Former British Middleweight champion has passed away at age 71.
He had been ill with alzeimers for a while.
A toughman with a come forward crowd pleasing style, he beat an aging Ray Robinson, he won the British title with a 1st round KO of George Aldridge.
Mick fought such names as Brian Curvis, Joey Archer, Laszlo Papp, Wally Swift, Nino Benvenuti.
here's a tribute from his local paper and a clip of him against Wally Swift
http://www.coventryobserver.co.uk/news89102.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyu6h-yjhWg
Mick Leahy passes away
-
Old bones Ian
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 11806
- Joined: 13 Jul 2004, 07:33
Mick Leahy passes away
Last edited by Old bones Ian on 14 Jan 2010, 05:08, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Mick Leahy passes away
I missed this altogether, sad news. He came back to Ireland a few times to fight. Had the proud distinction of beating Ray Robinson in a ten rounder amongst other notable achievements.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Re: Mick Leahy passes away
BN 400 wds on this Friday
Re: Mick Leahy passes away
Former British middleweight champion Mick Leahy has passed away at the age of 74 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
Leahy, a rugged Cork-born man, lived and fought out of Coventry where he proved immensely popular as a fighter who never took a backward step. Not a huge puncher, Mick soaked up a shot and kept on coming. He was one of those fighters probably more suited to the days of 25-rounders, a real Battling Nelson.
Best known for outpointing the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson over 10 bruising rounds in 1964, Leahy went the full 15 with Hungarian southpaw star Laszlo Papp (just a month after defeating Ray) and the full 10 with Italian great Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti in Italy. He clattered Midlands rival George Aldridge in 105 stunning seconds to win the British title in 1963, jumping on Aldridge in a real show of menace.
Managed by George Middleton of Randolph Turpin fame, Leahy lost the title in his first defence to Nottingham’s Wally Swift, with whom he shared a bitter four-fight series, but made it all the way to Madison Square Garden when he lasted the full 10 rounds with world class New Yorker Joey Archer, ultimately remembered as the last man to appear on Robinson’s glorious 200-fight resume (173 wins); The Sugar Man retired after dropping a decision to Archer in front of 10,000 fans in Pittsburgh in November 1965.
It is Robinson who also inevitably defines the career of Leahy. The Irishman was given no chance when the two met in Paisley in September 1964. Robinson was 44, cashing in on his name on a tour of Europe (shades of his first fight with Turpin) and struggling to make middleweight - but had lost only to Joey Giardello in his previous 15 outings. The gallant Leahy, 29, had lost three of his previous four but did what he always did in the fight as he walked into the teeth of Robinson’s punches, shrugged them off, kept on working, kept on coming and put in a big late-round surge. It was close and it was tough. Most people favoured Robinson but the nod went to Leahy. Nobody begrudged him the victory, least of all the gracious Robinson. He knew it had been hard.
Mick Leahy had just beaten the greatest fighter of all time.
Leahy, a rugged Cork-born man, lived and fought out of Coventry where he proved immensely popular as a fighter who never took a backward step. Not a huge puncher, Mick soaked up a shot and kept on coming. He was one of those fighters probably more suited to the days of 25-rounders, a real Battling Nelson.
Best known for outpointing the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson over 10 bruising rounds in 1964, Leahy went the full 15 with Hungarian southpaw star Laszlo Papp (just a month after defeating Ray) and the full 10 with Italian great Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti in Italy. He clattered Midlands rival George Aldridge in 105 stunning seconds to win the British title in 1963, jumping on Aldridge in a real show of menace.
Managed by George Middleton of Randolph Turpin fame, Leahy lost the title in his first defence to Nottingham’s Wally Swift, with whom he shared a bitter four-fight series, but made it all the way to Madison Square Garden when he lasted the full 10 rounds with world class New Yorker Joey Archer, ultimately remembered as the last man to appear on Robinson’s glorious 200-fight resume (173 wins); The Sugar Man retired after dropping a decision to Archer in front of 10,000 fans in Pittsburgh in November 1965.
It is Robinson who also inevitably defines the career of Leahy. The Irishman was given no chance when the two met in Paisley in September 1964. Robinson was 44, cashing in on his name on a tour of Europe (shades of his first fight with Turpin) and struggling to make middleweight - but had lost only to Joey Giardello in his previous 15 outings. The gallant Leahy, 29, had lost three of his previous four but did what he always did in the fight as he walked into the teeth of Robinson’s punches, shrugged them off, kept on working, kept on coming and put in a big late-round surge. It was close and it was tough. Most people favoured Robinson but the nod went to Leahy. Nobody begrudged him the victory, least of all the gracious Robinson. He knew it had been hard.
Mick Leahy had just beaten the greatest fighter of all time.