# Jim Watt (boxer)

Jim Watt MBE (born 18 July 1948) 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 (27 by knockout) and 8 losses (3 by knockout).

## After boxing

Watt was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) 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 (a Scottish home and building supplies stores company) 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

| 46 fights | 38 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 27 | 3 |
| By decision | 11 | 5 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round(s), time | Date | Age | Location | Notes |
| 46 | Loss | 38–8 | Alexis Argüello | UD | 15 | Jun 20, 1981 | 32 years, 337 days | Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K. | Lost WBC and The Ring lightweight titles |
| 45 | Win | 38–7 | Sean O'Grady | TKO | 12 (15), 2:37 | Nov 1, 1980 | 32 years, 106 days | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Retained WBC lightweight title |
| 44 | Win | 37–7 | Howard Davis Jr. | UD | 15 | Jun 7, 1980 | 31 years, 325 days | Ibrox Park, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Retained WBC lightweight title |
| 43 | Win | 36–7 | Charlie Nash | TKO | 4 (15), 2:10 | Mar 14, 1980 | 31 years, 240 days | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Retained WBC lightweight title |
| 42 | Win | 35–7 | Robert Vasquez | TKO | 9 (15) | Nov 3, 1979 | 31 years, 108 days | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Retained WBC lightweight title |
| 41 | Win | 34–7 | Alfredo Pitalua | TKO | 12 (15) | Apr 17, 1979 | 30 years, 273 days | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Won vacant WBC lightweight title |
| 40 | Win | 33–7 | Antonio Guinaldo | RTD | 5 (15) | Oct 18, 1978 | 30 years, 92 days | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Retained EBU lightweight title |
| 39 | Win | 32–7 | Billy Vivian | PTS | 8 | Jun 12, 1978 | 29 years, 329 days | National Sporting Club, Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 38 | Win | 31–7 | Perico Fernández | UD | 15 | Feb 17, 1978 | 29 years, 214 days | Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain | Retained EBU lightweight title |
| 37 | Win | 30–7 | Jeronimo Lucas | TKO | 10 (15) | Nov 16, 1977 | 29 years, 121 days | Midland Sporting Club, Civic Hall, Solihull, West Midlands, England, U.K. | Retained EBU lightweight title |
| 36 | Win | 29–7 | Andre Holyk | TKO | 1 (15), 1:22 | Aug 5, 1977 | 29 years, 18 days | St. Andrew's Sporting Club, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Won vacant EBU lightweight title |
| 35 | Win | 28–7 | Johnny Claydon | TKO | 10 (15), 2:35 | Feb 21, 1977 | 28 years, 218 days | St. Andrews SC, Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Retained BBBofC British lightweight title |
| 34 | Win | 27–7 | Franco Diana | TKO | 6 (8), 2:50 | Oct 12, 1976 | 28 years, 86 days | Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K. | |
| 33 | Loss | 26–7 | Johnny Claydon | TKO | 3 (8), 0:20 | Jun 22, 1976 | 27 years, 340 days | Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K. | |
| 32 | Win | 26–6 | Hector Diaz | TKO | 4 (10), 1:25 | May 10, 1976 | 27 years, 297 days | Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London, England, U.K. | |
| 31 | Win | 25–6 | Jimmy Revie | TKO | 7 (10), 0:55 | Mar 30, 1976 | 27 years, 256 days | Cunard International Hotel, Hammersmith, London, England, U.K. | |
| 30 | Win | 24–6 | George Turpin | KO | 4 (10), 1:55 | Mar 2, 1976 | 27 years, 228 days | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K. | |
| 29 | Loss | 23–6 | Andre Holyk | PTS | 12 | Oct 31, 1975 | 27 years, 105 days | Lyon, Rhône, France | |
| 28 | Loss | 23–5 | Jonathan Dele | PTS | 15 | May 3, 1975 | 26 years, 289 days | National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria | For vacant British Empire lightweight title |
| 27 | Win | 23–4 | Billy Waith | PTS | 10 | Mar 19, 1975 | 26 years, 244 days | Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London, U.K. | |
| 26 | Win | 22–4 | John Cheshire | TKO | 7 (15), 2:25 | Jan 27, 1975 | 26 years, 193 days | 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 | 26 years, 100 days | Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa | |
| 24 | Win | 21–3 | Billy Waith | PTS | 12 | Jun 19, 1974 | 25 years, 336 days | Double Diamond Club, Caerphilly, Wales, U.K. | |
| 23 | Win | 20–3 | Kokkie Olivier | PTS | 10 | Mar 2, 1974 | 25 years, 227 days | Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa | |
| 22 | Win | 19–3 | Andries Steyn | TKO | 7 (10) | Feb 16, 1974 | 25 years, 213 days | Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa | |
| 21 | Win | 18–3 | Angus McMillan | PTS | 8 | Oct 5, 1973 | 25 years, 79 days | St. Andrews SC, Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | |
| 20 | Win | 17–3 | Noel McIvor | TKO | 4 (8) | Jun 7, 1973 | 24 years, 324 days | Town Hall, Govan, Scotland, U.K. | |
| 19 | Win | 16–3 | John Cheshire | PTS | 8 | May 9, 1973 | 24 years, 295 days | Midland Sporting Club, Civic Hall, Solihull, West Midlands, England, U.K. | |
| 18 | Loss | 15–3 | Ken Buchanan | PTS | 15 | Jan 29, 1973 | 24 years, 195 days | Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. | Lost BBBofC British lightweight title |
| 17 | Win | 15–2 | Noel McIvor | TKO | 3 (10) | Dec 11, 1972 | 24 years, 146 days | National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 16 | Win | 14–2 | Tony Riley | TKO | 12 (15) | May 3, 1972 | 23 years, 290 days | Midlands Sporting Club, Solihull, West Midlands, England, U.K. | Won vacant BBBofC British lightweight title |
| 15 | Loss | 13–2 | Willie Reilly | TKO | 10 (15) | Feb 1, 1972 | 23 years, 198 days | Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K. | For vacant BBBofC British lightweight title |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Leonard Tavarez | TKO | 9 (10) | Nov 1, 1971 | 23 years, 106 days | Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Willie Reilly | TKO | 7 (12) | Sep 27, 1971 | 22 years, 224 days | Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K. | |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Henri Nesi | TKO | 6 (10) | Mar 22, 1971 | 22 years, 247 days | National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | David Pesenti | PTS | 8 | Jan 11, 1971 | 22 years, 177 days | Great International Sporting Club, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, U.K. | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Ronnie Clifford | RTD | 4 (8) | Dec 1, 1970 | 22 years, 136 days | Town Hall, Leeds, Yorkshire, U.K. | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Sammy Lockhart | KO | 2 (8) | Oct 20, 1970 | 22 years, 94 days | Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, England, U.K. | |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Bryn Lewis | TKO | 6 (8) | Jun 15, 1970 | 21 years, 332 days | Albany Hotel, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K. | |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Victor Paul | TKO | 5 (8) | Jun 1, 1970 | 21 years, 318 days | Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 6 | Loss | 5–1 | Victor Paul | TKO | 6 (8) | Feb 16, 1970 | 21 years, 213 days | Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Tommy Tiger | PTS | 8 | Nov 24, 1969 | 21 years, 129 days | National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, England, U.K. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Winston Thomas | TKO | 4 (8), 1:00 | Sep 15, 1969 | 21 years, 59 days | World Sporting Club, Mayfair, London, England, U.K. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Victor Paul | PTS | 8 | Apr 10, 1969 | 20 years, 266 days | Town Hall, Govan, Scotland, U.K. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Alex Gibson | TKO | 2 (6), 2:05 | Dec 11, 1968 | 20 years, 146 days | Town Hall, Hamilton, Scotland, U.K. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Santos Martins | KO | 4 (6) | Oct 30, 1968 | 20 years, 104 days | Town Hall, Hamilton, Scotland, U.K. | |