Outstanding Achievement
W.B.O. World Flyweight Champion, Undefeated British & European Flyweight Champion
23 contests, won: 20, lost: 3
Scottish flyweight southpaw great, Pat Clinton’s Croy birthplace in Dunbartonshire, has fighting connections going back to Roman times when it was selected by those bonny Latin fighters, the Romans, as a key point in their Antonine Wall defences. How ironically appropriate then, it was that Pat would take his Roman connection full circle by winning his European flyweight crown by beating Salvatore Fanni in the Roman’s Italian home in August 1990.
Nor does the marriage of Latin connection and Clinton ring triumph end there. In 1992, in an emotional evening in Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, Croy and Scotland’s Pride, Clinton made dad Billy Clinton’s dream the triumphant flesh that dwelt among us for 12 months between 1992 – 93 when he out-pointed Latino Mexican Isadore Perez over 12 rounds.
Every story has a beginning and Pat Clinton’s (born 4th April 1964) has its roots when rising boxing star, Billy Clinton from Auchenstarrie met and married his beloved Sadie from the neighbouring Croy hamlet of Smithston.
In due course the couple had ten children – six boys and four girls. Billy Clinton came from solid boxing stock. His brother Jim won two British ABA boxing titles in 1944 and 1947 and Billy himself won the same Scottish pro flyweight title in 1940 in Perth by stopping Hugh Cameron that his son Pat would win 47 years later.
Even more impressively, Billy Clinton beat Dundonian Freddie Tennant who once drew with and beat, Benny Lynch on December 14th 1940.
But Billy Clinton’s dream of emulating Benny Lynch by winning a world title was destroyed inside two rounds on New Years Day 1941, in Dundee by big-hitting Ayrshire southpaw, Jackie Paterson.
But Billy Clinton’s unfulfilled dream became an inspiration to his youngest son, Pat, whom Billy had himself selected as the boxer with the most potential from among his six boxing sons – Michael, William (Billy Junior), Peter, Danny, Bernard and Pat.
Born in the same month in 1964 as Hamilton flyweight great, ex-WBC and British flyweight champion, Walter McGowan, Walter McGowan unsuccessfully made a challenge for the same European flyweight crown in Italy that Pat would win in that same country, Pat shared, for a time, the dream of becoming a jockey but a heart attack in 1980 which cut short Billy Clinton’s life made Pat determined to realise his dad’s dream.
Pat told me “I owe my father everything regarding boxing – he taught me everything – how to move, how to counterpunch, not to mix it unless desperate, how to box for all my openings…”
And Billy Clinton taught his southpaw son well.
The proof? Shortly after Billy Clinton’s death – in 1981 – in the Channel Island of Jersey, Pat out-pointed England’s Duke McKenzie, who went on to win (as a pro) three WBO titles – Super Bantamweight, and Bantamweight plus an IBF flyweight title.
Soon the educated Clinton southpaw style brought even more ring glory, as Pat stormed to two British ABA flyweight title wins in 1984 and 1985. Pat also took America’s World Champion Steve McCrory to a majority points verdict in spite of boxing at five thousand feet above sea level in Reno, Nevada.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Pat was only beaten by the eventual Silver Medal winner.
So the triumphs continued once Pat turned pro under London based Burt McCarthy while being coached by legendary trainer Jimmy Tibbs, with elder brother Michael playing a key advisory role.
On March 9th 1988 Pat made Scottish ring history by becoming the first ever Caledonian flyweight to meet and beat a fellow Scot for the Scottish and British crowns in London, when he stopped Glasgow’s Joe Kelly at the York Hall.
A European title bid in Copenhagen against Turk Eyup Khan in February 1989 ended with Pat being hit with the hardest punch of his career yet despite this, he still took the tough Turk the full distance to lose on points.
This, with hand problems, which would bedevil southpaw ring great Clinton throughout his career.
After a successful British defence against Welshman David Afyn-Jones (stopped in six rounds) and a frustrating eight month wait, Pat Clinton staked his claim to being a true Scottish ring great, by succeeding where even Walter McGowan had failed, albeit as a result of a disgraceful drawn decision against Italian, Tommasco Galli.
Pat won a European flyweight title in Italy, by beating Italy’s Salvatore Fanni even though Signer Fanni decked Pat at one stage of the contest in the tenth round – despite damaging a tendon in his right hand.
The Fanni bout saw Pat end the Burt McCarthy connection but on good terms. At this point, big brother Michael fulfilling his role as the family gate guardian of Billy Clinton’s dream went to see Glasgow promoter, Tommy Gilmour.
Gilmour promised Pat and Michael Clinton a world title shot after two bouts under his management plus Pat would get to work with the boxing coach whom Billy Clinton himself already rated highly – ex 1962 Commonwealth Games Featherweight gold medal winner, Blantyre based John McDermott: MBE.
And McDermott’s verdict on Pat Clinton? “Pat was technically brilliant, gutsy and had an enormous self-belief…”
And so to the Kelvin Hall on March 18th 1992 courtesy of Tommy Gilmour’s negotiating skills; John McDermott’s inspiration and Pat Clinton’s burning ambition to make Billy Clinton’s dream into reality by drubbing yet another Latin boxer, Isadore Perez of Mexico.
It wasn’t easy. Bringing worthwhile dreams to fruition never are. After the halfway stage, veteran of 57 bouts, Perez, forced Pat who had suffered pre-fight weight-making problems, to fight out of his skin; but win he did to herald in scenes that veteran of many ring triumphs, Tommy Gilmour still says is his most cherished boxing memory.
No wonder. Corries folk singing star, Ronnie Brown sang Flower of Scotland while holding a photograph of Billy Clinton in front of a joyfully tearful Pat Clinton.
Afterwards, Pat had an even more emotional reunion with mum Sadie in her Croy home.
Billy Clinton’s dream was home at last.
World undefeated British, European and Scottish flyweight champion, first British visitor in an Italian-based title fight: Pat Clinton of Croy is truly a worthy inductee in the Scottish Boxing Hall of Fame.
