The 100 Greatest Brooklynites: 40 to 31
Floyd Patterson—aka the Gentleman of Boxing—was everything Mike Tyson wasn’t: he was measured inside the ring and out, he was a consistent champion throughout his career, and though he didn’t like to lose, he was gracious enough about it. In fact, he went on to become best friends with his archrival, the Swede, Ingemar Johannsson. There are two things, though, these great Brooklyn champs had in common: a troubled youth in the streets of Brooklyn (though Patterson “escaped” to a reform school in upstate New York), and the father-figure/trainer, Cus D’Amato.