Aussie Olympic boxer Tony Madigan, 87

Australian amateur boxer Tony Madigan, who twice went toe-to-toe with Muhammad Ali, has died at the age of 87.

Born in 1930, the middle and light-heavyweight fighter participated in three Olympic Games from 1952 to 1960, being defeated by the then Cassius Clay in Rome in his third and final medal attempt.

Spending much of his formative years in Sydney following the death of his father when he was eight years old, Madigan first stepped into the ring at school under the watchful eye of Australian boxing champion Hughie Dwyer.

He would develop a career in the sport in the United States, where he moved in the early 1950s, but only after making his first impression on the sporting world in rugby union, even going on to enjoy a stint with English side Harlequins in 1953.

However, it was the ring where Madigan’s name was to become celebrated in Australian sporting circles, competing in his first Olympics in Helsinki in 1952, where he was defeated in the third round by Sweden’s Stig Sjolin.

He would progress as far as the quarter-final stage four years later in Melbourne, where he lost to Russian Romualdas Murauskas on points, before making his final bid for Olympic glory in Italy four years later.

Following a controversial bout, with several claiming that it was Madigan and not Clay that should have progressed to the final of the competition, the Australian was forced to settle for a bronze medal, though he would claim two gold medals and one silver in the light-heavyweight division of the Commonwealth Games between 1954 and 1962.

Despite his successes though, Madigan would never turn professional and spent much of his life abroad, even spending time in New York after retiring from the ring to commence a modelling career.

Among those paying tribute to Madigan was former Australian rugby player Nick Farr-Jones, who had developed a strong friendship with the fighter.

“He was just a lovely man,” he said. “Obviously hard as nails, but at the same time just a gentle, charming man.

“As a boxer I always remember looking at his hands and they were so granite-like, and yet so soft.

“It was a real privilege to get to know him,” added Farr-Jones.

Madigan, who passed away following a long battle with illness, is survived by his wife Sybilla, his son Kendall and brother Mark.

Tony Madigan fought Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) twice.