Swede Emotions

Ingemar Johansson, until Buster Douglas the worst heavyweight champion of all time, has died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at 76. The Big Swede’s first big-stage appearance was the gold medal bout of the 1952 Olympics, where he was disqualified for lack of effort. He claimed his strategy was to tire his opponent for a third-round assault, and the pansies in the Olympic Committee gave him the silver medal in 1982. He then embarked on a professional career and punched his way to a title shot in 1959, which he trained for at the Catskills resort Grossingers, rather than the usual Spartan conditions. After several lackluster rounds, he caught Floyd Patterson with a lucky punch, and won the title. He preferred the high-life to workouts, and his pre-fight regimen consisted of rich food, loose women and late nights, and he got his clock cleaned in his rematches with Patterson in 1960 and 1961.