Jim Jordan

Name: Jim Jordan
Hometown: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

Obituary

by Denis O'Hara

BELFAST fighter Jim Jordan, a Commonwealth Games championship lightweight silver medallist and one-time professional welterweight, passed away on Sunday November 24. He was 88.. Also a former Irish international, 'Gentleman Jim' lost in the old 1958 Empire Games lightweight decider in Cardiff. He was outscored by shifty Scot Dick McTaggart in the final. Jordan, a three-times Ulster amateur lightweight champion and one National senior title when boxing out of the Belfast Markets St George's ABC, once recalled two ring meetings with McTaggart. "I gave him a run for his money in the 1958 final, two years after he won the Olympic Games gold medal. One year before the Empire Games in Cardiff I represented Ireland against England in Dublin . My opponent wss Dick McTaggart, who took the points decision. "He was then in the RAF and the ABA champion - the reason why he was selected for England, while at Cardiff McTaggart represented his native Scotland. "In 2010 I again met up with McTaggart, outside of a ring - when I went to Blackpool along with Paddy Maguire to represent the NI Ex-Boxers' Association at a special EBA bash." Jordan, whose younger brother Gerry won four Ulster and one Irish amateur featherweight titles, turned professional in the Ulster Hall in November 1958. Plagued by eyebrow injuries, he finished with a modest 7-4 chart. His final outing was a cuts stoppage loss to Cork welterweight Sean Leahy at Tolka Park, Dublin on June 26, 1962. Topping the bill was Leahy's famous older brother, Coventry based Mick who outscored middleweight Orlando Paso over ten rounds. Jim, managed by Freddie Gilroy's pilot, Jimmy McAree, once remembered two outings in a King's Hall setting. "The first was in March 1960 in the Belfast King's Hall. I had a win over Roy Scanlon on the undercard of a sensational bantamweight war when Gilroy stopped Glasgow hard man Billy Rafferty. On the line were British, European and Commonwealth belts. "The second King's Hall experience is one I'd rather forget, as it just about finished me with boxing. I was on the supporting programme at Belle Vue, Manchester - and won against Harry Shaw. "Topping the bill was Gilroy, who suffered a shock loss to Mexican Ignacio Pina. What floored me afterwards was when I went to get my wages for my fight, and was handed a £5 note." Following his ring retirement, Jim kept in close contact with his primary school pal from Belfast's Lower Falls, ex-professional flyweight Eddie Shaw, who was a key coach during the formative years of Barry McGuigan in the Belfast Eastwood gym.