Swede Was First Scandinavian World Heavyweight Champ

Ingemar Johansson, 76, the onetime heavyweight champion of the world, who fought Floyd Patterson in three of the most thrilling fights in boxing history, died Jan. 30 at a nursing home in Kungsbacka, Sweden. He had Alzheimer's disease.

Mr. Johansson, a native of Sweden, was the lightly regarded European champion when he came to New York in 1959 to face Patterson for the heavyweight championship at Yankee Stadium. The fight was delayed several times as Mr. Johansson refused to sign a contract that would divert a sizable percentage of his earnings to unnamed figures outside the sport. He denounced the practice, as investigations revealed that mobsters were the secret beneficiaries of the deal.

"I will not have anything to do with gangsters," he declared.

He irritated boxing purists by his casual approach to training and was frequently seen at nightclubs with attractive women. But he had a deadly right cross, which he called "Toonder and Lightning," and in 1958 scored a first-round knockout over the No. 1 heavyweight challenger, Eddie Machen.

When the championship fight finally took place June 26, 1959, Mr. Johansson, at 196 pounds, was a 4 to 1 underdog to the 182-pound Patterson. After two lackluster rounds, Mr. Johansson found an opening in the third and unleashed his powerful right hand, which sportswriters dubbed the "Hammer of Thor."

The punch caught Patterson on the chin and dropped him to the canvas. Patterson scrambled to his feet, but Mr. Johansson launched a relentless attack, knocking his opponent down six more times in the third round.

As Patterson struggled to his feet for the seventh time, referee Ruby Goldstein mercifully signaled an end to the fight. Mr. Johansson was the first European heavyweight champion in 25 years and became the first Scandinavian ever to hold the title.

"By any standard," a Time magazine reporter wrote, "Johansson's right had is the biggest thing to hit boxing in years."

The handsome Swede was named athlete of the year by the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated and proved to be a fan favorite. He acted in several films, including "All the Young Men," a 1960 Korean War movie starring Sidney Poitier and Alan Ladd, sang with Dinah Shore on television and made a hit record in Sweden.

When he and Patterson met in a rematch at New York's Polo Grounds June 20, 1960, he was thoroughly outclassed. Patterson knocked him down early in the fifth round, then connected with an unusual but effective leaping left hook that landed on Mr. Johansson's jaw.

Unconscious before he hit the canvas, Mr. Johansson lay flat on his back, his left foot twitching, as blood dripped from his mouth. It took him five minutes to regain consciousness, as Patterson came to his aid. Patterson became the first heavyweight to win the title a second time.

On March 13, 1961, the two boxers battled again in Miami Beach, Fla. During training, Mr. Johansson had sparred with the 19-year-old Cassius Clay, before he was known as Muhammad Ali. The younger fighter taunted the ex-champion in the ring, saying he deserved a shot at the title more than Mr. Johansson did.