Walter McGowan

Died: February 15, 2016

WALTER McGowan, who has died aged 73, was a celebrated boxer who won the world flyweight title in 1966, beating Sardinian Salvatore Burruni in 15 rounds. He later became the first Scottish boxer to be honoured by the Queen with an MBE.

The son of featherweight boxer Thomas McGowan, he was born in Hamilton and by his own admission was spoiled by his five brothers and five sisters. Living in close proximity to the racecourse, the youthful McGowan entertained dreams of becoming a jockey until, with his father's encouragement, he embarked on a boxing career.

As a junior, he won 121 out of 124 contests while also winning Scottish and British flyweight ABA titles in 1961. He also boxed with equal distinction for Scotland internationally where he was a contemporary of other great Scottish amateurs like Ken Buchanan and Dick McTaggart.

He then decided to join the paid ranks, with his father (who fought under the pseudonym of Joe Gans) proving to be a tough and uncompromising negotiator on his son’s behalf. McGowan Snr also knew how to handle the boxing press, with one journalist saying that having a conversation with Thomas McGowan was "like trying to travel along a one way street in the rush hour".

However, those who criticised having a father as manager had plenty to say after Walter suffered his first pro defeat at Paisley in 1961 when he was outpointed over eight rounds by Edinburgh’s Jackie Brown, although he bounced back in spectacular fashion, garnering rave notices for his skills. Older fans also compared him to world flyweight ace Benny Lynch.

A brilliant succession of points and stoppage victories culminated in McGowan avenging his previous loss to Brown in 1963 even though Brown had become the British and Commonwealth champion the previous year. Revenge was doubly sweet for McGowan as he knocked Brown out with a left hook in the 12th round and also became the new British and Commonwealth flyweight champion.

Meanwhile, it was onwards and upwards (with a few setbacks in between) in World and European terms for the Gans/MGowan team.

At British domestic level, such was the dearth of quality opponents to challenge Walter McGowan for his flyweight crown, the British Boxing Board in London took the unprecedented step of awarding McGowan Jnr (after only one defence) with their Lonsdale flyweight belt outright. Normally, the boxer would had to have to defend his British eight-stone crown the regulation three times.

McGowan also became the first British boxer for 15 years to be awarded the trade paper Boxing News’s coveted Certificate of Merit for outstanding performances. American triple world champion Barney Ross also raved about McGowan’s points win in 1966 in London when he beat Italian Nevio Carbi in outstanding fashion.

However, in common with other great past Scottish flyweight boxers, there was a downside to this catalogue of triumph in and outwith the ropes.

For example, bad decisions - most notoriously in Italy, when McGowan totally outboxed Italy’s Tommassi Galli for the European title, only to be robbed by a drawn verdict. It was such a bad decision that Gallo’s own fans pelted the judges with fruit.

Cuts were to prove a big bogey in McGowan’s career. True, despite cut eyes, he won the world flyweight title in 1966 at Wembley, beating Sardinian Salvatore Burruni and he also beat Liverpool’s Alan Rudkin in September 1966 for the British bantamweight crown and 8st 6lbs Lonsdale Belt, also in London, despite another cut eye.

But a proneness to cut eyes would ultimately cost McGowan his world title - in December 1966 in Bangkok, he was forced to retire against Thailand’s Pone Kingpetch with a bad eye injury.

Nevertheless, victory was the most common denominator in his career. Of the six British boxers with whom he clashed in non-title bouts only one outpointed him - a statistic that emphasises just how peerless McGowan was during his 1961-69 career. He also proved his penchant for collecting distinctions when he became the first Scottish boxer to be made an MBE in the Queen’s Honours list of 1966.

McGowan’s perky, highly intelligent and gregarious personality also made him hugely popular and in demand for a time at golf tournaments and as host of the Walter McGowan Bar in Carluke Main Street, during the1970s and 80s.

Married with a family, McGowan proved an engaging performer when he was canvassed on radio and television for his thoughts about various Scottish boxing matters.

However, the onset of the present century proved much less kind to the brilliant boxing genius of yesteryear with personal problems causing him to be hospitalised for long periods.

Nevertheless, he was never forgotten by his Hamilton townsman and successor as British flyweight champion, John McCluskey, who was among many friends and family who ensured that former world British and Commonwealth champion McGowan never felt forgotten during the later travails of his life.

Walter McGowan MBE is survived by a son, a daughter, grandchildren and his extended family.

BRIAN DONALD