Coventry boxing hero Mcalinden dies at 73
COUNTY DOWN HEAVYWEIGHT MOVED TO CITY AS A SCHOOLBOY AND WAS FIRST IRISH FIGHTER TO BECOME BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH CHAMPION
THE death has been announced of Coventry boxing legend Danny Mcalinden at the age of 73.
Originally from Newry in Northern Ireland, Mcalinden moved to Coventry at the age of 15.
‘Dangerous’ Danny Mcalinden brought the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles back to Coventry in 1972.
He was the first ever Irish fighter to become the British and Commonwealth champion when he defeated Jack Bodell in two rounds at Villa Park in Birmingham.
His success was greeted with a civic reception in Coventry and Danny brought the house down when he addressed the large crowd that had gathered.
“I said to them that I might not have been born in Coventry but I couldn’t have thought of a better place to bring it back to,” he said.
Mcalinden held on to his crowns for three years and it would be another 25 years before Coventry produced another British champ – light-heavyweight Neil Simpson.
Mcalinden’s death comes 50 years after he fought on the Fight of the Century card in New York, when he beat Rahmann Ali, brother of boxing legend Muhammad, on points.
“Danny Mcalinden was just a better boxer than I was at the time,” said Rahman Ali later.
“He handed me my first defeat as a professional. Although he was not able to knock me down, he won the fight fair and square. He was able to land more punches on me than I was able to land on him. It was a tough experience to go through and it was a setback to my boxing career.”
The main event that night at Madison Square Garden was the meeting of icon Ali and Joe Frazier, with the older brother also tasting defeat.
Bunny Johnson beat Mcalinden three years later to become the first ever black man to be crowned British heavyweight champion.
He was touted as a potential opponent for world champion George Foreman in his first title defence before a dip in form led to his retirement from professional boxing in 1981.
In total Mcalinden had 45 fights with a 31-12-2 record, winning 28 by knockout.
Danny Mcalinden was just a better boxer than I was at the time. He handed me my first defeat as a professional. Rahmann Ali