Paddy Maguire (born 26 September 1948) is a, former

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

from the Falls Road area of

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 Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He was a

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

silver medal winner and one-time holder of the

BBBC The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

bantamweight title.

Amateur career

Maguire, who was born in Belfast, represented Northern Ireland at the

1966 Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth Par ...

. At the games he won a silver medal in the bantamweight division.

Professional career highlights

Maguire's first professional fight was on 4 March 1969 when he fought Bernard Nicholls and won on points. His first title fight was on 20 February 1973, at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. He was fighting for the British bantamweight title, his opponent was

Johnny Clark Johnny A Clark (10 September 1947 – 28 December 2020) was a British boxer who won the British and European bantamweight titles in 1973. Career Amateur career As an amateur he represented England in the flyweight division at the 1966 British ...

. Maguire lost on points. Maguire's second attempt at the bantamweight title was on 10 December 1974, at

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 ...

ice rink. His opponent was Dave Needham, Maguire again lost on points. On 20 October 1975 Maguire's third attempt to win the British bantamweight title was successful. This time he beat Dave Needham, winning by a

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the 14th round. Maguire had two unsuccessful attempts to win the

European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the most-prestigious continental title in Europe, th ...

(EBU) bantamweight title.
His first attempt took place at

Cluses Cluses (; frp, Clluses) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. Citizens are known as ''Clusiens''. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the same n ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 16 January 1976. His opponent was Daniel Trioulaire, the fight was a draw.
The second attempt took place at

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

on 28 September 1977. His opponent was

Franco Zurlo Franco Zurlo (4 October 1940 – 17 June 2018) was an Italian boxer. He competed in the men's bantamweight event at the 1964 Summer Olympics. At the 1964 Summer Olympics he defeated Mikhail Mitsev of Bulgaria in the Round of 32, before lo ...

, Maguire lost on a technical knockout in the 8th round. Maguire lost his British bantamweight title on 29 November 1977, at the

National Sporting Club The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation. Origins The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

. His opponent was relative newcomer

Johnny Owen John Richard Owens (7 January 1956 – 4 November 1980) was a Welsh professional boxer who fought under the name Johnny Owen. His seemingly fragile appearance earned him many epithets, including the "Merthyr Matchstick" and the "Bionic Ba ...

, Maguire lost on a technical knockout in the 11th round. This was to be Maguire's last fight.

Retirement

Maguire retired from professional boxing in 1977 aged 29. A few years back, he was in a car accident which has caused him to avoid driving ever since. He made it through his injuries and is now well. He is still involved in the sport and is currently serving as a Council Member on the Northern Ireland Area Council of the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician

Colin Moynihan Colin Berkeley Moynihan, 4th Baronet, 4th Baron Moynihan (born 13 September 1955) is a British Olympic silver medalist, businessman, Conservative politician, and sports administrator. Lord Moynihan served as chairman of the British O ...

is recorded in

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official print ...

as having once sparred with the retired Maguire at the Thomas A Becket

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Paddy 1948 births Living people Male boxers from Northern Ireland Boxers from Belfast Bantamweight boxers Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Northern Ireland Boxers at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Amateur career

Professional career highlights

Retirement

See also

References

External links