Brian Anderson (born 22 May 1939) is an Irish boxer. He competed in the men's light welterweight event at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Anderson was born in Carrickmagrath,

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. B ...

, County Donegal, Ireland. In 1958 Anderson went to London where he joined Middle Row Boxing Club. Boxing as a novice, Anderson won the North London Divisional Championships as

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. Bra ...

. He later moved up to

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

, and at this level won the All-London Championships. He left the sport in 1961, but returned to win the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight b ...

division in 1962. In May 1964 British Amateur Boxing Association Championships Anderson, now at

light-welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

, defeated the Scottish boxer and Olympic medallist

Dick McTaggart Richard McTaggart, MBE (born 15 October 1935) is a Scottish retired amateur boxer. He competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics in the lightweight division and won a gold and a bronze medal, respectively. In 1956 he received the Val Barker Trophy ...

in the semi-final, but was controversially beaten by Robert Taylor in the final. Anderson was selected for the English boxing team for an international match in Hungary in August 1964, and won both his bouts, including one against the Olympian Istvan Toth. Anderson had been in contention to be picked for the British Olympic team for the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...

, but McTaggart was actually selected. However, just a month before the Games, Anderson was chosen for the Irish Olympic Team to replace the injured light-welterweight Jim Neill. He was narrowly defeated in a 3-2 decision by the Cambodian

Touch Nol Touch Nol (born 3 January 1941) is a Cambodian boxer. He competed in the men's light welterweight event at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport ...

in his first match. His close friend

Jim McCourt James Vincent McCourt (born 24 January 1944) is a former Irish boxer from Northern Ireland. McCourt won a bronze medal for Ireland in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the lightweight division. McCourt lost a controversial 3-2 ...

won a bronze medal, with Anderson and team coach Harry Enright in his corner. In 1965 Anderson won the Irish senior title, claiming the light-welterweight crown. Anderson returned to his hometown of Carrickmagrath. In 1979, he founded the Twin Towns Boxing Club with his brother, Peter. Ciara Anderson, his granddaughter, is a multiple Irish boxing champion.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Brian 1939 births Living people Irish male boxers Olympic boxers for Ireland Boxers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Light-welterweight boxers