The fight, which took place in London in May 1961, went the full distance and Caldwell was awarded the points decision to become the first Irishman since Rinty Monaghan in 1948 to win a world title. The fight was remembered by Caldwell. ""Halimi was very, very dangerous man and a hard hitter ...is was constantly at me and I couldn't take my eyes off him for a split second – the fight was one of the hardest of my career. I remember that I knocked him down in the last round and got the decision in the end. I was on top of the world and knew that it had been a great achievement.""