Jim Watt (boxer)

Jim Watt MBE is a Scottish former boxer and commentator who became world champion in the lightweight division when Roberto Durán left the title vacant in 1979 and the WBC had him fight Alfredo Pitalua. Watt knocked out Pitalua in twelve rounds.

Boxing career

Raised in the Bridgeton and Possilpark neighbourhoods of Glasgow, Watt trained at Cardowan Amateur Boxing Club in the city's Maryhill district. His father died when Jim was five years old. He came to prominence in 1968 by beating John H. Stracey to the ABA Championships; he turned professional immediately afterwards, declining the chance to compete as an amateur at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.
Watt beat such notables as future world champion Sean O'Grady, former world champion Perico Fernandez, Charlie Nash and Howard Davis Jr. The fight with O'Grady was particularly controversial: Watt won by a knockout in round twelve when the referee stopped the fight because of a cut suffered by O'Grady. According to the book, The Ring: Boxing The 20th Century, the cut was produced by a head-butt, in which case the judges' scorecards would have been checked, and whoever was ahead given the win by a technical decision, Watt was ahead on all the scorecards. The referee, however, declared that O' Grady's cut had been produced by a punch and Watt officially won the fight by technical knockout.
Watt had also fought, and lost to, Ken Buchanan after 15 rounds in 1973. On 20 June 1981, he fought his last fight, when losing the WBC world Lightweight title to Alexis Argüello by a 15-round decision in London. The three judges' scores were 147–143, 147–143 and 147–137. Watt retired with a record of 38 wins and 8 losses.

After boxing

Watt was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1980 Birthday Honours for services to boxing. He was long-term co-commentator with Reg Gutteridge on ITV's The Big Fight Live and moved with Gutteridge to Sky Sports in 1996 when ITV withdrew from boxing coverage. During 2016, Watt announced his retirement as a boxing commentator.
Watt made a special guest appearance on the BBC's Still Game sitcom in August 2007, as well as television adverts for Kelvin Timber in the 1980s. He and his family settled in the town of Kirkintilloch to the north of Glasgow.

Personal life

In June 2015, Watt's 38-year-old daughter Michelle Watt took her own life after suffering chronic headaches caused by a spinal operation. She appeared in various programmes as a television hostess, including 60 Minute Makeover. Watt's 17-year-old son James died in a car crash in 1995.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Age	Location	Notes
46	Loss	38–8	Alexis Argüello	UD	15	Jun 20, 1981		Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K.	Lost WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
45	Win	38–7	Sean O'Grady	TKO	12, 2:37	Nov 1, 1980		Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Retained WBC lightweight title
44	Win	37–7	Howard Davis Jr.	UD	15	Jun 7, 1980		Ibrox Park, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Retained WBC lightweight title
43	Win	36–7	Charlie Nash	TKO	4, 2:10	Mar 14, 1980		Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Retained WBC lightweight title
42	Win	35–7	Robert Vasquez	TKO	9	Nov 3, 1979		Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Retained WBC lightweight title
41	Win	34–7	Alfredo Pitalua	TKO	12	Apr 17, 1979		Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Won vacant WBC lightweight title
40	Win	33–7	Antonio Guinaldo	RTD	5	Oct 18, 1978		Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Retained EBU lightweight title
39	Win	32–7	Billy Vivian	PTS	8	Jun 12, 1978		National Sporting Club, Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
38	Win	31–7	Perico Fernández	UD	15	Feb 17, 1978		Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain	Retained EBU lightweight title
37	Win	30–7	Jeronimo Lucas	TKO	10	Nov 16, 1977		Midland Sporting Club, Civic Hall, Solihull, West Midlands, England, U.K.	Retained EBU lightweight title
36	Win	29–7	Andre Holyk	TKO	1, 1:22	Aug 5, 1977		St. Andrew's Sporting Club, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Won vacant EBU lightweight title
35	Win	28–7	Johnny Claydon	TKO	10, 2:35	Feb 21, 1977		St. Andrews SC, Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Retained BBBofC British lightweight title
34	Win	27–7	Franco Diana	TKO	6, 2:50	Oct 12, 1976		Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K.
33	Loss	26–7	Johnny Claydon	TKO	3, 0:20	Jun 22, 1976		Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K.
32	Win	26–6	Hector Diaz	TKO	4, 1:25	May 10, 1976		Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London, England, U.K.
31	Win	25–6	Jimmy Revie	TKO	7, 0:55	Mar 30, 1976		Cunard International Hotel, Hammersmith, London, England, U.K.
30	Win	24–6	George Turpin	KO	4, 1:55	Mar 2, 1976		Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
29	Loss	23–6	Andre Holyk	PTS	12	Oct 31, 1975		Lyon, Rhône, France
28	Loss	23–5	Jonathan Dele	PTS	15	May 3, 1975		National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	For vacant British Empire lightweight title
27	Win	23–4	Billy Waith	PTS	10	Mar 19, 1975		Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London, U.K.
26	Win	22–4	John Cheshire	TKO	7, 2:25	Jan 27, 1975		St. Andrews SC, Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Won vacant BBBofC British lightweight title
25	Loss	21–4	Anthony Morodi	PTS	10	Oct 26, 1974		Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
24	Win	21–3	Billy Waith	PTS	12	Jun 19, 1974		Double Diamond Club, Caerphilly, Wales, U.K.
23	Win	20–3	Kokkie Olivier	PTS	10	Mar 2, 1974		Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
22	Win	19–3	Andries Steyn	TKO	7	Feb 16, 1974		Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
21	Win	18–3	Angus McMillan	PTS	8	Oct 5, 1973		St. Andrews SC, Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
20	Win	17–3	Noel McIvor	TKO	4	Jun 7, 1973		Town Hall, Govan, Scotland, U.K.
19	Win	16–3	John Cheshire	PTS	8	May 9, 1973		Midland Sporting Club, Civic Hall, Solihull, West Midlands, England, U.K.
18	Loss	15–3	Ken Buchanan	PTS	15	Jan 29, 1973		Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.	Lost BBBofC British lightweight title
17	Win	15–2	Noel McIvor	TKO	3	Dec 11, 1972		National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
16	Win	14–2	Tony Riley	TKO	12	May 3, 1972		Midlands Sporting Club, Solihull, West Midlands, England, U.K.	Won vacant BBBofC British lightweight title
15	Loss	13–2	Willie Reilly	TKO	10	Feb 1, 1972		Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K.	For vacant BBBofC British lightweight title
14	Win	13–1	Leonard Tavarez	TKO	9	Nov 1, 1971		Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
13	Win	12–1	Willie Reilly	TKO	7	Sep 27, 1971		Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K.
12	Win	11–1	Henri Nesi	TKO	6	Mar 22, 1971		National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
11	Win	10–1	David Pesenti	PTS	8	Jan 11, 1971		Great International Sporting Club, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, U.K.
10	Win	9–1	Ronnie Clifford	RTD	4	Dec 1, 1970		Town Hall, Leeds, Yorkshire, U.K.
9	Win	8–1	Sammy Lockhart	KO	2	Oct 20, 1970		Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, England, U.K.
8	Win	7–1	Bryn Lewis	TKO	6	Jun 15, 1970		Albany Hotel, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K.
7	Win	6–1	Victor Paul	TKO	5	Jun 1, 1970		Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
6	Loss	5–1	Victor Paul	TKO	6	Feb 16, 1970		Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
5	Win	5–0	Tommy Tiger	PTS	8	Nov 24, 1969		National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, England, U.K.
4	Win	4–0	Winston Thomas	TKO	4, 1:00	Sep 15, 1969		World Sporting Club, Mayfair, London, England, U.K.
3	Win	3–0	Victor Paul	PTS	8	Apr 10, 1969		Town Hall, Govan, Scotland, U.K.
2	Win	2–0	Alex Gibson	TKO	2, 2:05	Dec 11, 1968		Town Hall, Hamilton, Scotland, U.K.
1	Win	1–0	Santos Martins	KO	4	Oct 30, 1968		Town Hall, Hamilton, Scotland, U.K.