On This Day: October 3rd
1953: Belfast’s John Kelly won the British and European titles on a glorious night in front of 10,000 fans at the King’s Hall. The hugely talented Ulsterman took on champion Peter Keenan and outpointed the Scot over fifteen rounds. The win came just over two years following his silver medal at the European Championships in Milan.
Kelly was viewed as a potential opponent for Australian World champion Jimmy Carruthers but the fight never materialised as he would lose his European belt in his first defence to Frenchman Robert Cohan, before Keenan reclaimed the Lonsdale belt in a rematch the following year.
