Michael Watson

For other people named Michael Watson, see Michael Watson (disambiguation).

Michael Watson
File:Michael Watson.jpg Watson in 2008
Statistics
Nickname(s)	The Force
Rated at	Super-middleweight Middleweight
Nationality	British
Born	(1965-03-15) 15 March 1965 London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	30
Wins	25
Wins by KO	21
Losses	4
Draws	1

Michael Watson, MBE (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title and challenged for a world title three times. His career ended prematurely as a result of near-fatal injury sustained during a loss to Chris Eubank for the WBO super-middleweight title in September 1991.

Boxing career

Amateur record

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

Though losing amateur contests in 1981 against Garry Sanderson and southpaw Roy Connors, 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, ended the fight in just over 30 seconds. As a result, Watson was seen as Great Britain's best hope for a 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.

Rematch with Eubank and 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 a right hook. 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. 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. He spent 40 days in a coma and had six brain operations to remove a blood clot.

After regaining consciousness, he spent over a year in intensive care and rehabilitation and six more years in a wheelchair 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".

Life after boxing

Watson sued the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) for negligence and won damages reputedly of around £1 million. 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". 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. 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".

London Marathon

On 19 April 2003, Michael Watson made headlines when he 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 that followed him along the way. Finishing the race by his side were Chris Eubank and his neurosurgeon, both of whom had become his personal friends.

On 4 February 2004, Watson was awarded the MBE by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II. She told him that she had heard of his achievements. Watson was overjoyed and noted that this was his family's first visit to Buckingham Palace, although they had passed in front of the Palace many times before.

London Paralympic Games 2012

Michael Watson was announced as a torchbearer in the Paralympic relay.

Professional boxing record

25 Wins (21 knockouts, 4 decisions), 4 Loss, 1 Draw
Res.	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Lost	Chris Eubank	TKO	12 (12)	21 September 1991	White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London	Bout was for the WBO Super-middleweight title.
Lost	Chris Eubank	MD	12	22 June 1991	Earls Court, Kensington, London	Bout was for the WBO middleweight title.
Win	Anthony Brown	KO	1 (10)	1 May 1991	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	Craig Trotter	TKO	6 (12)	23 January 1991	Brentwood Leisure Centre, Brentwood, Essex
Win	Errol Christie	TKO	3 (10)	18 November 1990	National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
Lost	Mike McCallum	KO	11 (12)	14 April 1990	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London	Bout was for the WBA middleweight title.
Win	Nigel Benn	TKO	6 (12), 1:34	21 May 1989	Majestic Ballroom, Finsbury Park, London	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title.
Win	Franklin Owens	TKO	3 (10), ret.	8 March 1989	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London
Win	Jimmy Shavers	TKO	3 (10), 2:20	18 January 1989	Kensington, London
Win	Reggie Miller	TKO	5 (10), 3:00	24 October 1988	Blazers Night Club, Windsor, Berkshire	Stopped on cuts before the sixth round.
Draw	Israel Cole	TD	2 (8)	28 July 1988	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada	Cole was unable to continue after being cut by an accidental headbutt.
Win	Ricky Stackhouse	TKO	4 (10)	4 May 1988	Grand Hall, Wembley, London
Win	Joe McKnight (boxer)	TKO	4 (10)	13 April 1988	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	Kenneth Styles	TKO	9 (10)	9 March 1988	Wembley, London
Win	Don Lee	TKO	5 (10)	3 February 1988	Wembley, London
Win	Sam Houston	TKO	2 (8)	28 October 1987	Grand Hall, Wembley, London
Win	Franki Moro	TKO	4 (8)	5 October 1987	Piccadilly, London
Win	Cliff Gilpin	Decision (unan.)	8	19 March 1987	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	Ralph Smiley	Decision (unan.)	8	22 February 1987	Wembley, London
Win	Alan Baptiste	Decision (unan.)	8	4 November 1986	Wembley, London
Win	Simon Collins	KO	1 (8)	19 July 1986	Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London
Lost	James Cook	Decision (unan.)	8	20 May 1986	Wembley, London
Win	Carlton Warren	Decision (unan.)	6	7 May 1986	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London
Win	Karl Barwise	TKO	3 (8), 1:29	19 February 1986	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London
Win	Martin McEwan	TKO	6 (8), 1:31	5 November 1985	Wembley, London
Win	Gary Tomlinson	TKO	4 (8), 2:04	5 June 1985	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London
Win	Dennis Sheehan	TKO	3 (8), 2:01	14 April 1985	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	Johnny Elliott	TKO	8 (8), 1:20	26 February 1985	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	Winston Wray	TKO	4 (4), 1:10	16 October 1984	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London

External links

• Michael Watson's official website
• The Watson-Eubank fight as a pay-per-view download
• Eubank explains why he and Watson are now making the long-embargoed fight available
• The last two rounds of the fight between Watson and Eubank