“Record Breaker”
Jim Watt OBE was born in the boxing hotbed of Bridgeton in Glasgow’s East End on July 18th 1948. His first love was football but the long harsh winter of 1962–63 scuppered the young would-be footballer’s ability to play. So, he went to the warmer climes of James Murray’s Cardowan amateur boxing club at Maryhill.
Despite splitting from Murray later on to join Terry Lawless’s stable no one can deny that, under Murray’s inspirational tutelage the younger Jim Watt, budding footballer, was transformed into Jim Watt outstanding amateur southpaw boxer. The guy who knocked out future WBC welterweight champion and London’s pride John H. Stracey inside a single round to win the British ABA title in 1968.
Even then James Watt esquire was his own man having an independence bom of losing his beloved dad at the age of 38 to bronchitis and consequently having to stand on his own two feet from an early age.
In this connection, Jim Watt, British ABA Champion, stunned the boxing world by declining the chance to go to the Mexico Olympics in 1968 having made the decision to turn pro’ under the guidance of his old master James Murray.
Although, in the paid ranks, some put the early Jim Watt’s pro career facts of only fighting on one top class London Bill in 29 bouts down to cautious, defensive, southpaw style he had evolved. However on the plus side, Watt never took any heavy hammering early in his career, which explains the marvellous, unmarked, freshness he brought to World Class boxing once the big breakthrough was made.
On the other hand, boxing as he did, in an ultra defensive style led him to be known as “Jim Who” because he fought mainly (16 out of 29 bouts) in private members clubs for what Watt himself claims was pocket money for other champions. Yet even by this stage of the Watt career, the blonde southpaw from Bridgeton had proved his class, taking Nigerian Jonathan Dele the full 15 round distance in Lagos, Nigeria. Then confounding the pessimists by going the full distance with Scottish ring legend Ken Buchanan in January 1973.
Then there was the trip to South Africa and beating Springbok Andries Steyn in his own back yard in 1972. In addition, Jim Watt had already won the British lightweight title by stopping Tony Riley at Sheffield in May 1972.
Having split from James Murray, his old mentor, a telephone conversation with Essex based manager Terry Lawless in 1976 transformed the Watt career so that, ironically, for a man who used to sing “Flower of Scotland” after some of his most memorable triumphs, these victories were rooted in the rich English soil of Terry Lawless boxing know – how.
Who can now forget, with the support of Terry Lawless and promoter Mickey Duff, that April night in 1979, in the Kelvin Hall, when despite being hit with what Watt himself described as “the hardest shot I have ever received in the ring”, from Colombian Alfredo Pitalua, Watt stormed back to stop the tough Colombian in the 12th round before an ecstatic crowd.
This was the launching pad for an early 1980′s renaissance in Scottish boxing with Jim establishing a record number of successive World Title defences (four) by a Scottish boxing champion. Fights that proved the qualities that explain why Jim Watt OBE is truly a worthy candidate for inclusion in the Scottish Boxing Hall of Fame.
The Watt toughness and courage was seen in the defence against Ireland’s Charlie Nash in March 1980 when, after climbing off the canvas in the first round, he sent former European champion Nash to the boards four times in the fourth before the referee intervened.
The Watt boxing classiness was seen against American winner of an Olympic Gold Medal and Best Boxer award at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, Howard Davis. American golden boy Davis swaggered into Glasgow in June 1980, cheekily asking about Jim who? Insinuating that Jim Watt was a bum in world terms but he soon got his answer in the rain at Ibrox Park on June 7th 1980. Davis may have dazzled the ringside crowd with his glaring salmon pink trunks (made by Scottish referee Len Mullen, a bespoke tailor) but all the dazzle and the smarter boxing over 15 rounds came from the Scottish pride, Watt, a points winner over an acknowledged boxing master like Davis.
Caledonian ring great Watt also showed his ring smarts in his last successful defence of his world crown on November 1st, 1980 at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, against Oklahoma dangerman, Sean O’Grady (73 knockouts in 74 bouts). Badly gashed in the eye himself, Jim ran away from O’Grady until he was in a position to cut the American and stop him in the 12th round. So smart thinking saved the day.
Smart thinking outside the ropes brought Jim Watt business success in the motor trade and also his present career as a TV boxing pundit who’s fearless opinions command respect. One will always find Jim Watt to be as courteous and polite outside the ropes as he was tough and uncom promising in ring battle.
Overall, being the only Scot to win a title in Spain (when he outpointed Perico Fernandez in Madrid in February 1978 for the European lightweight title) and notching up a record number of successful world title defences alone, make Glasgow and Scotland’s pride Jim Watt, a worthy inductee into the Scottish Hall of Boxing fame.
It was William Shakespeare who once wrote “Nothing became him as the method of his leaving….. Or words to that effect. So it was with Jim Watt. He may have lost his WBC Lightweight crown at Wembley Arena on June 1st 1981, but he went out on his shield, as a true ring great should. There was no stigma in being beaten by Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello, especially after taking that modem ring great the full 15 round distance before abdicating with a dignity that has been, and remains, the hallmark of Jim Watt’s life and boxing career.
