Word: patterson
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Patterson's strategy was built around two facts spotted in the first fight: offensively, Johansson needed to get set to throw his paralyzing right hand; defensively, he moved back quickly from an attack. To keep Johansson from getting set, Patterson planned to press him constantly, throwing a stinging left jab from his new stance. Warned Florio: "Leave Johansson alone in the center of the ring, and he'll knock your head off." In close, Patterson hoped to lower Johansson's guard with flurries of body punches, then use left hooks to catch up with the retreating champion...
...Changing Look. At the Polo Grounds, the months of training and planning paid off spectacularly. As seen through Patterson's eyes, the look on Johansson's face told the story. At the bell, Johansson's expression was contemptuously confident. Then, as an entirely new Patterson hammered home his left jab, moved aggressively inside with rapid-fire bursts of punches, Johansson took on the quiet half-smile of a man presented with the task of solving an unexpected puzzle...
...while, Johansson was carrying his right as though, in Patterson's phrase, it was "a diamond." In the second round, catching Patterson's head with the feared right, Johansson peered anxiously to see the effect. Feigning injury, Patterson went into retreat with the hope of luring Johansson into reckless attack. Cautious, Johansson did not follow...
...pace never slackened, and the crowd's voice changed from rumble to roar. By the fifth round, Johansson's face was tight with apprehension. Slowly, his guard came down to protect a reddening body. As planned, Johansson was retreating from an attack when Patterson caught him with a rising left hook that landed flush on the side of the jaw. Johansson rolled flat on his back, then got to his knees while Patterson leaned on the ropes and flashed one of the rare, broad smiles of his career. Wobbling up at the count of nine, Johansson was ready...
...fight earned Patterson an estimated $765,000 against $635,000 for Johansson. It also won him an eminence he had never held before, and no one knew it better than Floyd Patterson. Said he: "Now I am the champion...