John Caldwell

Pure Genius, Pure Class, Unsurpassed!
[from the Appletree Press title Legends of Irish Boxing published by Appletree Press]

After six successful bouts in Scotland, John made his return to Belfast where he out-pointed the Spaniard Esteban Martin in late 1958. His career continued to flourish and two years later he claimed the British flyweight title when he knocked out the holder Frankie Jones at the King’s Hall.
      With a Lonsdale Belt around his waist, John became a natural contender for higher honours. In due course, he moved up a weight to bantamweight and a world and European title fight was arranged with the French-Algerian fighter Alphonse Halimi. The fight, which took place in London in May 1961, went the full distance and John was awarded the points decision to become the first Irishman since Rinty Monaghan in 1948 to win a world title. The fight is, naturally, well remembered by Caldwell.
      “Halimi was a very, very dangerous man and a hard hitter and I know that well as he caught me many times throughout the fight,” he said. “He was constantly at me – in and out all the time – and I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a split second: the fight was one of the hardest of my career. I remember that after a terribly hard struggle, I eventually knocked him down in the last round and that got me the decision in the end. I felt as if I was on top of the world – which literally I was – and knew, as an Irishman, that it had been a great sporting achievement. I was the first fighter to win a world title since Rinty Monaghan, and it was everything that I could have wanted to achieve.”
      As champion, John won two further bouts before defeating Halimi on points in a rematch at Wembley. In February 1962, a unification bout for the bantamweight title of the world was arranged for Sao Paulo in Brazil, where Caldwell was to face the legendary Eder Jofre.
      A bloody battle ensued in front of 26,000 fanatical fans, and the Brazilian gradually got on top to stop Caldwell in the tenth. John, who had been accompanied by his father on the trip, spoke of his memories.
      “Eder Jofre was the greatest bantamweight and the hardesthitter for his weight of all time,” he said. “I remember the place was packed to the rafters and there were many thousands locked outside the arena. I just couldn’t get to terms with him on the night, maybe it was the heat of the crowd, but it was an unbelievable occasion which I will never forget. As it turned out, it was my first defeat as a professional and it was very hard for me to take.”
      While Caldwell sought to regain his world title, a chance to guarantee a rematch with Jofre turned up rather closer to home – in his home city of Belfast. It was an occasion that has gone into the folklore of Irish sport.
      North Belfast’s Freddie Gilroy had been a friend and rival of Caldwell in both the amateur and professional ranks. Gilroy had made a name for himself in the world bantamweight division, and a clash with Caldwell for the British and Empire titles was set for the King’s Hall on Saturday, 20th October. The King’s Hall on Belfast’s Upper Lisburn Road is an imposing cavernous exhibition centre built in Art Deco style. Owned by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society, it is steeped in Belfast boxing history and it was only natural that the Gilroy versus Caldwell clash was fixed for this amphitheatre.
     

The previous parts of John Caldwell's story can be read here:
part 1 | part 2 | Read the next part of John Caldwell's story here:
part 4
From the Appletree Press title: Legends of Irish Boxing by Barry Flynn.