born Jan. 4, 1935, Waco, N.C., U.S.
U.S. boxer.
Patterson grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a middleweight amateur fighter, he won the N.Y. Golden Gloves championship in 1951 and '52 and won an Olympic gold medal in 1952. As a professional, he moved up to heavyweight and in 1956 succeeded Rocky Marciano as world heavyweight champion by knocking out Archie Moore . He lost the title to Ingemar Johansson in 1959, regained it in 1960 (becoming the first to hold the heavyweight championship twice), and lost it again in 1962 to Sonny Liston.