Mick McKeon was the outstanding Irish competitor at the 1948 London Olympic Games, a middleweight who had won six Irish titles across 250 amateur bouts and lost only six, and who was the victim of two deeply controversial judging decisions. In his third-series bout he defeated the French European champion Aime-Joseph Escudie to thunderous applause - prompting French officials including the AIBA president to resign in protest at the verdict going against their boxer. In the semi-final against Royal Navy boxer Johnny Wright, McKeon dominated the opening two rounds to such a degree that press and officials across Britain and Ireland unanimously agreed he had done more than enough to win, before losing the verdict in a decision described by Dick Wilkes in the Irish Press as 'one of the greatest boxing injustices I have ever seen.' A double nose fracture sustained before London, which recurred in sparring, prevented McKeon from contesting the bronze medal box-off.
Boxing
