Tony Madigan, Australian Globetrotter

[williefromrichmond]

Antony Morgan “Tony” Madigan

Born February 4, 1930

Began boxing 1949

6’ 1” 175-180

1952

July 29 - Boris Silchev (Soviet Union) W pts 2-1
“Madigan won a split decision over Silichev in a bristling contest. It was close all the way” (Pacific Stars and Stripes [Tokyo, Japan] 7-30-52:14).

July 31 - Stig Sjolin (Sweden) L pts 0-3
Olympic middleweight quarterfinalist; Helsinki, Finland.

1953

Jan. - Announced his intention of boxing
in England for the Fulham Boxing
Club, of London, during the 1953
season. He is said to have won 17
of his 18 bouts that season. I only
found the eleven bouts listed below:

Feb. 2 - Eddie Woollard, Wembley W pts
“Madigan gave an impressive showing when beating Woollard in four rounds” (Boxing News 2-11-53:16).

Mch. 16 - R. Short W disq 3

Mch. 16 - Basil Kew W pts
London South West Division light-heavyweight champion; Battersea. Madigan also probably won at least one and maybe two more bouts in this competition.

Mch. 25 - S. Gatland W 2

Mch. 25 - W. Edwards W 1
London light-heavyweight champion; Empress Hall, Earl’s Court.

Apr. 24 - John McLean W 2
“Madigan was far too strong for McLean. Although he was leaving himself open, he landed with such force that the referee stopped the contest in the second round” (Boxing News 4-29-53:15).

Apr. 24 - Henry Cooper L pts
A.B.A. light-heavyweight finalist; Wembley. “Madigan could find no answer to Cooper’s brilliant left hand in a thrilling bout” (Boxing News 4-29-53:15).

May 17 - Arthur Woods Exh W pts
“Madigan had to box an exhibition with Woods because his scheduled opponent, Basil Kew, was recovering from a damaged eye. The exhibition turned out to be quite an affair. In the second round Woods was holding on after taking some good punching from Madigan” (Boxing News 5-27-53:16).

May 29 - Tommy George W pts
England vs. Wales; Cardiff, Wales. “Madigan was far too strong for George, the Welsh champion, and ran out a comfortable points winner” (Boxing News 6-10-53:16).

June 4 - Jack Harper W pts
London vs. Royal Air Force (R.A.F.); Clapham Common, London. “Harper met stiff opposition in Madigan, whose body punching was most devastating. Although some of the crowd thought Harper had won, those at the ringside had no doubts” (Boxing News 6-10-53:15).

June 11 - P. Klijssen L pts
London vs. Amsterdam; Amsterdam, Holland. “Shock defeat for the Londoners was the points defeat of Madigan” (Boxing News 6-17- 53:15).

1954

Jan. - Reconfirmed his intention
of remaining in England during
the 1954 season, this time
with the Battersea Boxing Club.

Jan. - Tony Dove, Battersea W pts

Feb. 5 - Hans Hoth W 3
London vs. Berliner Box Verband; West Berlin, West Germany.

Mch. 15 - Tony Dove W pts
London South West Division light-heavyweight champion; Battersea. “Madigan snatched the narrowest of victories over Dove. It was Madigan’s right-hand jab to the body that put him in front. The verdict received a hearty booing, but the boxers appeared satisfied” (Boxing News 3-19-54:15). Madigan probably also won at least one and maybe two more bouts in this competition.

Apr. 5 - won his semi-final bout. W

Apr. 5 - Bill Ward W 1
London light-heavyweight champion; Royal Albert Hall, London, England. “Ward dislocated his hip when going down from a right by Madigan in the first round” (Boxing 4-9-54:15).

Apr. 23 - Johnny Sullivan W pts
“Few were pluckier than the strong Sullivan, who took such a battering from Madigan that the bout could have been stopped in the second round” (Boxing News 4-30-54:15).

Apr. 23 - Eddie Woollard W pts
A.B.A. light-heavyweight champion; Wembley, London. “Madigan punched too persistently for Woollard, who took two long counts. Despite his better boxing, Woollard found it impossible to check the ever-advancing Madigan, who cut Woollard’s nose and gradually punched him to a slow-motion target” (Boxing News 4-30-56:14).

May 28 - Billy Baxter W pts
London vs. Imperial Services (I.S.B.A.), Royal Albert Hall, London. “I thought Baxter did extremely well to stand up to the vicious punching of Madigan, but Madigan was an easy points winner” (Boxing News 6-4- 54:15).

Aug. 3 - Bill Misselbrook (Canada) W 1
“Madigan smashed Misselbrook in 91 seconds” (Boxing News 8-11-54:14).
Aug. 6 - Piet van Vuuren L pts
(South Africa). British Empire and Commonwealth/later Commonwealth light-heavyweight finalist; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.


1956

Mch. 12 - Jim Carroll W 1

Mch. 12 - Bob Shaw W pts
London South West Division light-heavyweight champion; Nine Elms Bath, Battersea. “Madigan had not boxed since the Empire Games 18 months ago” (Boxing News 3-23-56:15). Madigan also probably won at least one and maybe two more matches in this competition.

Apr. 9 - Derek Hack W2

Apr. 9 - Johnny Cole L 3
London light-heavyweight finalist; Albert Hall. “Madigan was stopped with a cut eye. Madigan, although being fully extended by Cole, appeared to be just in front when he sustained his injury. There were only 15 seconds left for the final bell, but, of course, the referee was not to know this” (Boxing News 4-13-56:13).

Nov. 29 - Romualdas Murauskas L pts
(Soviet Union). Olympic light-heavyweight quarterfinalist; Melbourne, Australia. “Murauskas was clever. He used a long jab and a fairly straight right hand to shade Madigan” (Winnipeg [Canada] Free Press 11-30-56:38).

1958

July 21 - Eddie Morrison (New Zealand) W pts

July 23 - Gerhardus de Bruyn W pts
(South Africa). “de Bruyn gave Madigan plenty of trouble before having his colours lowered” (Boxing News 8-1-58:16).

July 25 - Augustine “Ossie” Higgins (Wales) W pts
British Empire and Commonwealth/later Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion; Cardiff, Wales. “Madigan bull-dozed his way to a clean points victory over Higgins. Tall and fast, Higgins put up a much better show than I had expected. He used the left jab well and made excellent use of the ring. But he could never check the relentless advance of Madigan, who proved much too durable. Higgins’ best punches bounced off tearaway Tony , who, despite a damaged left eye received in the preliminaries, stalked his man continuously and punched him with left jabs that shook his head back. Follow up hooks to the body gradually sapped Higgins’ strength and he was busy defending himself in the third round that Madigan completely dominated the scoring” (Boxing News 8-1-58:15).

“After the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games Madigan settled temporarily in New York, where he earned his living as a ‘he-man’ model, while devoting part of his leisure to winning the Diamond belt at Mexico City and the Eastern Zone of the United States Golden Gloves. Madigan made a hurried trip to Sydney in 1960 to stake his claim for selection in the Australian Olympic boxing team for Rome. After the [Olympic] Games he returned to New York. But now [November 1962] he has come home to stay” (Boxing News 11-16-62:13).

1959

Jan. 14 - Tommy Kelly W 2
“Madigan showed a wide assortment of punches, including a busy left hook which gradually took the steam out of Kelly. Madigan floored Kelly with a left hook in the first round, but didn’t finish him until the second, when Kelly began absorbing too many of the left hooks. The referee stopped it at 1:12 of the round” (New York Daily News 1-15-59:69).

Feb. 5 - Jimmy Johnson W 2
“Johnson gave Madigan punch for punch in the first round, but Madigan finally clipped him with a left hook and it was over at 1:27 of the second” (New York Daily News 2-6-59:55).

Feb. 11 - Lou Segarra W pts
“Madigan had to go the distance, but he did and won. There was no doubt about the decision” (New York Daily News 2-12-59:68).

Feb. 16 - Sigmund Wortherly W pts
New York Metropolitan Golden Gloves open light-heavyweight champion; New York City, New York. “Madigan stole the show, winning roars of approval from the fans with his speed, skill and punch” (Pacific Stars and Stripes [Tokyo, Japan] 2-18-59:18). “Madigan gave a masterful exhibition of boxing and outpunched Wortherly all the way. But, right up to the bitter end, Wortherly was in there punching, and was dangerous all the time” (New York Daily News 2-17-59:40). Attendance: 14,552.

Mch. 3 - Bill Hollis W 3
“Madigan scored a decisive third round knockout over the classy Hollis and he had to get off the canvas to do it. Hollis floored him for a count of eight in the first round” (Raleigh Register [Beckley, West Virginia] 3-4-59:6). “Madigan, down once in the first round, came back fighting and knocked out Hollis at 1:37 of the third round. Hollis, Pittsburgh champ and 1958 inter-city star, unwound a left hook midway in the first that send Madigan to the canvas. Madigan came back strong in the second with a flurry of punches to the body and a vicious right to the chin at short range. Hollis fought back but the round was clearly Madigan’s. He clinched the bout in the third by decking Hollis with a right to the chin. Hollis got back on his feet but Madigan kept punching away until the referee stopped the fight” (Pacific Stars and Stripes [Tokyo, Japan] 3-5-59:18).

Mch. 4 - Taylor Perry W pts

Mch. 4 - Simon Ramos W pts
U.S. Eastern Golden Gloves light-heavyweight champion; New York City, New York. Attendance: 11,080.

Mch. 24 - His record: 94-5.

Mch. 25 - Cassius Clay/later L pts
Mohammad Ali. U.S. National Golden Gloves finalist; Chicago, Illinois, USA. “The individual spotlight [of the championships] was turned on Clay, who proved that he was quite advanced for his age as a sharp counter puncher in taking a decision over Madigan. Madigan, a rough, mauling type of fighter, pressed the fight all the way, but Clay’s pointed combinations kept rocking him” (Moberly [Missouri] Monitor- Index and Democrat 3-26-59:12). “In a rousing two-fisted battle, Clay counter punched brilliantly to win a verdict over Madigan. Madigan pressed the fight all the way and gave Clay a good body clobbering, but Clay’s crisp left-right combinations frequently staggered the persistent Madigan” (Troy [New York] Record 3-26-59:30). Attendance: 7,621.

Apr. 2 - Fred McLeod W 2
(Reno [Nevada] Evening Gazette 4-3-59:10).

Apr. 3 - Johnny Powell L pts
U.S. National Amateur Athletic Union light-heavyweight quarterfinalist; Toledo, Ohio, USA.

Sept. 19 - Andres Muela (Mexico) W 1
International Diamond Belt Tournament light-heavyweight champion; Mexico City, Mexico. (Pacific Stars and Stripes [Tokyo, Japan] 9-22-59:21). Attendance: 14,000.

1960

June 4 - Eddie Marshall W 1
Australian Olympic team light-heavyweight trial; Sydney, Australia. (Boxing News 6-10-60:13). Madigan was making 24 pounds sterling an hour modeling clothes for a New York tailoring company and couldn’t get away in time to return to Australia to compete in its national championships. The Australian Amateur Boxing Association denied him an opportunity to box in a special Olympic trial, but the clamor of boxing fans around the country demanding that he be given such a match was so great that their decision was reversed, and he promptly flattened Marshall, who had won the national title (Boxing News 8-12- 60:13).

Aug. 30 - Lars Norling (Sweden) W pts 5-0

Sept. 1 - Gheorghe Negrea W 2
(Romania)

Sept. 3 - Cassius Clay/later L pts 0-5
Muhammad Ali (USA). Olympic light-heavyweight semifinalist; Rome, Italy. “Clay gained the decision with a hard earned but unanimous decision over Madigan. Clay had all he could handle in beating back the challenge of Madigan. Although Clay got all five votes of the judges, he received a heavy pounding in the third when Madigan unlimbered his big right hand” (Oakland [California] Tribune 9-3-60:15).

1962

Aug. 10 - Gerry Maloney W 2
Australian national light-heavyweight champion; Sydney. “Madigan displayed shattering form to stop Maloney in the second round” (Boxing News 11-16-62:13).

Aug. 31 - Pre-British Empire and Commonwealth Games: “Madigan welcomes opponents who come willingly to trade. He has a left hook and right cross that knocked out three-quarters of his 100 opponents. Only tall left-hand jabbers - such as Cassius Clay in the Rome semis - trouble Tony” (Boxing News 8-31-62:15).

Nov. 22 - Dave Paley (Wales) W 2
“Paley was another victim of drastic decision by the referee. True, his face was a sorry spectacle when the referee intervened in the second round, but Paley is prone to blood very freely and can lose a lot of blood without apparent effect. In the Welsh camp the opinion was that Madigan was getting on top in the second round after having led in the opening round. Paley could well have gone on to the full distance. However, the closure was applied in the second round” (Boxing News 12-7-62:15).

Nov. 25 - Ronald Holmes (Jamaica) W disq 3

Nov. 28 - Ivan Christie (Northern W 3
Ireland). “In his semi-final, Christie opened very well by scoring to the head, but later in the round Madigan really rocked Christie with powerful rights to the head, and he was punishing Christie in the second, when the referee stepped in to ‘call it a day’” (Boxing News 12-7-62:15).

Dec. 1 - Jojo Miles (Ghana) W pts
British Empire and Commonwealth/later Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion; Perth, Australia.

1963

Mch. 30 - News surfaced that Madigan would turn pro and box light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore in early June in Sydney, Australia. The bout never materialized.