Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1956 to 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. In 1956 and 1960, Patterson was voted Fighter of the Year by "The Ring" magazine and the Boxing Writers Association
World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (original version) the sixth longest reigning world heavyweight champion in history behind Bruno Sammartino, Jim Londos, Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne (who all held their world titles for over seven years) and Bob Backlund (who held his for nearly six years). Joe Stecher defeated American Heavyweight Champion Charlie Cutler to become the first widely recognized world heavyweight champion after the retirement of Frank Gotch. On April 15, 1925, Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated previous champion Wayne Munn to win the championship. However, Munn continued to be recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion in Michigan and in Illinois. Ed Lewis defeated Wayne Munn on February 2,