Today in Boxing History: Floyd Patterson KOs Archie Moore

On this day in 1956, Floyd Patterson won the heavyweight title with a fifth-round knockout of Archie Moore in Chicago. It made Patterson, who was just five weeks shy of his 22nd birthday, the youngest heavyweight champion in history.

Moore, the light heavyweight champ, had challenged Rocky Marciano for his heavyweight belt in September of 1955. Although Moore dropped the champ in round two, Marciano came off the canvas to score a ninth-round knockout.

Shortly after that bout, Marciano retired, thus vacating the title. The two fighters left standing after the elimination bouts were Patterson and Moore.

Going into the bout, Moore was the favorite. However, the boxing aficionados who predicted a Moore victory had underestimated Patterson’s hand speed. In the fifth, Patterson floored Moore with a left hook, and then dropped him again with a combination. Referee Frank Sikora counted Moore out at 2:27 in the fifth round.

Moore continued to defend his light heavyweight title, holding the belt until 1961. Patterson lost his title to Ingemar Johansson in 1959, and then became the first two-time heavyweight champion in history when he regained the belt from Johansson in 1960.

Patterson’s record as boxing’s youngest heavyweight champion stood until 1986, when a 20-year-old Mike Tyson won the WBC Heavyweight title with a knockout of Trevor Berbick.