Rematches at a glance

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:16 a.m.

Three fighters have regained the heavyweight title in rematches with the men who won it from them. Five other fighters failed to regain the title in rematches with their conquerors.

REGAINED TITLE

- Floyd Patterson knocked out Ingemar Johansson in the fifth round on June 20, 1960, in New York and became the first man to regain the heavyweight championship. Johansson won the title by stopping Patterson in the third round on June 26, 1959, in New York. In a rubber match, Patterson knocked out Johansson in the sixth round on March 13, 1961, in Miami Beach, Fla.

- Muhammad Ali won a 15-round decision over Leon Spinks on Sept. 15, 1978, in New Orleans. Spinks had won the title on a 15-round decision on Feb. 15, 1978, in Las Vegas.

- Evander Holyfield won a 12-round decision over Riddick Bowe for the IBF and WBA titles on Nov. 6, 1993, in Las Vegas. Bowe had won the IBF, WBA and WBC titles on a 12-round decision on Nov. 13, 1992, in Las Vegas.

FAILED TO REGAIN

- Bob Fitzsimmons was knocked out in the eighth round by James J. Jeffries on July 25, 1902, in San Francisco. Jeffries had won the title on an 11th-round knockout on June 9, 1899, on Coney Island in New York.

- Jack Dempsey lost a 10-round decision to Gene Tunney on Sept. 22, 1927, in Chicago. Tunney had won the title on a 10-round decision on Sept. 23, 1926, in Philadelphia.

- Jersey Joe Walcott was knocked out in the first round by Rocky Marciano on May 15, 1953, in Chicago. Marciano had won the title on a 13th-round knockout on Sept. 13, 1952.

- Floyd Patterson was knocked out in the first round by Sonny Liston on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. Liston had won the title on a first-round knockout on Sept. 25, 1962, in Chicago.

- Larry Holmes lost a 15-round decision to Michael Spinks on April 19, 1986, in Las Vegas. Spinks had won the title on 15-round decision on Sept. 22, 1985, in Las Vegas.

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Ezzard Charles lost a 15-round decision to Jersey Joe Walcott in a bid to regain the title on June 5, 1952, in Philadelphia. But that was the fourth title fight between the two. Charles retained the title twice on decisions over Walcott before Walcott became champion with a seventh-round knockout of Charles on July 18, 1951, in Pittsburgh).