Ingemar Johansson

On June 26, 1959, Sweden’s Ingemar Johansson, who died on Jan. 30 at age 76, stunned the boxing world by knocking out heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. Patterson’s four title defenses before he met Johansson had been against fighters who, at best, weren’t even household names in their own households. And Johansson, a European heavyweight champion, was believed to be but another in that line, even though he had a 21-0 record with 13 knockouts.

But Johansson, thought to have so little chance that he was a 4-1 underdog, unsheathed his vaunted right hand–which he called his “toonder and lightning”–in the third round, driving Patterson to the floor. Six more times he made Patterson one with the canvas, becoming the first non-American in 25 years to hold the heavyweight championship.

Over the next two years, they stepped into the ring twice more, with Patterson winning both times by KO. For his part, Johansson would go on to have–and win–five more fights, regaining the European heavyweight championship before retiring in 1963 with a record of 26-2.

Sugar, a premier boxing writer, has penned more than 60 books and is an HBO Boxing analyst