Michael Watson

Michael Watson, MBE (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1991. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and challenged three times for a world title between 1990 and 1991. Watson's career was cut short as a result of near-fatal injury sustained during a loss to Chris Eubank for the WBO super-middleweight title in 1991.[2]

Michael Watson
Watson in 2008
Statistics
Nickname(s)	The Force[1]
Weight(s)	Middleweight Super-middleweight
Nationality	British
Born	15 March 1965 London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	30
Wins	25
Wins by KO	21
Losses	4
Draws	1

Amateur career

Watson took up boxing at the age of fourteen at the Crown and Manor boxing club,[3] where he proved to be a quick learner, winning an under-71 kg London Schools title in 1980.

He had an impressive 20–2 record at the Crown and Manor Club. He transferred to the Colvestone Boxing Club where he trained and sparred for over a year with Kirkland Laing, Dennis Andries, and Darren Dyer. He entered the 1983/84 Nationals at under 75 kg and won the title. On his 19th birthday he fought John Beckles during the 1984 London ABAs, both being national champions. Watson, initially seen as the underdog, won the fight in just over 30 seconds, and was seen as a hope for a boxing medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. However, his place on the Olympic team was taken by Liverpool's Brian Schumacher.

Professional career

Watson's professional career lasted from 1984 to 1991. The highlight was his May 1989 victory over Nigel Benn to secure the British Commonwealth middleweight title. This led to a world title clash with Jamaican Mike McCallum, who defeated Watson by a knockout in the eleventh round.

On 22 June 1991 at Earl's Court, he met Chris Eubank in another opportunity for the world middleweight title. Eubank won by a majority decision of 116–113, 115–113 and 114–114, close enough to support dissension by some commentators and supporters.[4]

Rematch with Eubank and career-ending injury

A rematch was arranged on 21 September 1991 at White Hart Lane, this time for the vacant WBO super middleweight title. In round 11, with Watson ahead on points and seemingly on the verge of a stoppage victory, he knocked Eubank down with an overhand right. Moments later, Eubank was back on his feet and connected with a devastating uppercut, which caused Watson to fall back and hit the back of his head against the ropes. Referee Roy Francis stopped the fight in round 12, after which Watson collapsed in the ring. There was no ambulance or paramedic at the event.[2] Doctors wearing dinner jackets arrived after some eight minutes, during which time the fallen fighter received no oxygen. A total of 28 minutes elapsed before Watson received treatment in a hospital neurosurgical unit.[5][6] He spent 40 days in a coma and had six brain operations to remove a blood clot.[7]

After regaining consciousness, he spent over a year in intensive care and rehabilitation and six more years as a wheelchair user[2] while he slowly recovered some movement and regained the ability to speak and write. Peter Hamlyn, the consultant neurosurgeon who operated on Watson, said in 2010, "I think back to those first days, and the milestone moments. The first eight months were so depressing. He couldn't hear, couldn't speak, couldn't walk. Slowly, he clawed it all back. So extraordinary".[8]

Life after boxing

Watson sued the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) for negligence and won damages reputedly of around £1 million.[5] The High Court ruled that the BBBoC was responsible for medical provision at a fight and that administering oxygen and resuscitation on site would have made a considerable difference to Watson's outcome. Mr Justice Kennedy said that the board was "in breach of its duty to Mr Watson".[9] This decision was upheld at the Court of Appeal, and the BBBoC did not appeal to the House of Lords, selling their London headquarters to pay out a £400,000 compensation settlement.[10] The judge said that this was "sadly a long way short of the damages that [Watson] would have received had the defendants had the money or had they been insured".[11]

On 19 April 2003 Watson completed the London Marathon, walking two hours each morning and afternoon for six days. Raising money for the Brain and Spine Foundation, Watson slept overnight in a support bus.[12] Finishing the race by his side were Chris Eubank and his neurosurgeon, both of whom had become his personal friends.[2] On 4 February 2004 Watson was awarded the MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to disability sport.[13] Watson was announced as a torchbearer in the 2012 Paralympic relay.[14]

In February 2017 Watson and his carer, Lennard Ballack, were victims of a carjacking in Chingford, London.[15] During the attack, Ballack had ammonia sprayed in his face and was beaten, whilst Watson was dragged along the road when the car was driven off, unable to escape. Watson suffered flashbacks and seizures after the event. The two attackers were later sentenced to 16 years for their part in the attack and other crimes.

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary

30 fights	25 wins	4 losses
By knockout	21	2
By decision	4	2
Draws	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
30	Loss	25–4–1	Chris Eubank	TKO	12 (12), 0:29	21 Sep 1991	White Hart Lane, London, England	For vacant WBO super-middleweight title
29	Loss	25–3–1	Chris Eubank	MD	12	22 Jun 1991	Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England	For WBO middleweight title
28	Win	25–2–1	Anthony Brown	KO	1 (10)	1 May 1991	York Hall, London, England
27	Win	24–2–1	Craig Trotter	TKO	6 (12)	23 Jan 1991	Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England	Retained Commonwealth middleweight title
26	Win	23–2–1	Errol Christie	TKO	3 (10)	18 Nov 1990	National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
25	Loss	22–2–1	Mike McCallum	KO	11 (12), 2:22	14 Apr 1990	Royal Albert Hall, London, England	For WBA middleweight title
24	Win	22–1–1	Nigel Benn	TKO	6 (12), 1:34	21 May 1989	Finsbury Park Majestic Ballroom, London, England	Won Commonwealth middleweight title
23	Win	21–1–1	Franklin Owens	TKO	3 (10)	8 Mar 1989	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
22	Win	20–1–1	Jimmy Shavers	TKO	3 (10), 2:20	18 Jan 1989	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
21	Win	19–1–1	Reggie Miller	TKO	5 (10), 3:00	24 Oct 1988	Blazers Nightclub, Windsor, England
20	Draw	18–1–1	Israel Cole	TD	2 (8)	28 Jul 1988	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, US	TD after Cole was cut from an accidental head clash
19	Win	18–1	Ricky Stackhouse	TKO	4 (10)	4 May 1988	Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
18	Win	17–1	Joe McKnight	TKO	4 (10)	13 Apr 1988	York Hall, London, England
17	Win	16–1	Kenneth Styles	TKO	9 (10)	9 Mar 1988	Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
16	Win	15–1	Don Lee	TKO	5 (10), 2:05	3 Feb 1988	Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
15	Win	14–1	Sam Houston	TKO	2 (8)	28 Oct 1987	Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
14	Win	13–1	Franky Moro	TKO	4 (8)	5 Oct 1987	Hotel Splendide, London, England
13	Win	12–1	Cliff Gilpin	PTS	8	19 Mar 1987	York Hall, London, England
12	Win	11–1	Ralph Smiley	PTS	8	22 Feb 1987	Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
11	Win	10–1	Ian Chantler	TKO	4 (8)	19 Jan 1987	Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
10	Win	9–1	Alan Baptiste	PTS	8	4 Nov 1986	Wembley Arena, London, England
9	Win	8–1	Simon Collins	KO	1 (8)	19 Jul 1986	Wembley Stadium, London, England
8	Loss	7–1	James Cook	PTS	8	20 May 1986	Wembley Arena, London, England
7	Win	7–0	Carlton Warren	PTS	6	7 May 1986	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
6	Win	6–0	Karl Barwise	TKO	3 (6), 1:29	19 Feb 1986	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
5	Win	5–0	Martin McEwan	TKO	6 (6), 1:31	5 Nov 1985	Wembley Arena, London, England
4	Win	4–0	Gary Tomlinson	TKO	4 (6), 2:04	5 Jun 1985	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
3	Win	3–0	Dennis Sheehan	TKO	3 (6), 2:01	14 Apr 1985	York Hall, London, England
2	Win	2–0	Johnny Elliott	TKO	8 (8), 1:20	26 Feb 1985	York Hall, London, England
1	Win	1–0	Winston Wray	TKO	4 (4), 1:10	16 Oct 1984	Royal Albert Hall, London, England

References

1. Anthony, Andrew (4 May 2003). "Once a fighter...". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
2. Fordyce, Tom (19 April 2003). "Poignant end to Watson's epic journey". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
3. "Remembering Jason Matthews' career". Hackney Gazette. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
4. E.g., Dooley T Point of comparison — Randolph Turpin and Michael Watson Archived 26 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine BritishBoxing.net May 2008.
5. Lewis, Mike (15 September 2001). "Super-boxing' plan for safer, better bouts". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
6. Mee, Bob (20 September 2001). "Talking Boxing: Life-saving comfort for Michael Watson". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
7. "Watson's epic fightback". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
8. Gareth A Davies (20 January 2011). "London Marathon 2011: Michael Watson still showing his fighting spirit by helping Brain & Spine Foundation". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
9. Sengupta, Kim (25 September 1999). "Negligent officials ordered to pay disabled boxer wins damages from". The Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
10. Sinclair, Mike (8 November 2001). "Boxing: Board lose fight with Watson". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
11. "Michael Watson faces £400,000 compensation limit". The Daily Telegraph. 8 October 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
12. "Watson completes marathon challenge". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
13. "Watson receives MBE". Evening Standard. 11 February 2004. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
14. "Ex-boxer Michael Watson to carry torch". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
15. "Men jailed for ex-boxer carjack attempt". 21 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.

External links

• Boxing record for Michael Watson from BoxRec
• Final two rounds of Eubank vs. Watson II at YouTube