Sixty years ago tonight (20th October 1962), at the King's Hall in Belfast, the "Baby Faced Assassin" met the "Cold Eyed Killer."  No, not a stand off between two local gang leaders, but an encounter between probably the greatest bantamweight boxers ever produced by the island of Ireland. Freddie Gilroy (the "Baby Faced Assassin") and Johnny Caldwell (the "Cold Eyed Killer") were the leading contenders for the World Bantamweight Title, held by the legendary Brazilian "Golden Bantam," Eder Jofre (who has sadly passed away in the last few days), who had defeated Caldwell a few months earlier. It was a cracking fight, with neither man giving any quarter, until the ninth round, when Caldwell was forced to retire because of badly cut eyes.

In the 1980's, I attended many great fights in the King's Hall and watched my fellow Ulstermen, Barry McGuigan and Dave McAuley, rise to become World Featherweight and World Flyweight champions respectively. Unfortunately, I wasn't there in 1962 ( I was a year old at the time), but fifteen thousand people were and the atmosphere must have been electric.  Years later, I had the pleasure of meeting both men (separately, I hasten to add) and hearing their stories. On my lunch break today, I will watch the fight once more on YouTube in honour of (in the words of the title of my song about the fight) "Two Brave Little Men," who are, sadly, no longer with us.

In memory of Freddie Gilroy  (1936-2016) and Johnny Caldwell (1938-2009)