Floyd Patterson: 1952 Helsinki Olympics
Patterson qualified for the 1952 Olympics as a middleweight after stopping Gordon Gladson of Camas, Washington during US amateur qualifying bouts. At the Helsinki Games, Patterson defeated opponents from France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Romania to win the gold medal.
He entered the professional ranks as a National AAU Champion with an amateur record often cited at 40–4, including 37 knockouts. In 1956, Patterson knocked out Archie Moore to win the vacant heavyweight championship following Rocky Marciano’s retirement. He later lost and regained the title against Sweden’s Ingemar Johansson, finishing his professional career with a 55-8-1 record and 40 stoppages.
Joe Frazier: Tokyo Olympics 1964
Frazier was a National AAU champion and reached the Olympic trials, where he scored two knockouts before losing to Buster Mathis. When Mathis suffered a broken thumb, Frazier was selected to represent the United States at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
During the Olympic tournament, Frazier broke his left thumb in the semifinals, but continued to compete. He defeated Hans Huber of Germany in the final to win the heavyweight gold medal. His amateur record is generally listed at around 38–4.
As a professional, Frazier won the vacant WBC heavyweight title in 1970 by stopping Jimmy Ellis. He later lost twice to George Foreman and fought Muhammad Ali four times. Frazier finished his career with a record of 32-4-1 and 27 knockouts.
Muhammad Ali: 1960 Rome Olympics
Competing as a light heavyweight in the amateurs, Ali entered the 1960 Olympic cycle with an amateur record reported to be close to 99–8. He previously fought Jimmy Ellis in the amateurs and won the National AAU title at the Olympic trials, and placed at the Rome Games.
At the Olympics, Ali won four fights, including a finals victory over Poland’s Zbigniew Pietrzykowski to win the gold medal.
In 1964, Ali won the world heavyweight title by stopping Sonny Liston, who had retired due to a shoulder injury. In their rematch, Liston was knocked out with a short right hand as Ali moved backwards. The score was administered by referee Jersey Joe Walcott. The ending has been debated since the fight took place.
George Foreman: 1968 Olympic Tournament
Foreman competed in the 1968 Olympics and won the heavyweight gold medal. His wins during the tournament came by stoppage, including a knockout victory in the final.
Foreman later entered the professional ranks and won the heavyweight championship in 1973 by stopping Joe Frazier.
Olympic participation
Olympic boxing tournaments required fighters to compete multiple times over a short schedule against opponents from different countries. Patterson, Frazier, Ali and Foreman each progressed through that format before starting their professional careers.
