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Masses bid “Ingo” Johansson final farewell

Swedish boxing legend Ingemar "Ingo" Johansson was buried in Gothenburg on Friday. More than 1,300 people were there to see the former world champ laid to rest.

Published: 14 February 2009 09:20 CET

Masses bid

Photo: Adam Ihse/Scanpix; Gunnar Ask/Scanpix

Many famous faces of the Swedish sporting world were at the ceremony in Vasakyrkan in Gothenburg to honour “Ingo” who died in his sleep at his home in Kungsbacka in western Sweden on January 30th.

Johansson established his status as a Swedish sporting legend when he defeated Floyd Patterson to win the World Heavyweight Championship in 1959.

More than two million Swedish radio listeners tuned in as “Ingo” knocked out Patterson in the third round of their fight in Yankee stadium in New York City in what was to prove to be the highlight of his career.

He enjoyed a successful career as a heavyweight retiring in 1963 with a record of 26 wins, 17 by knock out, and only 2 losses, and in 2003 was named in Ring Magazine’s list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Johansson’s funeral was not televised on national television. A decision by Sveriges Television (SVT) that has been criticized in some quarters.

Gothenburg mayor Anneli Hulthén had a well publicised spat with SVT’s Jan Axelsson earlier in the week.

“He was not only a Gothenburg personality, he was a sportsman for the whole of Sweden,” Hulthén argued.

“I think that the funeral is a big enough event (to be broadcast) and I firmly believe that many Swedes want to see him on his final journey.”

Axelsson explained that SVT policy regarding the broadcast of funerals is very restrictive and usually only “state funerals and the like” are shown on national television.

SVT did however broadcast parts of the event on its regional channels in western Sweden.

The argument became something of a moot point when Ingemar Johansson’s family announced a ban on filming the church ceremony.

Johansson’s coffin was carried from Vasakyrkan to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “My way” by a group of boxers from Redbergslids boxing club – where it all began for the man who was destined to fight for Sweden under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium in New York, capturing the imagination of a generation in the process.

Germany's female Muslim boxer dreaming of glory: 'It's always been clear I'd fight with a headscarf'

Nassar at Berlin's TSC Boxing Hall in October 2018. Photo: DPA

Today, the 21-year-old, who discovered female boxing by watching online videos as a teenager, is a German amateur featherweight champion and dares to dream of Olympic glory.

Her path so far took all the determination she could muster, Nassar told AFP, sipping an iced coffee at a cafe in Berlin's Kreuzberg district, where she grew up.

“It was as if I had to prove twice as much because not only am I a woman who boxes, but I also wear the headscarf,” she said, during a break between gruelling training sessions.

“In the end it made me stronger,” she laughed, her made-up face known to countless Instagram fans framed by a pastel-coloured floral headscarf, sunglasses perched on top.

Next year's Tokyo Olympics and then the Paris Games in 2024 “are my great dream, my great goal,” smiled the young woman.

Nassar training in Berlin in October 2018. Photo: DPA

That dream only came within reach in February, when the International Boxing Association (AIBA) amended its rules to allow Muslim boxers to wear a hijab and fully cover their bodies in the ring.

When it comes to qualifying, “now the prerequisites are the same for all,” said Nassar, who in training and in competition wears the head covering as well as a full-length top and leggings.

“Only sporting performance should count. We must not be reduced to our external appearance.”

'I'm super fast'

Her list of achievements already includes six Berlin titles in the featherweight category, and the 2018 German Championship title.

In 24 official fights, Nassar, who weighs 57 kilos, recorded 18 victories, including one by KO, which is rare in this category.

“My boxing style is very unconventional but I'm super fast. It's my strength,” she said, mimicking a few uppercuts and hooks.

“For my opponents it's very unpleasant to box against me,” she laughed.

But for many years, the education and sociology student could not compete in international fights because of her attire.

This year, the German Boxing Federation, which had changed its own rules in 2013, put forward Nassar for the European Under-22 Championships, which however barred her due to her outfit.

Nassar, who also speaks Arabic and regularly travels to Lebanon, her parents' country of origin, said it never occurred to her to take off her hijab for boxing.

“Why should I have done that?” she said. “For me it has always been clear that I would fight with my headscarf.”

In Germany, the wearing of the headscarf tends to be widely accepted on the grounds of religious freedom.

Nassar outside of the Berlin boxing hall. Photo: DPA

Critics

The fight isn't won yet, however.

The Berliner's Olympic ambitions, like those of other sportswomen wearing the headscarf, run up against critics who brandish a rule for the Olympics prohibiting the display of any political, religious or racial symbols.

“Even if the boxing association, like most federations, has given in, the Olympic Charter has not changed,” argued Annie Sugier, president of the International Women's Rights League.

Criticizing the participation in the Olympics of countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia whose sportswomen have to be covered “from head to toe”, Sugier called hijabs in sports “sexual apartheid”.

In France in April, Iranian female boxer Sadaf Khadem won her first official fight dressed in shorts and a vest.

'Modest fashion'

Despite the controversy surrounding the hijab in some Western countries, sportswear giants have already begun offering less skin-revealing clothes to cash in on the “modest fashion” market, which is now worth hundreds of millions of euros.

Nassar is a brand ambassador for US sportswear maker Nike, which has been marketing a sports hijab for nearly two years.

The female boxer, who is very active on social media, has become a role model for young Muslim women in particular.

“If you want to get to the top, you have to fight,” read a recent message by the boxer.

“Nothing is simply a gift. Accepting challenges and growing beyond them. And don't forget to smile.”

Before leaving the cafe, she posted a new picture of herself on Instagram and told AFP: “I want to show people that anything is possible if you fight for it.”

Nassar's picture was also used in a poster campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the German constitution, the Basic Law.

It promoted Article 4, which states that “the undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed”.

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