when it was populated with the likes of Patterson, Liston, Williams, Foley and Cooper. He was not a noteworthy champion, yet he is worthy of respect for his fine career and outstanding achievements.