John Caldwell (7 May 1938 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

– 10 July 2009) was an Irish boxer who won the bronze medal in the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

(– 51 kg) division at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. Caldwell was considered a supreme fighter whose class and skill saw him claim a medal in 1956 and the

world bantamweight crown This is a list of world bantamweight boxing champions, as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). The WBA often recogniz ...

in 1961. He enjoyed a magnificent career as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

and professional in which he contested 275 bouts, winning on all but ten occasions.

Background

Born in Belfast's Cyprus Street in 1938 Caldwell was drawn to the world-famous Immaculata Club at an early age. Caldwell's natural talent came to the attention of trainer Jack McCusker and he rose to prominence throughout Ireland.

1956 Summer Olympics

By 1956, the Falls Road boxer held both the junior and senior Irish flyweight titles and a place on the Irish team at the

was assured. ''"We were away for six weeks and went to San Francisco and then stopped off in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

on the way to Australia ... was very young at the time and at just eighteen I was considered to be the baby of the team. The athlete

Maeve Kyle Maeve Esther Enid Kyle, OBE, née Shankey (born 6 October 1928), is an Irish Olympic athlete and hockey player. She was born in County Kilkenny. She competed in the 100m and 200m in the Melbourne Olympics and subsequently in the Rome Olympics ...

looked after us all and it was the most successful set of Irish boxers ever to go to an Olympics as we won four bronze medals. But it was such an honour to be picked and I was so overjoyed to be representing Ireland on such a stage."'' In his opening bout, Caldwell was afforded a bye. His next opponent, Yaishwe (from

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

) was knocked out in the third round. In the quarterfinal, Caldwell beat on points Warner Batchelor, an Australian, who had been the favourite for the gold medal. However, in the semi-final, he lost out to Romanian Mircea Dobrescu and had to content himself with a bronze medal. On his return, Caldwell was welcomed back to his native Cyprus Street. ''"The whole street was out to cheer me on my return to Belfast and to have stood on that podium in Melbourne with my medal just made me so proud"''. The calling to the paid ranks was not far off. In January 1958, he fought his last unpaid fight in Belfast's St Mary's Hall.

Professional career

Caldwell moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to begin his professional career.

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

was to be the base from where Caldwell, under the management of Sammy Docherty, set out on a new era. In his first bout, a two-round stoppage of Englishman Billy Downer signalled the start of John's rise through the ranks. As Caldwell recalled, the training regime he followed required discipline, self-control and dedication. ''"In Glasgow, I attended mass at half-six every morning ... ter that, I would take to the hills outside the city for the running and stamina training. I had to watch my diet and keep myself right that it was really tough going. My exercise routines were so varied and beneficial that the

Glasgow Celtic The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Jimmy McGrory James Edward McGrory (26 April 1904 – 20 October 1982) was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic and Clydebank as a forward and then went on to manage Kilmarnock before returning to Celtic as manager after the end of the Second World Wa ...

asked me to go along and help the team out."'' After six successful bouts in Scotland, Caldwell made his return to Belfast where he out pointed the

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

Esteban Martin in late 1958. His career continued to flourish and two years later he claimed the British flyweight title when knocked out the holder Frankie Jones at the King's Hall. With a

Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...

to his name, Caldwell became a natural contender for higher honours. In due course, he moved up a weight to bantamweight and a world and European title fight was arranged with the French-Algerian fighter

Alphonse Halimi Alphonse Halimi (February 18, 1932 – November 12, 2006) was a French boxer. He took the World Bantamweight Championship on April 1, 1957, in Paris, and the European Bantamweight Championship three years later. Early life He was born in Consta ...

. The fight, which took place in London in May 1961, went the full distance and Caldwell was awarded the points decision to become the first Irishman since Rinty Monaghan in 1948 to win a world title. The fight was remembered by Caldwell. ''"Halimi was very, very dangerous man and a hard hitter ... s was constantly at me and I couldn't take my eyes off him for a split second – the fight was one of the hardest of my career. I remember that I knocked him down in the last round and got the decision in the end. I was on top of the world and knew that it had been a great achievement."'' As champion, Caldwell won two further bouts before defeating Halimi on points in a rematch at Wembley. In February 1962, a unification bout for the bantamweight title of the world was arranged for

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

in Brazil, where Caldwell was to face the legendary

Eder Jofre Eder may refer to: People *Eder (surname) *Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name *Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins *Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau Ede ...

. The Brazilian gradually got on top to stop Caldwell in the tenth. Caldwell, who had been accompanied by his father on the trip, spoke of his memories. ''"Eder Jofre was the greatest bantamweight and the hardest-hitter for his weight of all time ... remember the place was packed to the rafters and there were many thousands locked outside the arena. As it turned out, it was my first defeat as a professional and it was hard to take."'' While Caldwell sought to regain his title, a chance to guarantee a rematch with Jofre turned up rather closer to home.

Caldwell v Gilroy

North Belfast's

Freddie Gilroy Frederick Gilroy (7 March 1936 – 28 June 2016) was a Northern Irish boxer. Gilroy won a bronze medal for Ireland at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne at Bantamweight. As a professional, he took the Commonwealth (British Empire) and ...

had been a friend and rival of Caldwell in both the amateur and professional ranks. Gilroy had made a name for himself in the world bantamweight division and a clash with Caldwell for the British and Empire titles was set for the King's Hall on Saturday, 20 October 1962. The prize at stake was a crack at Jofre and a record crowd of 15,000 were in attendance. Gilroy, the underdog, won the fight when Caldwell was forced to retire with a cut eye at the end of the ninth round. For the victor, there was to be no crack at Jofre, only speculation of a rematch, which would have been a promoter's dream. However, the rematch never took place as Gilroy retired after the King's Hall clash. Gilroy is on the record as saying that in his view the fight was a needless one that should never have taken place. There is no doubt that the media hyped the occasion as a grudge match between North Belfast's Gilroy and West Belfast's Caldwell. For Caldwell, due to the damage his eyes received during the fight, it was a bout that signalled the waning of his career. ''"I thought truly that I was ahead when the fight was stopped and I really wanted a rematch with Freddie ... had a feeling though when I saw him afterwards that he would never fight me again and I was proved right in the end. In that fight, I suffered very severe cut eyes and after that I was always having difficulty with my eyes."''

Professional boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 29 Wins (14 KOs), 5 LossesJohnny Caldwell's Professional Boxing Record
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Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , 29–5–1 , align=left, Monty Laud , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 29–4–1 , align=left, Alan Rudkin , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 29–3–1 , align=left, Orizu Obilaso , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , 28–3–1 , align=left, Jackie Brown , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 28–3 , align=left, Rafael Fernandez , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 27–3 , align=left, George Bowes , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 26–3 , align=left, Michael Atlan , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 26–2 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 26–1 , align=left, Federico Scarponi , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 25–1 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 25–0 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 24–0 , align=left, Juan Cardenas , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 23–0 , align=left, Pierre Vetroff , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 22–0 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 21–0 , align=left, Jacques Jacob , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 20–0 , align=left, Angelo Rampin , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 19–0 , align=left, Christian Marchand , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Frankie Jones , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Rene Libeer , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 16–0 , align=left, Risto Luukkonen , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Young Martin , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Salvatore Manca , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Salvatore Manca , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Giacomo Spano , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Pierre Rossi , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Francisco Carreno , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Henri Schmid , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Simon Carnazza , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Esteban Martin , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Juanito Cid , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Dennis Adams , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Michel Lamora , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Moncef Fabri , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Eddie Barraclough , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Billy Downer , , , , align=left, ,

Commonwealth title and retirement

Caldwell's career continued. However, his problem with cut eyes came back to haunt him just three months later when he was forced to retire from a bout with Michel Atlan at the Albert Hall. Caldwell won the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

and British bantamweight titles in 1964 with a win over

George Bowes Sir George Bowes (21 August 1701 – 17 September 1760) was an English coal proprietor and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for 33 years from 1727 to 1760. George Bowes was baptized on 4 September 1701, the youngest son of Sir ...

at Belfast's Ritz Cinema. A year later, with two further victories under his belt, he was forced to retire in the tenth round against

Alan Rudkin Alan Rudkin MBE (18 November 1941 – 22 September 2010) was a British national, Commonwealth, and European bantamweight boxing champion (1965–1970). He was born in St Asaph (Wales), as his pregnant mother was evacuated from Liverpool during ...

in a defence of his titles. At age 27, Caldwell had had enough of professional boxing. In 1965, he lost his final bout on points to Monty Laud in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

and returned to his trade as a pipe-fitter in Belfast. When asked about his views on contemporary boxing, Caldwell replied: ''"It was an entirely different game to the one that I was involved in fifty years ago ... u had to be totally dedicated back then, clean-living and prepared to make a lot of sacrifices to survive at the top. It was a game for hard and skilful men and if you couldn't stick the pace you were found out very easily."''

Death

Caldwell died following a long battle with cancer, aged 71.Saddoboxing obituary for John Caldwell
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, John 1938 births 2009 deaths Boxers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Male boxers from Northern Ireland Deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland Flyweight boxers Olympic bronze medalists for Ireland Olympic boxers of Ireland Boxers from Belfast Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics