Unfortunately, Gothamist isn't old enough to have watched Floyd Patterson fight. Our childhood memories of him consist of hearing Billy Joel sing "Liston beats Patterson" about their 1962 fight. Born in North Carolina, Patterson and his family moved to Bed-Stuy when he was a child. After a brief period in Upstate New York, where he first took up boxing, Patterson returned to the city and, before long, started to train with Cus D'Amato at the Gramercy Gym in the Lower East Side.
Patterson saw success at almost all levels - winning the 1951 Golden Gloves as a middleweight and a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics. In 1956, at the age of 21 Patterson became youngest heavyweight champion. After losing the title to Ingemar Johansson in 1959, Patterson re-claimed the title in 1960, becoming the first person ever to regain the title. In 1962, he lost the title to Sonny Liston and was unsuccessful in a 1963 rematch.
After retiring from professional boxing in 1972, Patterson twice served as the head of the New York State Athletic Commission. He had a career record of 55-8-1. Patterson was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and also had prostate cancer.
The New York Times on Patterson (Times slideshow), Wikipedia on Patterson, Patterson's page with the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and a Sports Illustrated article on Patterson from 1992.
