Boxing legend Floyd Patterson dies at 71

Floyd Patterson, the former heavyweight-boxing champion of the world, died Thursday at his New York home. He was 71. Patterson, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer, had been hospitalized a week earlier.

Born in Waco, N.C., Patterson became a phenom while competing in the New York Golden Gloves tournament. He later won gold as a middleweight in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1956, the undersized Patterson knocked out legendary boxer Archie Moore and became the youngest world heavyweight champion in history at age 21. Three years later, Patterson was knocked down seven times in the third round and lost the title to Ingemar Johansson at the Polo Grounds in New York City.

In 1960, Patterson came back and knocked Johannson out in the fifth round of their rematch, with what many boxing historians have called the best punch ever in boxing, to become the first man ever to recover the world's undisputed heavyweight title. Ring Magazine called it "The Fight of the Year." A third fight between the two was held in 1961, with Patterson retaining his title by a knockout in the sixth round. Patterson would go on to lose his next title defense against Sonny Liston, an embarrassing first-round knockout. A rematch in 1963 would be no different, with Liston again knocking out Patterson in the opening minutes.

Patterson continued to have a good career, beating Oscar Bonavena and George Chuvalo, two extremely tough contenders. Patterson would lose to Muhammad Ali by 12th round knockout in 1965. But Patterson came back again, this time losing controversial decisions to Jerry Quarry and WBA champ Jimmy Ellis. Patterson's last fight was a 7th round knockout loss to Ali on September 20, 1972.

In retirement, Patterson became chairman of the New York state Athletic commission while living in New Paltz, New York.

Patterson always prided himself by saying "I got knocked down more than any champion and I got up more than every champion." Patterson had a great career and was considered the fastest heavyweight ever until Muhammad Ali burst onto the scene. He had a record of 55-8-1, with 40 wins by knockout.

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Floyd Patterson
1935-2006