If he had lived to a ripe elderly age, Floyd Patterson would have celebrated his 89th birthday today. Patterson is an incredibly fascinating character, a man who, although a great fighter, was shy and unsure of himself, had an incredible career in the ring. Born in Waco on this day in 1935, Patterson, although he rarely, if ever, weighed more than 180 pounds – a trifle for a heavyweight, of course, and an unimaginably low pound for a heavyweight today – fought so many heavyweight giants .

Muhammad Ali (twice), Sonny Liston (twice), Jerry Quarry (twice), Ingemar Johansson (three times) and another natural 175-pounder, Archie Moore. Patterson took part in memorable fights with the above fighters and more. After winning Olympic gold in the middleweight division in 1952, Patterson, who had been an amateur boxer for just three years before winning gold, turned professional. Just 16 years elderly and spotted by Cus D’Amato, Patterson went 13-0 before losing a decision to former featherlight heavyweight champion Joey Maxim.

Because D’Amato’s plan was for Floyd to win the world heavyweight title despite his height at featherlight heavyweight, Patterson earned his chance by defeating Tommy Jackson by split decision after 12 rounds in June 1956. The great Rocky Marciano retired and Patterson was left fighting former 175-pound king Archie Moore for the vacant crown. After five one-sided sessions at Chicago Stadium, Patterson made history by becoming, at the age of 21, the youngest heavyweight champion in history.

Patterson, who was incredibly quick and extremely agile and also packed a real punch, made another boxing history.

After four title defenses (including one against newcomer Pete Rademacher), Patterson suffered a huge upset at the hands of Johannson of Sweden. During the tiny, extremely violent fight, Patterson fell approximately seven times, and in the third, Patterson was knocked out. And he was so devastated that he went into hiding. The rematch came a full year later, and Patterson, who lived like a monk and trained like a Trojan, was determined to make up for the loss after “letting people down” in the first fight.

Patterson scored a KO in the fifth round, and his “Gazelle Punch” knocked Ingo down in brutal fashion. As the first man to regain the world heavyweight title, Patterson said it was the proudest moment of his career. During a rubber match in March 1961, Patterson was injured before stopping Johannson in the sixth round.

Then, after a stoppage against Tom McNeeley, Patterson could no longer get past No. 1 contender Sonny Liston. Against D’Amato’s advice, Patterson signed on to defend against the terrifying, intimidating Liston, and just like that, Patterson was blown out in the middle of the round. Patterson must have known he had almost no chance of avenging his defeat, but he fought Liston again, only to be stopped again in the first round.

It could have been the end, but Patterson, who truly loved fighting and the ring was the place where he expressed himself best, kept boxing. For almost ten years.

Patterson never managed to become the first three-time heavyweight king, but he certainly gave it his all in trying. Patterson defeated George Chuvalo in great action in February 1965 before challenging Ali in November of that year. Patterson entered the ring with a back injury and was an ass to the up-to-date ruler, a man who was even faster than him. Patterson was horribly beaten, was stopped in the 12th round, and the “cruel” Ali was later heavily criticized for being a bully (one writer wrote how watching Ali play the game but have the advantage over Patterson was like “watching a boy “pulling the butterfly’s wings by the hand.”)

Patterson, who took a disguise with him to his rematch with Liston and often hid from the public eye if he lost a fight, was famously rejected by Frank Sinatra after punching Ali; Sinatra picked Floyd to win, and Patterson later tried to apologize to Sinatra as he sat in his Vegas apartment.

But Patterson wasn’t done yet. A KO victory over British hero Henry Cooper came in Floyd’s next fight before he had two tough, close fights with Quarry. Patterson drew in the first fight and lost the second by majority decision. Then, with two heavyweight titles up for grabs as a result of Ali’s stripping for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, Patterson came so close to becoming WBA champion that he instead dropped a controversial 15-round decision to Jimmy Ellis.

A good win over Oscar Bonavena came in February 1972 before Patterson fought a non-title rematch with Ali. Despite being stopped five rounds faster this time, Patterson performed better. Still, Ali was just too good for Floyd. And that’s it for Patterson, even though he never officially announced his retirement.

After hanging up the gloves, Patterson led his adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, to a world title in the 1990s, and Floyd became chairman of the Fresh York State Athletic Commission, with whom he served two terms. Unfortunately, in 1998, out of nowhere, Patterson’s short-term memory failed him and he suddenly and terrifyingly was unable to remember the names of people he had known for years.

Patterson resigned from his position and was subsequently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and later prostate cancer. The first two-time world heavyweight champion, who brought so much mental baggage to the ring, died in May 2006 at the age of 71.

To this day, Floyd Patterson holds a special place in the hearts of many fight fans.

Floyd was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Final ring record: 55-8-1(40). World Heavyweight Champion from November 1956 to June 1959 and again from June 1960 to September 1962.