Ingemar Johansson

Stockholm, Sweden - Ingemar Johansson, the Swede who stunned the boxing world by knocking out Floyd Patterson to win the heavyweight title in 1959, has died. He was 76. Johansson died at a nursing home in Kungsbacka on the Swedish west coast, longtime friend Stig Caldeborn said. He said he didn't know the cause of death but Johansson had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia. Johansson, who died Friday, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia more than 10 years ago when he lived in Stockholm. He spent the rest of his life in Kungsbacka. Known as "Ingo" to Swedes, Johansson knocked out Patterson in the third round at Yankee Stadium on June 26, 1959, to win the heavyweight title. He floored the American seven times before referee Ruby Goldstein stopped the fight 2:03 into the round. Back home, hundreds of thousands of Swedes listened to the live radio broadcast at 3 a.m. as Johansson became only the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. Patterson avenged the upset loss a year later in the rematch in New York, knocking Johansson out in the fifth round. In March 1961, the Swede floored Patterson twice in Miami before being knocked out in the sixth round of the rubber match. Johansson had four more fights - all wins, one of them a knockout of England's Dick Richardson for the European title in 1962 - before retiring the following year. He finished his career with a 26-2 record, including 17 knockouts.