Frederick Gilroy (7 March 1936 – 28 June 2016) was a Northern Irish

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 ...

. Gilroy won a bronze medal for Ireland at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. 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 ...

. 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 Roman Catholic Church, Catholic and Irish republicanism, Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1920 the adjacent area of Marrowbone saw at multiple days of communal violence be ...

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

, 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 Undisputed World Bantamweight Championship on April 1, 1957, in Paris, and the European Bantamweight Championship five years later. Early life He was bor ...

for the World Bantamweight title but lost on points in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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