"John Caldwell (born 7 May 1938, Belfast – died 10 July 2009) was an Irish boxer who won the bronze medal in the flyweight (– 51 kg) division at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
Caldwell was considered a supreme fighter whose class and skill saw him claim a medal in 1956 and the world bantamweight crown in 1961. He enjoyed a magnificent career as an amateur and professional in which he contested 275 bouts, winning on all but ten occasions.
Born in Belfast's Cyprus Street in 1938 Caldwell was drawn to the world-famous Immaculata Club at an early age. Caldwell's natural talent came to the attention of trainer Jack McCusker and he rose to prominence throughout Ireland.
By 1956, the Falls Road boxer held both the junior and senior Irish flyweight titles and a place on the Irish team at the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics was assured. "We were away for six weeks and went to San Francisco and then stopped off in Honolulu on the way to Australia ... (I) was very young at the time and at just eighteen I was considered to be the baby of the team. The athlete Maeve Kyle looked after us all and it was the most successful set of Irish boxers ever to go to an Olympics as we won four bronze medals. But it was such an honour to be picked and I was so overjoyed to be representing Ireland on such a stage."
In his opening bout, Caldwell was afforded a bye. His next opponent, Yaishwe (from Burma) was knocked out in the third round. In the quarterfinal, Caldwell beat on points Warner Batchelor, an Australian, who had been the favourite for the gold medal. However, in the semi-final, he lost out to Romanian Mircea Dobrescu and had to content himself with a bronze medal.
On his return, Caldwell was welcomed back to his native Cyprus Street. "The whole street was out to cheer me on my return to Belfast and to have stood on that podium in Melbourne with my medal just made me so proud". The calling to the paid ranks was not far off. In January 1958, he fought his last unpaid fight in Belfast's St Mary's Hall.
Caldwell moved to Scotland to begin his professional career. Glasgow was to be the base from where Caldwell, under the management of Sammy Doherty, set out on a new era. In his first bout, a two-round stoppage of Englishman Billy Downer signalled the start of John's rise through the ranks. As Caldwell recalled, the training regime he followed required discipline, self-control and dedication. "In Glasgow, I attended mass at half-six every morning ... [A]fter that, I would take to the hills outside the city for the running and stamina training. I had to watch my diet and keep myself right that it was really tough going. My exercise routines were so varied and beneficial that the Glasgow Celtic manager Jimmy McGrory asked me to go along and help the team out."
After six successful bouts in Scotland, Caldwell 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 knocked out the holder Frankie Jones at the King's Hall. With a Lonsdale Belt to his name, Caldwell 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 Caldwell was awarded the points decision to become the first Irishman since Rinty Monaghan in 1948 to win a world title. The fight was remembered by Caldwell. "Halimi was very, very dangerous man and a hard hitter ...[H]is was constantly at me 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 I knocked him down in the last round and got the decision in the end. I was on top of the world and knew that it had been a great achievement."
As champion, Caldwell 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 São Paulo in Brazil, where Caldwell was to face the legendary Eder Jofre. The Brazilian gradually got on top to stop Caldwell in the tenth. Caldwell, who had been accompanied by his father on the trip, spoke of his memories. "Eder Jofre was the greatest bantamweight and the hardest-hitter for his weight of all time ... (I) remember the place was packed to the rafters and there were many thousands locked outside the arena. As it turned out, it was my first defeat as a professional and it was hard to take." While Caldwell sought to regain his title, a chance to guarantee a rematch with Jofre turned up rather closer to home."
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