Remembering Inggo

[Quick Cash]

I admit to being no expert myself so I'll start the questions going, I guess. I did a quick scan of the first few pages of the Classics Forum and could find nothing of oft-forgotten heavyweight king Ingemar Johansson. Only a handful of threads, in fact, exist in the whole forum, upon a cursory use of the search function, most of them pitting him against other old-time fighters similarly indistinguishable to the modern fan. I think it is due time we opened a discussion on this subject.

How many of his fights were filmed in their entirety? I've only seen four of them.

[heerko koois]

Why would you want to watch that bum when there are tons of perfectly good larry homles fights available.


he was not a bum ......:verysad

[ChrisPontius]

Johansson was a special fighter with a very short prime.

The fact that he blasted a very cagy, durable Eddie Machen out of there in one round whereas Sonny Liston couldn't even hurt him in 12 rounds is very impressive, no matter how you look at it. He'd clean the European picture, then destroyed a top contender and then destroyed the champion, Patterson.

He came close to winning the third match, but didn't. He was somewhat limited, but that right hand was dangerous as hell. I also read he liked partying a bit too much, which explains his short peak.

[Mendoza]

How many of his fights were filmed in their entirety? I've only seen four of them.

You can see Ingo vs Patterson, Hoff, and Machen in full fights. I think Ingo's match with Erskine is out there. Also his match with London where Ingo wins flat on his back and saved by the bell in the final round.
Ingo also has a sparring session filmed with Ali. I always wanted to see his match with Henry Cooper.

[joe33]

Why would you want to watch that bum when there are tons of perfectly good larry homles fights available.


Are you hugging holmes jockstrap then or something?,maybe you dont understand these forums,but this aint about holmes,if you think inggo was a bum,that explains to me all i need to know about your you and what you know about boxing.

[Woller]

Mendoza you are talking nonsence!!!
Ingo was knock down by London, raised during the count, and then the bell rang. He was not winning flat on his back.(i got it on tape).
The Cooper fight was actually filmed, but the cameraman got so bored that he turned his camera to some celebrities at ringside, and missed the knock out blow!!! (I have a short clip of that too.)
Woller

[Quick Cash]

You can see Ingo vs Patterson, Hoff, and Machen in full fights. I think Ingo's match with Erskine is out there. Also his match with London where Ingo wins flat on his back and saved by the bell in the final round.
Ingo also has a sparring session filmed with Ali. I always wanted to see his match with Henry Cooper.

Thanks for the informative response. I watched his match with Hoff only a few minutes ago. I did not even know that one existed.

What about his fights with Erskine, London, and Cooper? Were those filmed as well?

[Quick Cash]

Mendoza you are talking nonsence!!!
Ingo was knock down by London, raised during the count, and then the bell rang. He was not winning flat on his back.(i got it on tape).
The Cooper fight was actually filmed, but the cameraman got so bored that he turned his camera to some celebrities at ringside, and missed the knock out blow!!! (I have a short clip of that too.)
Woller

It has been said that he got up at the referee's count of four, but I've never seen the fight myself.

[Mendoza]

Mendoza you are talking nonsence!!!
Ingo was knock down by London, raised during the count, and then the bell rang. He was not winning flat on his back.(i got it on tape).
The Cooper fight was actually filmed, but the cameraman got so bored that he turned his camera to some celebrities at ringside, and missed the knock out blow!!! (I have a short clip of that too.)
Woller

Woller,

This is possible. Perhaps the clip I have seen did not show Ingo getting up. Sometimes people or TV networks edit things out of fights. Thanks for clearing this up for me.

[scartissue]

I believe this is one of the great urban myths that have permeated boxing through the ages, that Johannson was flat on his back unconscious and awarded the decision because of the final bell. A bit of research on this uncovers that Johannson did rise during the count and the remainder of the count (possibly the mandatory 8) was cut short by the final bell. However, info states that "Johannson staggered to his feet, his eyes glassy and arms dangling at his side." What fuels this myth is that headlines abounded "Ingo gets saved by the bell" and the fact that the sole arbiter, Referee Andrew Smythe stated that he probably would have stopped the fight and awarded it to Brian London if the bell hadn't rung. So one can see how this came about.

Scartissue

[Longhhorn71]

Ingo used another version of the "Hammer of Thor" on his traveling companion Swedish girlfriend Birgit during training for the 2nd Patterson fight and was never the same thereafter.

[OLD FOGEY]

You can see Ingo vs Patterson, Hoff, and Machen in full fights. I think Ingo's match with Erskine is out there. Also his match with London where Ingo wins flat on his back and saved by the bell in the final round.
Ingo also has a sparring session filmed with Ali. I always wanted to see his match with Henry Cooper.

I have seen the Erskine fight. It is definitely out there.

[Marciano Frazier]

Also his match with London where Ingo wins flat on his back and saved by the bell in the final round.

WRONG. Johansson was knocked on the seat of his pants and was up at 4 as the bell rang. Him being flat on his back and saved by the bell is a pervasive myth.

[Woller]

I also got Ingemar vs Bygraves 2nd, Franco Cavicchi, Dick Richardson and Joe Erskine, but only highlight editions.
Woller

[Luigi1985]

I also got Ingemar vs Bygraves 2nd, Franco Cavicchi, Dick Richardson and Joe Erskine, but only highlight editions.
Woller


Interesting. I didn´t know someone who has the Cavicchi and the Richardson- fights... Who was the Cavicchi- fight for example?

[Senya13]

There's 10 min hilites of Uber Bacilieri fight too.

[Luigi1985]

There's 10 min hilites of Uber Bacilieri fight too.


Yeah, I know, I saw it at a Swedish homepage (thx to Dr Z), but I lost the name of the site now. How did Ingo look in this bout against Uber in your opinion?

[Senya13]

That's the one bout where his "jab" looked most silly, that chopping push punch. There's nothing much else to say about the bout (it was edited very strangely too, the way they combined different parts of the film, sometimes it repeating or interrupted by other views, then continueing, just strange), nothing impressive about either fighter.

[fists of fury]

Had he trained seriously for the Patterson rematch, there may have been no need for a rubber match.
Instead he moved his girlfriend into what passed as a training camp, and apparently did hardly any exercises not involving his girlfriend.

[Woller]

About 30 years ago in the pre video days, you could buy fights on Super 8 Film from "Ring Classics". A special reel was made for the swedish marked containing in all about 9 minutes of Johannson v. Machen, Richardson and Cavicchi. I don´t how many copies that were made, but I got one and had it later converted to video (and later to dvd). Cavicchi is actually knocked out with a right to the body.
If anyone is interested I have about 75 10-minute reels of boxing laying around.

Woller

[red cobra]

Even though Ingo was one of the most limited of the heavyweight champions, and definitely not in the top ten, he deserves great respect and consideration for the use of the only thing he really ever had, and that was that lethal right hand bomb of his, the "Hammer of Thor". He was expert in the effective use of that punch, and he was one of the most purely destructive of all champions with it, at least for a while. He lulled Patterson to sleep for 2 -1/2 rounds before he sprang the trap, and kind of hypnotized Floyd along the way. Machen, he poleaxed in the first round, and then destroyed him two knockdowns later. He provides pleasure for a purist with his brutal knockouts produced with that hammer of his, nevermind his shortcomings in other areas. There is an art form in the effective delivery of a knockout punch, and that's what Ingo should be appreciated for.

[red cobra]

That's the one bout where his "jab" looked most silly, that chopping push punch. There's nothing much else to say about the bout (it was edited very strangely too, the way they combined different parts of the film, sometimes it repeating or interrupted by other views, then continueing, just strange), nothing impressive about either fighter.
You fail to appreciate that the purpose of his jab, as innocuous as it was, was to lull the opponent to sleep and make him forget about the right. It worked and was very effective against Patterson, and others among his ko victims. He wasn't an Ali, Louis, Dempsey, or a Marciano, in terms of all around skills, but if you can appreciate a fighter who does basically one thing well. like for instance, Earnie Shavers, then you can take in consideration an Ingemar Johannson, who. if he wasn't much good at anything else, he was great at lulling an opponent to sleep with a range finding jab, and then blasting them with a very effective, brutal straight right hand. Give him that much at least.

[MrMagic]

Ingo was definitely not a bum.
He had a short reign, but he also showed promising talent and power.
The television showed an old documentary of Ingemar and his wife, kids etc.. he seemed to have lost his hunger after the first Patterson fight and underrated Patterson big time in their first rematch.
I'm not trying to discredit Patterson, his entourage or anything like that, but Johansson's wife said that Ingemar was served special food at a resturant the day before the fight, now if this is the truth or if she's lying doesn't really matter to me. Ingemar was used by the bitches in his life, ever since the Machen fight he was used and abused by the biatches... sad truth.

[Senya13]

You fail to appreciate that the purpose of his jab, as innocuous as it was, was to lull the opponent to sleep and make him forget about the right. It worked and was very effective against Patterson, and others among his ko victims. He wasn't an Ali, Louis, Dempsey, or a Marciano, in terms of all around skills, but if you can appreciate a fighter who does basically one thing well. like for instance, Earnie Shavers, then you can take in consideration an Ingemar Johannson, who. if he wasn't much good at anything else, he was great at lulling an opponent to sleep with a range finding jab, and then blasting them with a very effective, brutal straight right hand. Give him that much at least.
It was not a range finding jab in the fight I was speaking about. It could hardly even be called a jab for that matter. I have certainly never seen anyone else throw jab that was as silly and awkward as that, and I've seen a lot of fights. I know Jack Slack was famous for using such punch, and reportedly Jack Broughton found some use for it after Slack defeated him, but that's the only example of such punch I know of. It made little sense in the bareknuckle epoch, and it makes no sense at all in the gloved epoch.

[ron u.k.]

i remember seeing a picture in british boxing news of ingo lying flat on his back in the london fight.of course he may well have risen but it seems it wasn't a case of him simply being put on the seat of his pants.