Docherty up among the greats

It was widely written and reported that Drew had WON a second Lonsdale Belt and that he was the first Scot in history to win British titles at two different weights. Not so.

Take the first part. Drew is not the proud owner of a second belt. To win one outright, you have to be successful in three British title fights at the same weight, so the little man from Condorrat - incidentally, he himself did not make any of the claims - has his first notch on a second belt.

If he chooses to continue with his career at the age of 33 - and there is some doubt about that - he will have to win another two title fights at super-bantam to win his second Lonsdale Belt for keeping and thus emulate the feat of Glasgow's Peter Keenan, who won the bantam title by knocking out Danny O'Sullivan in six rounds in May, 1951.

Keenan made two successful defences before losing his crown on as points decision against Johnny Kelly in Belfast in October, 1953. He then regained the title by stopping Kelly at Paisley the following year and won his second belt outright by virtue of successful defences against George O'Neill and John Smillie.

The second claim this week that Docherty is the first Scot to win British titles at different weights is also off the mark. What about Walter McGowan, the former world flyweight champion from Burnbank? It is 36 years ago tomorrow that Walter knocked out Jackie Brown in 12 rounds at Paisley Ice Rink to win the British flyweight title.

After three years, when the British Boxing Board of Control ruled that there were no worthy contenders for his title, they awarded McGowan a Lonsdale Belt. But the year before that, on September 6, 1966, the Scot had moved up to bantamweight to challenge Alan Rudkin for the title. McGowan won on points after 15 rounds.

But the Burnbank man was not even the first Scot to win British titles at different weights. Ayrshire's Jackie Patterson had achieved that in the thirties and forties.

Patterson, who was later also world champion, won the British flyweight crown, which had been vacated by Benny Lynch, by knocking out Paddy Ryan in 13 rounds in Glasgow on September 30, 1939.

He held that title until he was knocked out by Rinty Monaghan in seven rounds in Belfast on March 23, 1948.

In between, Patterson had won the British bantamweight title on February 10, 1947, with a knockout win over Johnny King in Manchester. He made one successful defence before losing the title to Stan Rowan in Liverpool in March, 1949.

Drew Docherty maintains that he wants to be remembered as a good champion. Well, when he can be mentioned in the same breath as McGowan and Patterson as Scots who have won British titles at two different weights he is in pretty exalted company.

Incidentally, another Ayrshireman came close to joining the trio in this particular ''hall of fame.''

Tarbolton's Evan Armstrong, who twice held the British featherweight title between 1971-74, had earlier made an attempt at the bantam title, but was stopped by Alan Rudkin in 1969.

q GARY Jacobs, the former British, Commonwealth and European welterweight champion and one-time challenger for the world title, this week appeared to put an end to any talk of him making a comeback to the ring when he opened a new business.

The Gary Jacobs Health and Fitness Club in the Shawlands area of Glasgow is the first Reebok equipped health club in Britain. It comprises a fitness suite, an exercise studio, health suite with sauna and steam rooms, sunbeds, and treatment rooms.

If Gary manages it with the same passion and determination he put into his boxing career it is guaranteed to succeed.

''It's going like a fairground this week and we already have around 400 members,'' he told me.