Danny McAlinden

Daniel McAlinden (1 June 1947 – 8 March 2021)^[1] was a boxer from Northern Ireland. He won the British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship in 1972 when he defeated Jack Bodell in two rounds at Aston Villa football ground.^[2] Nicknamed "Dangerous Dan", he was managed by George Middleton who had managed Randolph Turpin when he was world middleweight champion in 1951.^[3] McAlinden was born in Newry and, at the age of 15, moved to Coventry.^[4] In 1966, McAlinden represented Northern Ireland at the Kingston British Empire and Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal in the heavyweight division. In 1967, he fought at the European Championship in Rome.^[5] He turned professional in 1969 and, in his second fight, stopped future British champion Richard Dunn. On the program of the Joe Frazier versus Muhammad Ali I bout on 8 March 1971 at Madison Square GardeninNew York, New York, McAlinden outpointed Ali's brother, Rahaman, undefeated in seven fights, after six rounds in a contest for rising boxers.^[6] McAlinden was at one time considered a potential opponent for world champion George Foreman's first title defence. However, in 1973 his form dipped and he eventually lost his title in 1975 to Bunny Johnson in nine rounds. He attempted to win back the title in 1975 against champion Richard Dunn but lost in round two. He fought on until 1981. In total he had 45 fights with a 31–12–2 record, winning 28 by knockout.