Tommy Glencross

His youthful interest in boxing was whetted when he joined the Glasgow Transport Amateur Boxing Club, which produced many famous boxers, such as lightweight Jim Lynch, who fought Scotland's only Olympic gold boxing medallist from Dundee, Dick McTaggart, six times, and Peter Harrison, who went on to coach his son Scott, to become WBO featherweight champion.

The famed Glasgow Transport ABC was the domain of boxing coach Johnny Bell, who, on first noting Glencross was left-handed, wisely encouraged him to box as a southpaw.

Bell noted equally Glencross was no devastating puncher so made him concentrate on what became his trademark: clever boxing skills where elusiveness and guile were stressed. It was a judgment that was vindicated by the fact Glencross scored only one clean knockout in 57 professional bouts.

Meanwhile, under Bell's tutelage, Glencross won Scottish amateur titles in 1966 and 1967, and impressed in a Scottish vest in January 1967 when he defeated highly rated English opponent Tony Hume in a Scotland v England clash.

In June that year, Glencross made his professional debut in impressive style in Cardiff by stopping Frank Fitzgerald in six rounds. It was a far cry from his native Glasgow but then Scottish professional boxing was at its lowest ebb in terms of boxing shows staged in Scotland, so Glencross had to travel outwith his native country to ply his trade in Manchester and London, where he duly ran up an impressive 12-win streak. He lost only when he dropped a 10-round points decision in Barcelona to the Ghanaian fighter Bob Allotey.

This hiccup was followed by a glorious 11-bout run that included his first win on home soil, Glencross's March 1971 stoppage win over Sammy Lockart in Glasgow.

More importantly, these consecutive triumphs saw the Bridgeton southpaw catapult himself into a European featherweight title fight with Spain-based Cuban Jose Legra, who would subsequently win the world title.

So impressive was Glencross against Legra over the 15 rounds in Birmingham that he lost only by a split decision and staked his claim to challenge fellow Scot Evan Armstrong, from Ayrshire, for the British featherweight title at London's Anglo-American Sporting Club. A masterly display of southpaw counterpunching brought Glencross the British crown and Lonsdale Belt after 15 rounds.

Yet that triumph was followed by indifferent form that led to Glencross losing his British title back to Armstrong by a stoppage in Glasgow in 1973 and a European title bid against Jose Antonio Jiminez, also in 1973.

The highly regarded boxing coach John McDermott, a former Commonwealth Games featherweight gold medal winner at Perth, Western Australia, in 1962, recalled: "Tommy Glencross had that typical down-to-earth pawky Glasgow east-ender sense of humour that many found endearing - although he was all business inside the ring."

The purple patch of the early 1970s was the high-watermark of Glencross's pro career, although he did win the Scottish lightweight title in 1976 by beating Aberdonian John Gillan in Glasgow over 10 rounds, so retaining the Scottish lightweight title he had peviously won by beating fellow Scot Tommy Wright.

But Glencross subsequently lost his last eight paid bouts between June 1976 and January 1978, although some of the men who beat Glencross during this spell, such as Englishman Cornelius Boza-Edwards, would go on to win world titles.

After his ring career, Glencross became well-known at ex-boxers' functions at which he maintained a solid friendship with Doncaster-based Anglo-Scottish charity marathon runner and former Scottish amateur team-mate, Tommy Joyce.

Although Glencross had recently been in ill health, his death was a shock and much lamented by those who recall his epic battles of the 1970s.

BRIAN DONALD