Brian Anderson (Irish boxer)

Brian Anderson (born 22 May 1939) is an Irish boxer. He competed in the men's light welterweight event at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[1]

Brian Anderson
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1939-05-22) 22 May 1939
Sport
SportBoxing

Biography

Anderson was born in Carrickmagrath, Ballybofey, County Donegal, Ireland.[2]

In 1958 Anderson went to London where he joined Middle Row Boxing Club.[3][2] Boxing as a novice, Anderson won the North London Divisional Championships as bantamweight. He later moved up to featherweight, and at this level won the All-London Championships.[2] He left the sport in 1961, but returned to win the lightweight division in 1962.[2]

In May 1964 British Amateur Boxing Association Championships Anderson, now at light-welterweight, defeated the Scottish boxer and Olympic medallist Dick McTaggart in the semi-final, but was controversially beaten by Robert Taylor in the final.[3][2][4]

Anderson was selected for the English boxing team for an international match in Hungary in August 1964, and won both his bouts, including one against the Olympian Istvan Toth.[3][5]

Anderson had been in contention to be picked for the British Olympic team for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, but McTaggart was actually selected.[2] However, just a month before the Games, Anderson was chosen for the Irish Olympic Team to replace the injured light-welterweight Jim Neill.[3][2][4] He was narrowly defeated in a 3-2 decision by the Cambodian Touch Nol in his first match.[3][6][1] His close friend Jim McCourt won a bronze medal, with Anderson and team coach Harry Enright in his corner.[4]

In 1965 Anderson won the Irish senior title, claiming the light-welterweight crown.[2]

Anderson returned to his hometown of Carrickmagrath.[3] In 1979, he founded the Twin Towns Boxing Club with his brother, Peter.[3][2]

Ciara Anderson, his granddaughter, is a multiple Irish boxing champion.[3][7][2]

References
  1. "Olympedia – Brian Anderson". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. McNulty, Chris (7 August 2016). "Donegal's Olympians, part 4: Brian Anderson, a travesty, a bombshell and Tokyo". Donegal Sport Hub. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. McNulty, Chris. "Brian Anderson reunited and honoured with 1964 Olympic team-mates – Donegal Daily". www.donegaldaily.com. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. Loughran, Neil (11 May 2021). "New book details Donegal's long history with the fight game". The Irish News. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. "DualHUN_ENG". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. McGoldrick, Sean (5 October 2015). Punching Above their Weight: The Irish Olympic Boxing Story. The O'Brien Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-84717-807-7.
  7. "Boxer Ciara Anderson has big gloves to fill". Donegal Woman. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
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