BOXERS

Jimmy Ingle

Jimmy came from a large family raised in Ringsend.Most of the Ingle boys turned to boxing and the Ingle name has remained synonymous with thesport since that time.Boxing out of the St Andrews club, Jimmy took the Senior Fly weight title in 1939 and although only 17 years of age, was selected in the Irish team to compete in the European championships of that year. In his opening contest Ingle overcame the challenge of Belgium’s Jan Engelen.
In his next contest Jimmy took on the highly regarded Italian Giovanni Nardecchia. He was the total master in the contest, outscoring the Italian with an immaculate display of brilliant boxing. Sensationally, the decision went to Nardecchia. After an initial silence from the stunned spectators, pandemonium broke out in the stadium. Booing, hissing and shouts of rage shook the building. The uproar continued through the next two contests. But then – a ringside announcement: The Jury d’Appel had revised the verdict which they stated “was in blatant contradiction to the course of the contest”. And so, Ingle had reached the final, in which he overcame the powerful German Nikki Obermauer to take Ireland’s first ever European Gold Medal.

Paddy Dowdall

While Jimmy Ingle was taking Gold, Paddy Dowdall, Ireland’s Featherweight representative, was sitting in the dressing room waiting to be called Paddy Dowdall had started his boxing career with the Myra Boxing Club in Dublin and amassed a number of Juvenile titles. In 1939, Paddy became Irish Junior Champion. In the Senior Championships of that year, Dowdall was in fact beaten in the Final and only won his place on the European team following a trial. He was not about to let the opportunity slip. In his opening bout, Dowdall won a popular decision against Germany’s Anton Graaf. In the semi-final he overcame the English boxer John Watson, to the delight of the Stadium crowd. On hearing of Ingles’ victory while still in the dressing room, Dowdall stated that if Jimmy could do it, then he could repeat the feat. His opponent in the final was Anton Czortek of Poland. Poland was the strongest boxing nation in Europe at that time and Czortek was favourite to win gold. However, Dowdall was outstanding and in front of a crowd almost delirious with elation, he took Ireland’s second Gold medal. Paddy Dowdall continued in the amateur ranks, winning the Irish Lightweight title in 1942 and 43.

Paddy Hughes

Colm Gallagher was in Paddy Hughes’ corner for most of his important contests. Colm’s admiration for this outstanding boxer was evident in a article that he penned soon after Paddy retired from the ring. Paddy Hughes was born within a stone’s throw of the Pro Cathedral and from his earliest days was interested in boxing, inspired no doubt by his uncle Jimmy Whelan, a useful lightweight with the North City club. During his 8 years in the ring, Paddy, boxing with the Corinthian Club, had over 170 contests, losing only 18.

His record was impressive:  Irish juvenile Champion; 1928
Irish Flyweight Champion; 1929 and 1930
Irish Bantamweight Champion; 1931 and 1932
Irish Featherweight Champion; 1933  and 1935.

Colm described a contest held at the Garda Depot between Paddy Hughes and Ernie Smyth of the St Andrews club. The contest opened in sensational fashion with Smith dropping Hughes to the floor with the first punch of the contest. With the referee counting, Hughes rose at the count of 7 using the ropes to pull himself up. Smith immediately went on the attack, battering the helpless Hughes who stood with his hands by his sides unable to defend.himself, taking all that his opponent handed out and refusing to give in or go down for a rest. At the end of the round, Hughes staggered to his corner with the crowd roaring madly. howing extraordinary power of recuperation, Paddy Hughes recovered completely during the rest period and took the contest to Smith exchanging punch for punch to the roars of the crowd. At the end of 6 rounds, Ernie Smith was declared the winner but Hughes received a massive ovation from an appreciative crowd. Incredibly, Ernie Smith was the Irish lightweight champion at the time, while Paddy Hughes as operating at bantamweight.It was as a bantamweight that Paddy Hughes went to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932. Once again, Paddy was involved in an incredibly tough contest, this time against the Argentinian champion, Pereyra. While Pereyra got what was considered by many to be a lucky decision, there was a significant sequel to the contest. Pereyra was removed to hospital as a result of Hughes heavy body shots. Pereyra had been the overwhelming favourite for the gold medal but after his bout with Hughes, was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Colm Gallagher further described Paddy Hughes’ involvement in a pre- Olympic tournament in Paris, organised by L’Anto, a French newspaper. In his first bout, Paddy wrenched his knee which handicapped him a great deal. Nonetheless, he won his bout against Zurfluh, the Swiss champion. In the semi-final, in spite of a swollen and painful leg, he beat Bossen of Luxembourg. Two hours later Paddy went into the final against Fernelle of Italy. In spite of dreadful pain, Paddy managed to complete the contest. While he failed to get the decision, his exploits once again marked him out as an athlete of exceptional courage. The quiet-mannered Dubliner earned the highest honours and deserves to be recognised as a great champion.

Willie Wright

Willie Wright - It was an indication of the standard of competition in National Championships during the early years of the IABA that Willie Wright only figured in the honours list on two occasions, Lightweight champion in 1927 and Welterweight title holder inc 1929. Nevertheless, Willie met and defeated some of the best that this and other countries had produced. Notably, he inflicted the only defeat on Harry Dingley of Scotland that the Scot had suffered over a long number of years. During his lengthy career, Willie Wright took part in 335 contests, winning 225. His engagements had taken him to Norway, Sweden, Germany, Denmark; his opponents, incredibly by today’s standards, had ranged over all weights from Welter to Heavy. On one occasion, having suffered a TKO in Dublin, immediately stepped into a car and proceeded 150 miles to Sligo to keep an engagement which he won. Unusual circumstances connected with Willie’s entry boxing are worth relating. Interned in Maryborough Prison in 1922, he saw a challenge on the prison notice board from a fellow prisoner from Cork to box anybody at 8 stone. Willie decided to accommodate the Corkman, although minus any previous boxing experience. He proceeded to train under Stephen Mooney. On the night of the big fight, Dublin versus Cork excitement was at breaking point. The prizes were 20 cigarettes for the winner, 10 for the loser. Wright won the contest and the Corkman’s comment afterwards was “I never in my life got such a hiding for 10 cigarettes”. Wright’s release saw the foundation of the Liffeyside Club which later became the Phoenix Boxing Club. Wright continued to swap punches with the best and during his long career, established a reputation of never disappointing a promoter and always considered to be an outstanding sportsman.

Frank Kerr

Frank Kerr - In 1932 there came to the fore a boxer who is rightfully regarded as one of the greats of Dublin and Irish boxing. However, in spite of his long association with Arbour Hill Boxing Club, Frank Kerr was in fact born in Belfast. This boxing wizard was inoculated with the sport. His father who had been in boxing long before Frank saw the light of day ensured that Frank and his seven brothers were all taught how to use the gloves. Frank’s first contest at the age of 11 took place under the hot sun of Bagdad and some months later, he gave an exhibition bout with his brother in Cairo. A story is told about Frank’s debut in the Ulster Senior Championships. He was 15 at the time. When he presented at the scales he was told to go home – he was too young. However, he continued to persist and he was allowed to weigh in – wearing an overcoat, and hit the scales at 7 st 5 lbs. He boxed his way to the Final and lost a hotly disputed decision to Johnny McMullen. The following year, boxing from the Arbour Hill Club, he took the Irish Senior Flyweight title and later watched a boxer called Johnny Healy, his senior in years, win the Juvenile title. Kerr went on to win the Irish Bantamweight title in 1933, 34, 35 and 36. He boxed in England, France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway, America and North Africa. At the European championships in Milan in 1937, Frank Kerr suffered a major disappointment when losing a decision to Italian Uderico Sergo. Critics from all over the world agreed that Frank had got a raw deal; even the referee publicly showed his displeasure when the cards were handed to him. Incidentally, at the same championships, Frank was chased all over Milan by two USA professional promoters with contracts a mile long. However, Frank declined all offers to leave the amateur game. Frank Kerr rightfully deserves to be included with the legends of Dublin and Irish boxing.

Gearoid O’Colmain

Gearoid O’Colmain -Gearoid always wrote his name in his native language but to generations of boxing fans, he was simply Gerry Coleman. Boxing out of the North City Boxing Club Gerry won 2 National Senior titles at Light Heavyweight in 1943 and 1944 and then had a run of 7 titles at Heavyweight from 1946 to 1952. It is highly probable that Gerry would have added to his impressive list of titles if not for a serious accident that forced his retirement from the ring. Gerry owned a farrier business at Camden Place off Camden Street. His ancestors had been at the same address since 1810 when they vacated a like business on the site of the well known ‘Bleeding Horse’ licensed premises; hence the name of the pub which continues to this day Gerry always claimed that his phenomenal punching power resulted from the physical work involved in hammering metal on an anvil. Unfortunately, in 1952, a piece of metal struck him in the eye, ending his days in the ring. Gerry had a total of 27 International bouts, losing only 4. He stated that his biggest disappointment was in losing in Chicago when boxing for Europe against the US Golden Gloves. Gerry had actually floored Richard Hagan, the US champion in the second round but, thinking that he had the contest in the bag, dropped his guard and was KO’d by a right hook. Gerry had earned his place on that European team in winning the gold medal at the European Senior Championships in Dublin earlier that year. From an entry of 12 of the best heavyweights in Europe, Gerry reached the Final against George Scriven of England. The bout proved less demanding than expected. Gerry determined to make the most of his big opportunity and floored Scriven in the first and second round on his way to a convincing win. He related an interesting story about that contest. When he floored Scriven in the first round, his left glove burst and had to be replaced. In later years he had all 3 gloves hanging on the wall of his Dublin home. Gerry remained a keen boxing enthusiast and an active member of the ex-boxers association up to the time of his death in 2008

Fred Tiedt

Fred Tiedt - Fred Tiedt, together with his three brothers, first came to prominence while boxing for South City Boxing Club in the early 1950s. Boxing enthusiasts with first hand experience of that era recount many stories concerning Fred. Some of the stories relate to his various encounters with Harry Perry. In 1956, Tiedt overcame Perry in a box-off to decide Ireland’s representative at the Melbourne Olympics. He did not spurn the opportunity. At Ireland’s most successful Olympic Games in terms of medals won, Tied took Silver to add to the 3 bronze medals already achieved by John Caldwell, Fred Gilroy and Tony Byrne, but there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that Tiedt had been deprived of the Gold Medal by an outrageous judging decision. Even the International Olympic Committee commented that Tiedt was “probably the most unlucky boxer”. In 1957, having taken the Senior Welterweight title, Tiedt went to the European Championships in Prague. However, after two wins and assured of a bronze medal, he was forced to withdraw from his semi-final bout with a damaged hand. Fred was not to compete in the amateur ranks again, turning professional in 1958. Following his retirement from the sport, he maintained a strict fitness regime and consequently, his death in 1999 at a relatively young age, was a major shock to his many friends and admirers within the sport of boxing.

Harry Perry

Harry Perry - Harry Perry’s boxing career started in Terenure Boxing Club under the watchful eye of the legendary Gus
Dorrington. Progressing from a successful juvenile career, Harry took an Irish Junior Featherweight title in 1951. In 1952, he took the first of his eight Senior titles, again at Featherweight. Another Featherweight title came in
1953, lightweight in 1954, Welterweight in 1956, 1958 and 1960 to 1962. Despite being Irish champion in 1952, he was overlooked for the Helsinki Olympics in favour of Ando Reddy, selectors being of the opinion that, at 17, he was too young for such a  major competition. This was a massive disappointment to Harry who felt that if you were good enough, you were old enough. In 1956, Harry lost a box-off with Fred Tiedt for the Welterweight spot
in the Melbourne Olympics. Nonetheless, he was selected on that team – at Lightwelter. Harry also represented Ireland in the European Championships in 1955 and again in 1959 in Licerne, Switzerland, from where he returned home with a Bronze medal. He was unable to compete to compete in the semi- finals due to the recurrence of a foot injury. One further major honour came Harry’s way in 1954 when he was selected on the European team to
 compete against the American Golden Gloves in Chicago, an unforgettable experience for a young man in the 1950s. Harry has retained his interest in boxing; for a long time he was an active member of the ex-boxers association and for a number of years was a trustee of the IABA.

Ollie Byrne

Ollie Byrne - In reviewing the history of Dublin Boxing, the careers of many of the great boxers of the early years make compelling reading. One boxer who will forever live on in the folklore of the sport in Dublin is Ollie Byrne. Ollie Byrne’s career spanned an astonishing 36 years. In 1939, as a 13-year-old schoolboy, he became a member of the famous St Andrews Boxing Club and in just a few months, he captured a Dublin League title at 6 stone. He won his first Juvenile title in 1942 and in 1954, won his first National Senior title at Light Middleweight. He went on to win three consecutive Senior titles in 1957, 1958 and 1959, all three at Light Heavyweight, and he repeated the feat in 1961. Ollie retired from the ring for nearly five years but, incredibly, in 1967 at 42 years of age, came back to once again take the Irish Senior Light Heavyweight title. Almost unbelievably, Ollie did not hang up his gloves until 1975, just months short of his 50th birthday. His final contest was a winning one, beating former International, Greg Heraghy of Arbour Hill in a Greenhills BC cabaret show. Ollie later admitted that he would have continued to box had not the IABA forced his retirement. The IABA subsequently established a rule whereby no boxer could continue in the ring after 35 years of age. Ollie’s ring record over nearly 4 decades includes contests against many who have themselves acquired “Ollie representedIreland over 40 timesand was also amember of the Irishteam that competedin the 1961 EuropeanChampionships”.  legendary status; boxers like Terry Milligan, Peter ‘Iron Man’ Crotty, Willie Gifford, Paddy Finnegan, Peter Foran, Martin Humpston, ‘Podge’ Byrne and many, many others. Ollie represented Ireland over 40 times and was also a member of the Irish team that competed in the 1961 European Championships.There are many stories about Ollie that have become part of boxing folklore. One concerned a contest in a tournament in London when, on hearing that his opponent was 43 years old, British Police champion, Johnny Banham went to Byrne’s dressing room and asked the Dubliner if he really wished to go ahead with the fight. Byrne replied that if he hadn’t wanted to box, he would not have travelled. He went on to achieve a convincing win over the surprised Police champion. Another story concerned Bernie Ingle who was beaten by Byrne in the 1950 Irish Senior Championships. Eighteen years later, Ingle found himself doing corner for his own son
Noel in the same championships – against the same Ollie Byrne. Byrne went on to stop Noel Ingle in the second round. One of Byrne’s toughest contests occurred in 1959 when he took on Karl Mildenberger in an Ireland –v- Germany International in the National Stadium. In the opening round, Byrne was down for two counts of eight but came back so
strongly that Mildenberger was fortunate not to have been stopped in the final round. The verdict in Byrne’s favour was met with a reception of near hysterical proportions. Seven years later, Mildenberger, now a professional, took Muhammad Ali 12 rounds in a World Heavyweight title bout. Sadly, after 300 contests, Ollie lost his final battle with a serious illness in 1987. Those of us who were privileged to know him are certain that we will never again encounter an athlete to compare with the incredible Ollie Byrne.