UK Lightweight Scrap.Dave Charnley v JimWatt

A very tough fight between two guys who never left a thing in the Boxing ring. Both southpaws and just to add a little spice, Charnley was from a Scottish family and considered himself a Scot.
Watt's late flowering into a fine World Champion after his thirtieth birthday is something that is criminally under rated in my view. During Jim's reign, the WBA Title changed hands twice while the Glaswegian made four successful defences, two against mandatory Challengers. Even the legendary Alexis Arguello couldn't stop Watt despite decking him. Jim was handed a painful defeat but never stopped trying for fifteen very hard rounds.
Jim also had tremendous ring IQ. I will never forget how utterly astounded the American commentators were when he out boxed the undefeated former Olympic Champion Howard Davis who was, at that stage, as hot a prospect as Sugar Ray Leonard.
Dave Charnley's record would simply not be possible in this day and age. He was main event material within half a dozen pro fights, not in a Frank Bruno way, feasting on hand picked dummies, 1950's audiences wouldn't have stood for that. Once he had won the British Lightweight Title in 1957, it was open season. In a nine month spell in 1958, Dave fought Don Jordan, Carlos Ortiz and Peter Waterman. Within a year, Jordan was World Welterweight Champion, Ortiz World Light Welterweight Champion. Waterman, stopped in eight rounds, was the reigning British and European Welterweight Champion. Charnley's entire career was fought against some of the best Lightweights and Welterweights in the World. His last two fights were a win over Kenny Lane and a defeat to Emile Griffith.
Charnley would have become World Champion but for the mutual hatred between his Manager, Arthur Boggis and the Referee, Tommy Little. They couldn't stand each other and hadn't spoken in years. Little was the last man who should have been in charge for Dave's World Title Challenge to Joe "Old Bones" Brown. The decision was the benchmark for the worst ever rendered in a British ring.
Unlike Watt, who was canny and clever as well as brave, Charnley believed in all out aggression and could, at times, be reckless but he also carried terrific power, particularly in his right hook.
After Boxing, both did very well with Charnley going into property development, a millionaire with offices in Mayfair. Jim bought a partnership in Glasgow's BMW main agent and of course was Boxing's number one summariser on TV for twenty Five years.
I genuinely can't separate them, or maybe I just don't want either one to lose. So my verdict, Draw.

 

Great read, and for the uniformed pinpoint accuracy on the career of both these excellent British LWs, by the by, whilst working down Smithfield ( the biggest meat mrkt in England at the time ) in the early 70s had occasion to come across Boggis, who also managed the very competent Ron Barton, and take it from me Boggis was a hard man to like, arrogant in the extreme, rude, obnoxious, and always felt he was better than you, unlike Barton who worked down there after his career was over, always ready to talk about his fights, and very engaging, mind you he had the biggest, most gnarled hands I have ever seen, no one, buy no one tried it on with Barton, such fond memories..... stay safe guys.

 

Thanks indeed for that. Great breakdown and interesting back read. Cheers Loaded.

 

Many thanks Mike.

 

Thank you Eddie.

 

What is the trouble with the Brown v Crowley decidion??
Close fight and the home boy did not get the decision. As I see the fight it was wery close. Several british newspapers said the decision was okay.

 

Watt did an awesome job in outsmarting and outboxing Howard Davis....I saw it live on tv, and I was so impressed.

 

Attended Watt’s WBC, Pitalua, Nash, O’Grady, Davis fights. Think Charnley’s style would have suited him, picking him off with the southpaw jab. Not just a smart boxer, he could tough it out, watch him against O’Grady. Not to be forgotten is, when relatively inexperienced, he ran a peak Buchanan close.
Charnley was a rugged bustling type, yes ridiculous, throwing him in with Griffith, who had just beaten Curvis. Possibly his best win was over Kenny Lane, but well beaten by the great Carlos Ortiz, no wonder and Doug Vaillant but he dominated the British scene.

 

I was a big fan of Jim's but the only Fighter he faced with Charnley's power was Arguello. Although Watt was a stiff puncher, Griffith was the only man to keep Dave on the floor.
Don't forget, Jim always spoke deferentially about Charnley.

 

Duff would love to have managed Charnley. Boggis made Charnley a wealthy man. Very few Fighters have said that of Duff. Having said that, I don't think I've ever heard a good word about Boggis.

 

They did ? I can only reference the likes of Mickey Duff, Reg Gutteridge and Harry Carpenter who all said it was the worst decision they had ever seen in Britain.

 

It would be an amazing fight. My money would be on Watt. Charnley is great to watch on the limited film of him imo - his punching screamed 'violence'.