Where do you guys rank Ingemar Johansson in a head to head sense? Which champions would you have him beating, which would you have him losing to, etc.
One of those guys who I feel as if left at the right time but wish we could have gotten a Liston v Ingo fight before he even fought Patterson or Ingo V Williams. He was another one of those guys who won the title then def stopped caring after. Like so many champs before and after him.
No doubt. Funnily enough, Ingo went on to become friends with Liston after he stopped taking boxing seriously, pretty sure he promoted some of Liston's post Ali fights if I recall.
Huge right hand power. Knocked out the 6’5 Ten Hoff in 1 round. The defensive minded Machen in 1 round and dropped Floyd all over the ring. His right hand Hammer of Thor was real. The rest of his ability was quite average for a champion. Still cleaned out most of the British scene in his era. Retired before facing Liston and likely losing, and before picking up any past prime losses to younger contenders.
Beating Ten Hoff was no special feat,he lost to all the best men he fought .I read Walcott eased up on him during their fight, but I haven't seen it.
Yeah beating Ten Hoff wasn’t special but knocking him out in one round does showcase Ingo’s power. He was 6’5 220 and only stopped 3x. I read on the Wikipedia page for the bout with Walcott that Hoff and Jersey fought outdoors in a heavy downpour- Walcott was quoted as saying it made it tough to plant his feet and throw knockout punches. For me the issue with Ingo is that he doesn’t look excellent on film and his career was too short. Not enough wins. He looks a bit clumsy at times and his jab looks weak. However his resume is solid. He cleaned out the British scene, he beat probably the best 2 German contenders of his day Neuhaus and Hoff. And finally he destroyed the American number 1 contender in one round and the American champion in 3. He also beat every man he ever faced. I think what hurts him is the shadow of Liston, while Ingo accomplished what he did on the European circuit - shortly after the larger more complete boxer Liston cleaned out the American scene which had more names and depth. That and of course losing the 3rd fight to Patterson giving him a very short title reign. I rewatched that fight a month or so ago and I did think Ingo was close to winning. I wonder had he won and then fought Liston - even if he lost but gave a decent showcase how well he would be remembered.
I personally think that he's only got shots against certain lower ranked titlists that would be prone to getting crushed by his power; Damiani, Berbick, Bentt, Hide, Carnera, Seldon. 50/50 shot against most alphabet champions of the 80s and 90s, Norton, Weaver, or Morrison might be the best fighters that he has any sort of chance with.
