Jim Watt - IBHOF?

Jim Watt was not the most fluid or stylish of boxers, but he was almost ridiculously strong, able to absorb punishment and sustain attacks long into a championship fight. He had an excellent boxing brain and loved 15-rounders.

As an amateur Jim beat John H Stracey in one round. He was probably the freshest near-10-year pro around when he signed for Terry Lawless.

It's said that when he first joined that stable in Canning Town, with his pale blonde choirboy looks, they all licked their lips regarding sparring with him. Within a month, Watt had sussed them all out apparently - all of them, and none of them could take him off his feet, not even middleweights.

Nobody gave Jim a prayer against Howard Davis, despite the fact Davis only had 13 bouts going in. Davis was a superstar said to be the next big thing and voted as the best boxer of the Montreal Olympics ahead of Ray Leonard.

Jim set out to frustrate Davis into making mistakes - he heard from a reliable sourse that Davis had watched him on video and concluded "Watt is easy to hit!" Our Jim knew, too, that Davis had bags of talent and hand speed, but Davis simply didn't reckon on Jim's two greatest assets: his strong chin and his tactical ability.

Every time Davis set himself to throw a jab or combinations, Jim slid back a few inches, nullifying the full effects of most of the blows. He frustrated him into making mistakes and having to fight on Jim's terms. Jim controlled the fight almost throughout. Davis couldn't handle that too well - he didn't expect Jim to be such a tough proposition.

However, all credit to Davis at the end of the 10th round, he spontaneously touched Jim's gloves to acknowledge he underestimated him.

Some of Davis' punches obviously reached the target - Watt had a damaged eye and bruised ribs - but typical of the blonde southpaw's courage, this didn't stop him from leading an ecstatic Glasgow crowd in a post-fight rendition of "Flower of Scotland" through the Ibrox rain.

He also beat Sean O'Grady and shared a ring with all-timers Ken Buchanan and Alexis Arguello, and won five back-to-back WBC world title fights in the days there were only two belts (WBC and WBA).


"I thought Watt won quite handidly. Howard Davis is a wonderful, brilliant boxer, but Jim Watt beat him to the punch and outboxed him. Jim Watt is the best recent lightweight champion we've had, with the exception of Roberto Duran." - Bob Arum told BBC's Des Lynam

 

He's also served boxing as a commentator and pundit for nearly 30 years.