David "Davy" Larmour (born 2 April 1949) is a former

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 Northern Ireland who as an amateur won a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1974 and competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

, and as a professional won the British bantamweight title in 1983.

Amateur career

Born in Belfast and based in Shankill Road, Larmour boxed out of the Albert Foundry Boxing Club.Flynn, Barry (2015) ''The Little Book of Irish Boxing'', The History Press, He won a bronze medal at flyweight at the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time ...

.NI's Golden Trio of Christchurch '74
, BBC, 18 July 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2016 After being beaten in the National Senior final in both 1971 and 1972 by

Neil McLaughlin Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

, he won the 1973 Irish flyweight championship with a win over

Brendan Dunne Brendan Dunne (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish Olympic boxer. He became the first light-flyweight boxer to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games when he competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He won his first match against Noboru Uchi ...

. He went on to represent Ireland in November 1973 against Romania. In August 1974 he represented Ireland at the

World Amateur Boxing Championships The IBA World Boxing Championships, and the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships (previously known as AIBA), are biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is the sport governing body. A ...

in Havana, Cuba, losing in the first round to eventual bronze medalist Constantin Gruiescu.McGoldrick, Sean (2015) ''Punching Above their Weight: The Irish Olympic Boxing Story'', The O'Brien Press, Larmour represented Northern Ireland at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

in Christchurch, beating Chandra Narayanan of India in the flyweight final to take the gold medal. He represented Ireland at the 1975 European Championships in Poland, reaching the flyweight quarter-final where he lost to Charlie Magri of Great Britain. Larmour beat Tony Noonan in the Irish National Senior flyweight final in 1976, earning a place at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. With many African countries boycotting the games, Larmour got byes in the first two rounds, losing controversially in the quarter final to eventual gold medalist

Leo Randolph Leo Randolph (born February 27, 1958) is an American former boxer, who won the Flyweight Gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Amateur career Randolph had a very good amateur career. Randolph was a product of the Tacoma Boys Club amateur p ...

of the US.

Professional career

After the Olympics, Larmour made the decision to turn professional, making his pro debut in July 1977 with a first-round knockout of Jimmy Bott. He was stopped in his next two fights (by John Feeney and George Sutton) before beating Alan Oag (via disqualification) in May 1978. In June he was stopped in the seventh round by

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 ...

.Reuniuted and it Feels Great
, ''Boxing News'', 17 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016 In October 1978 he successfully challenged for Neil McLaughlin's

BBBofC 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. ...

Northern Ireland Area bantamweight title, beating the defending champion on points. He won his next five fights before losing to Steve Sims on points in September 1980. In March 1981 he faced Dave Smith in a final eliminator for the British title, but lost by a single point. After beating Ivor Jones in April 1982 he faced Hugh Russell in October in another British title final eliminator, with the Northern Ireland Area title and the Irish title also at stake. Larmour again lost by a single point over the twelve rounds. Russell went on to take the British title from Feeney, and in March 1983 his first defence was against Larmour; This time, having put Russell down in the fifth round, Larmour took the decision to become British and Northern Ireland Area bantamweight champion. Larmour made one defence of the title, losing it to Feeney in November 1983. He subsequently retired from boxing.

Legacy

Larmour has participated in talks to schoolchildren in Northern Ireland, discussing his career and how boxing can help break down sectarian divisions. He is commemorated, along with

Jimmy Warnock James Warnock (1912 in Lurgan – 1987) was a Southpaw boxer from the Shankill Road, Belfast, Ireland. Jimmy Warnock began his early boxing career at Belfast's Chapel Fields in prize fights organised by Clara Copley. In the 1930s he beat ...

and Tommy Armour, on the 'Shankill Road Boxing' mural on Hopewell Crescent in his native Belfast.Before and after: Lower Shankill murals redesigns
, '' The Guardian'', 22 June 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2016

References

External links

*
Davy Larmour
Olympic record, sports-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Larmour, Davy 1952 births Living people Irish male boxers Male boxers from Northern Ireland Bantamweight boxers Boxers at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Northern Ireland Olympic boxers of Ireland Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Boxers from Belfast Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games