Where can we rate Ingemar Johansson?

Top 25-30. About 5-10 lower than Patterson

 

I feel he has a very thin resume at top level.

 

Hard guy to rank because of his short career. Very good wins against Henry Cooper, Joe Erskin, Eddie Machen and Floyd Patterson. He showed his vulnerability though by being KO'd twice by Floyd Patterson in the rematches. What I get from watching him was he was a very good basic 1-2 fighter. He had good timing and a beautiful straight right which he could take good fighters out with. Would've liked to see him face Liston. Reminds me a little bit of Gerrie Coetzee I'd even rank Johansson a little higher.

 

He was excellent at European level and so briefly at world. If Floyd had managed to get to the end of the third round, and he had amazing recuperative power and maybe come back to ko ingo, he would be on the same field as Henry Cooper. He was in ways similar to Leon, mccall and rahman. A brief moment after a shock defeat of a champ before heading back to the lower level.

 

Not fair Fergy. Leon,McCall,Rahman aren't in the same category. His Machen blowout was supurb! Have you seen the fight? He let fly with skills that surpassed Patterson 1! His wicked combo in the corner (with his rarely used left, outside of his great jab) that sent Eddie into a puddle was brutal. The ref should have stopped it LONG before that final onslaught began!

 

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McCall and Rahman are above him.

McCall bear Damiani, Lewis, Old Holmes, Akinwande and a few others.
Rahman beat Lewis, Meehan, and Sanders and drew with Tua and Toney.

Johnson deserves to be below them but above Leon.

 

No disrespect to the guy intended mate. When I mentioned spinks rahman and mccall, it was more in the sense that he came along and had a shock win over a pretty decent champ. But wasn't calling the guy. He did have some good wins on his resume and had a cracking punch.

 

Boxing in Sweeden was banned until recently. Ingo is a nice story, but he just doesn't measure up in resume or ability to the best in history. Good right hand, under rated foot speed in his youth.

If you're a fan of his, do not watch him sparring with Ali.

 

I'd rate him between 40 and 50...I rate him above Leon Spinks, Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman. Ingo had superlative years in '58 and '59...he was spectacular vs Machen and in that first fight with Patterson...he had a really beautiful straight right, with a very effective delivery system. That right hand would be an ever present threat to just about any heavy he would fight.

 

Johansen is basically a fighter with two very good wins, who otherwise has a very thin resume.

With no disrespect to him, he probably had one of the more limited skillsets of all the lineal champions.

On the other hand, his right might have been the best in the history of the sport.

This all makes placing him a bit tricky.

A couple more key fights would have given us a clearer picture.

 

I agree essentially. Regarding Ingo's bingo...it was perhaps less powerful than Baer's, more powerful than Schmeling's, and at least as strategically delivered as the German's....though I don't rate Ingo as good overall as Schmeling.

 

Good description of the bingo there!