Best of Enemies by Padraig Lawlor

Author:Padraig Lawlor [Barry Flynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781909718890
Publisher: Liberties Press
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Seven minutes and twenty-two seconds of total superiority had won Caldwell possession of a Lonsdale Belt. The final, telling onslaught had been clinical in the extreme. John’s coup de grâce had been delivered with assurance and, with pity and compassion, his gloved hands supported Jones to the canvas to meet his fate. The Daily Mirror commented that Jones was counted out as he lay motionless on the floor but ‘at seven he twitched slightly, like a dog asleep in front of the fire’. In the dressing room, Jones announced his retirement from the sport.

For Caldwell, the roars of approval were singular confirmation that the future was bright, and potentially brilliant. As the massive crowds flooded onto the Lisburn Road, George Connell and Sam Docherty were busy trying to agree on a lucrative figure to offer Pone Kingpetch for a money-spinning clash in either Belfast or Glasgow. However, the man who really had the sway – and, indeed, the money – to secure such a fight was Jack Solomons, who had watched the Caldwell-Jones fight with interest from ringside. Docherty’s offer to Kingpetch was turned down, and Caldwell agreed to appear again at the King’s Hall on 26 November. He stopped his opponent, former French champion Christian Marchand, in the seventh round.

Three days before his fight with Marchand, Caldwell had announced that Jack McCusker had agreed to release him from his contract. With the prospect of a costly court battle in the offing, McCusker had realised that he was fighting a losing battle and had agreed to accept an undisclosed amount from Caldwell as compensation. ‘I’m happy that our differences have been settled,’ John told the press. ‘Jack’s a great guy and a great trainer, and I wish him a speedy recovery to health. We will always be firm friends.’ A successful relationship, which had begun in 1950, was now at an end; McCusker was ill and his inner fight had been sapped completely. Within days, Docherty announced that he had applied for a manager’s licence.

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