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 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 met ...

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 MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

. As a professional, he took the Commonwealth (British Empire) and European Bantamweight titles in 1959 and contended for the World Bantamweight Title in 1960.

Early life and career

Freddie Gilroy was born on 7 March 1936 in the

Ardoyne Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly Catholic and Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during The Troubles. Foundation The village of Ardoyne was founded in ...

area of north Belfast, Northern Ireland. He got an early start in boxing by joining the St John Bosco amateur boxing club at the age of nine. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in

, he won a bronze medal in bantamweight boxing. After a first round bye, Gilroy defeated Boris Stepanov of the Soviet Union by a third-round knockout. He then beat Mario Sitri of Italy on points, before losing to Wolfgang Behrendt of Germany on points.

Pro career

Taking the British Empire and European Bantamweight titles, 1959

Johnny Morrisey fell to Gilroy in an eighth round knockout in Belfast on 17 September 1958 in the second round eliminator for the Commonwealth Bantamweight title. On 10 January 1959 he defeated Peter Keenan decisively in an eleventh round TKO in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to take the Commonwealth (British Empire) Bantamweight title. Most effective in the match was Gilroy's left hook. Keenan was floored in the third by a left hook, and was down for an eight count in the eighth. In the tenth, Keenan was twice down for counts of nine, before a towel from his corner signaled the end of the bout. Keenan, the former champion, fought courageously to stay in the bout as long as he did. On 3 November 1959 he took the EBU European Bantamweight title from Italian Piero Rollo in a narrow fifteen round points decision in Wembley, London. He successfully defended the British Empire Bantamweight title against South African Bernie Taylor on 5 December 1959. Winning in a fifth round knockout in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he retained his title in a decisive victory.

Contending for the World Bantamweight title, 1960

In 1960 he fought

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 ...

for the World Bantamweight title but lost on points in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. Gilroy, the reigning European and British bantamweight champion, was the favorite of the partisan British crowd. Halimi scored the bout's only real knockdown with a short right hook in the thirteenth round for a count of five. Halimi slipped once to the mat in the seventh without taking a count."Halimi Gets Disputed Win", ''The Courier News'', Bridgewater, New Jersey, pg. 40, 26 October 1960 On 20 October 1962, Gilroy fought fellow Belfast native and Olympic medalist John Caldwell in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest fights ever to be held in Ireland. Gilroy won when a cut to Caldwell's eye prevented him continuing the bout. He retained his British Empire Bantamweight title, and immediately announced his retirement from his short but successful boxing career. He died at the age of eighty in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 28 June 2016. His funeral was at Holy Cross Church in Belfast.

References

External links