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Dave McAuley

Statistics
Real name	David McAuley
Nickname(s)	Dave 'Boy' McAuley
Rated at	Flyweight
Nationality	{Irish]]
Birth date	15 June 1961 (1961-06-15) (age 48)
Birth place	Larne, Northern Ireland
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	23
Wins	18
Wins by KO	8
Losses	3
Draws	2
No contests	0

Dave McAuley, born 15 June 1961 in Larne, Northern Ireland is a former professional boxer. During his professional career he held the IBF world title in the Flyweight category.^[1] He was arguably the Irelands greatest ever Flyweight.

Boxing career

He fought under the name Dave "Boy" McAuley, and was one of the last Irish boxers to fight for a world title over 15 rounds. His two epic fights against Fidel Bassa were both voted "Fight of the Year", in 1986 and 1987 respectively. McAuley was a superb boxer who showed perhaps more bravery than any other modern Irish fighter. Anyone that was privileged enough to watch the Bassa fights would have witnessed a boxing masterclass - McAuley hauled himself off the canvas to go on and give Bassa the fright of his life. When McAuley finally defeated Duke McKenzie for the IBF title, no Irish boxer deserved a world title more.

Regarded as the most successful Irish fighters ever, due to the numerous times he defended his recognized IBF World Title and became the most successful Irish fighter post-war with a recognized IBF World Title.

Among his most famous bouts were two brutal encounters with Colombian Fidel Bassa at Belfast's King's Hall. In 1989 McAuley won the IBF title from Duke McKenzie. He successfully defended his title five times, eventually losing it to Rodolfo Blanco in 1992, whom he had beaten two years previously.^[2]

McAuley was unusual for a flyweight in that he was extremely tall for someone in the flyweight division, standing at 5'7". He was one of the Irelands most underrated boxers, and was poorly treated by various promoters and media after his loss to Blanco.

Broadcasting career

McAuley now works as a commentator for Irish television station Raidió Teilifís Éireann on their boxing coverage.

Comeback to Boxing

McAuley was almost tempted out of retirement on more than one occasion, right up to the mid 1990s.

Dave Boy was rumoured for a comeback fight with Prince Naseem Hamed, for which he has stated, "I will fight anyone for the right price".

The Larne man has also enlisted several sparring partners from around the country adding weight to the claims made earlier in the year.

Poker

Dave "Boy" McAuley recently took part in a celebrity boxing poker tournament organised by partypoker.com however being an amateur in this sport was put out first after going "all in" with ace two off suit. Some may say Dave Boy was knocked clean out!

In 2009, he was back in Poker Super Stars and triumphantly got through to the final table in London.

Other activities

Dave Boy is also a pro bull rider as he demonstrated on Children In Need.

See also

• List of Irish sportspeople

• List of British flyweight boxing champions

References