William Byrne

Light-heavyweight boxer Bill Byrne competed in only one Commonwealth Games, but what an impression he made. Byrne, born in Gisborne in 1951, won a silver medal in the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games, beating an Olympic medallist along the way.

In domestic competition, Byrne compiled an astounding record. He won six national heavyweight titles - in 1970 and 1972 and then from 1974-77 - and four light-heavyweight crowns, from 1972-75. In three years he doubled up, fighting in two divisions in the same tournament! It didn’t all come easily. In the 1973 heavyweight final, Aucklander Ali Taulapapa sent Byrne to the canvas three times in the first round, but Byrne rallied to stop his opponent in the third round.

When he won his first heavyweight title, upsetting the higher-rated Charlie Dunn in the final, he was 19. Only David Tua in 1989 has been a younger national boxing champion.

Byrne attended Gisborne Boys’ High School and began boxing when he was 13. Though boxing was his first love, he was a promising rugby player, too, a loose forward in the first XV for two years.

He got a job at P&T, later known as Telecom, and moved to Wellington in 1969. For 46 years he was a wire technician, once saving a colleague’s life from a tumbling power pole.

In 1969, joined the Heretaunga Boxing Club as a founding member (he became a life member in 1995). His coach was Alan Scaife, ‘Mr Boxing’ in the Hutt Valley, and Scaife turned Byrne into a champion.

Byrne’s last national title, in 1977, was won against George Stankovich, heavyweight bronze medallist at the 1978 Edmonton Commonwealth Games.

At the Christchurch Commonwealth Games, the overwhelming light-heavyweight (75kg-81kg) title favourite was Nigerian Isaac Ikhuoria, who’d won the bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics and appeared to be a class above everyone else in his division.

But Byrne had other ideas. After receiving a bye in the first round, he easily beat Papua New Guinea’s Paul Thompson when the referee stopped the contest in the second round, and so earned a semi-final match-up with Ikhuoria.

Byrne started the bout at a tremendous rate and built up a big lead in the first round. The Nigerian came back into it as the bout went on, but the New Zealander hung on and won a split 3-2 decision. Byrne impressed with his powerful left hand and showed coolness and skill disengaging from clinches. His good footwork and sharp reflexes generally kept him out of trouble.

Unfortunately he sustained a cut near his eye during the bout and was not permitted to fight Englishman Billy Knight in the final, thus having to be satisfied with the silver medal. In fact, he’d finished the bout with Ikhuoria with blood streaming down his face and there was a moment when it seemed the doctor might stop the fight.

In a letter dated February 13, 1974, Prime Minister Norman Kirk wrote to Byrne: “I know that every New Zealander was tremendously thrilled and excited by your fine performance which did so much to uphold the spirit of the 1974 games.”

An 18-year old Wellingtonian, Lynda Crook, was so enchanted watching on TV that she told her father she would one day meet Bill. Her father laughed. A year later they walked into the same job. They were married on December 19, 1981 Waiwhetu, in Lower Hutt.

Byrne became a respected figure in boxing, often assisting local fighters, most notably Michael Kenny, who said that before his Commonwealth Games gold medal win in Auckland in 1990 he reflected on every New Zealand Games boxing medallist. “Bill Kini was a masseur in my corner and Bill Byrne was a childhood hero and friend.

“I remember when I was nine my father got me out of bed to see ‘someone special’. I raced into the lounge to see Bill and his medal. Being the kid I was, all I wanted to do was to touch his medal. Bill let me hold it, try to bend it and then I was allowed to wear it. This is a vivid memory I will never forget and one that certainly galvanised my resolve to perform on the night I fought for gold.”

Lynda and Bill three children, who all became accomplished athletes. One, Tyson, represented the Black Sox, winning a softball world title in 2013.