Review by Doug Gibson
It’s probably a safe bet that if you’re not a pretty strong boxing fan, the name Ingemar Johansson will escape you. He’s mostly forgotten today, but nearly 60 years ago he was more than a sports star. He was a cultural icon. A husky, 200-pound Swede who swooped into staid America for a couple of years with an estranged wife in Sweden and a girlfriend, Birgit Lundgren, on his arm … and in his bedroom suite.
And, of course, he had a strong right cross punch, one he used to KO Floyd Patterson in the third round and briefly hold the world heavyweight boxing championship. Ingemar was extremely likeable, and America warmed to him. He was on TV often, on “What’s My Line,” Jackie Gleason’s show, and more; he even had substantial roles in a couple of motion pictures.
As author Ken Brooks reminds readers in “Ingemar Johansson: Swedish Heavyweight Boxing Champion” (McFarland), 1959, the year Ingemar KOd Patterson, was an era where a heavyweight boxing championship fight was the biggest event in sports. It was global, bigger than an NFL championship. There was an electricity of excitement that moved through crowds, radio broadcasts, closed-circuit telecasts, newsrooms and wire services. As Brooks notes, for older sports fans, the night Ingemar won his title was the first time Howard Cosell was a broadcaster for a fight. Forget Ingemar for a moment; who remembers Cosell?
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