Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920 – 19 November 1966) was a Scottish boxer who was an Undisputed World Flyweight Champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight.
Early life Born in Springside, Ayrshire, Paterson emigrated with his family from Scotland, when he was eight years old, to Scranton, Pennsylvania. He returned to Scotland in his early teens to work at John Brown & Co, shipbuilders on the Clyde. He later worked as a butcher. When he was thirteen, he joined the Anderson Club in Glasgow and began to box as an amateur. He turned professional when he was seventeen.
Boxing style Paterson was a southpaw with a knockout punch in either hand, his most lethal weapon being his left hook. He was comparatively broadly built for a flyweight, and often struggled to make the eight stone flyweight limit. In the latter stages of his career, he fought as a bantamweight.
Pro career Paterson's first fight was in May 1938 in Greenock, and he beat Joe Kiely on points over ten rounds.
In his nineteenth fight he won the vacant British flyweight title, beating Paddy Ryan by a knockout in the thirteenth round. The fight was in September 1939, in Glasgow.
With the outbreak of World War II, Paterson joined the RAF, but continued to box regularly throughout the war years. By 1943 his rank had risen to Sergeant.
In March 1940, he added the vacant Empire title to his British one, when he won on points against Richie Kid Tanner in Manchester.
In February 1941, he defended both titles against Paddy Ryan in Nottingham, winning on a technical knockout in the eighth. Nine days later he beat Empire bantamweight champion Jim Brady on points in a non-title fight.
In August 1941, he had a shot at the Brady's Empire bantamweight title in Glasgow. However, he lost on points over fifteen rounds.
World title In June 1943, Paterson fought former flyweight champion Peter Kane from Golborne in Lancashire for the vacant World flyweight championship. The world title fight, held at Hampden Park in Glasgow, lasted only 61 seconds, as Paterson caught Kane early in the first round putting him down twice, before he was counted out the second time. Paterson was the first southpaw to be world flyweight champion. By successfully defending his British flyweight title twice he had also won a Lonsdale Belt outright. Paterson was subsequently recognised as world champion by the NYSAC.
In September 1943 he suffered his first defeat since May the previous year when he was beaten on points by Len Davies. Paterson was 11.5 pounds overweight at the weigh-in.
In September 1945, Paterson had a rematch with Jim Brady for his Commonwealth bantamweight title, beating him on points in Glasgow, to take the title.
In March 1946, he fought the Frenchman, Theo Medina, for the vacant European bantamweight title. He won the fight, in London on a disqualification in the eighth. Paterson was now World, British and Commonwealth flyweight champion, as well as Commonwealth and European bantamweight champion. Paterson lost a non-title fight to Rinty Monaghan in Belfast in June of that year, retiring after seven rounds. In July he defended his flyweight titles against Joe Curran in Glasgow, winning on points.
In October 1946, Paterson defended his European bantamweight title against Theo Medina, again in Glasgow, but lost the title when Medina knocked him out in the fourth round.
Recognising that his performance levels were dropping, which he blamed on having insufficient time to train while serving in the RAF, in November 1946, Paterson announced his intention to retire after touring either South Africa or Australia, although he changed his mind and would continue for several more years.
In February 1947, he challenged for the British bantamweight title, held by Johnny King. They fought in King's hometown of Manchester, and Paterson knocked King out in the seventh after putting him down four times in the fight.
In October 1947, he defended his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles against Welshman, Norman Lewis, at Harringay Arena, London. He scored another knockout, stopping Lewis in the fifth.
Stripped of titles Paterson was finding it more and more difficult to make the eight stone flyweight limit. In July 1947, he was due to defend his World flyweight title against Dado Marino, but collapsed at the weigh-in after making over-strenuous efforts to lose weight. The result was that the National Boxing Association of America and the British Boxing Board of Control stripped him of his British, Empire, and World titles. Rinty Monaghan of Northern Ireland fought and beat Marino to take the World title, but Paterson took out an injunction against the BBBC to prevent it from recognising Monaghan as champion.
After appealing to the Board, his titles were reinstated in November 1947, and he was ordered to defend against Monaghan.
Eventually, in March 1948, Paterson and Monaghan met in Belfast to decide the matter. Paterson had to lose 4 lbs 12 oz in a week to meet the eight stone limit; as a result, he was dehydrated and weakened. Monaghan knocked him down in the second round and Paterson retired at the end the seventh with a cut over his eye, Monaghan taking the World, British and Empire titles.
Remaining career After losing his flyweight titles to Monaghan, Paterson still held the British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles. However his career was going downhill rapidly.
In March 1949, he defended his titles in Liverpool against Stan Rowan, losing on points over fifteen rounds.
In December 1949 he challenged Empire champion Vic Toweel in Johannesburg, losing on points.
His final twelve fights resulted in nine defeats and only three wins. He retired in 1950 but later that year announced his intention to make a comeback. His last fight was in February 1951, in Dundee and was an eight-round points defeat by Willie Miles.
Retirement and death In his professional career Paterson had earned an estimated £50,000.
After retiring, he moved to Detroit in 1951, before living in South Africa for several years, running hotels. He briefly came back to Britain, but returned to South Africa in December 1965 and began working as a lorry driver in Durban. In 1966, Paterson was stabbed in the throat during a fight after a drinking session, and died at the age of 46.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound(s)DateLocationNotes91Loss Willie MylesPTS8Feb 7, 1951 90Loss63–24–3 Eddie CarsonKO2 (8)May 10, 1950 89Loss63–23–3 Vic ToweelPTS10Dec 17, 1949 88Loss63–22–3 Maneul OrtizPTS10Oct 26, 1949 87Win63–21–3 Mustapha MustaphaouiKO4 (8)Aug 26, 1949 86Loss62–21–3 Stan RowanPTS8Mar 24, 1949 85Loss62–20–3 Danny O'SullivanPTS8Feb 21, 1949 84Loss62–19–3 Ronnie DraperPTS8Nov 29, 1948 83Win62–18–3 Danny O'SullivanKO7 (8)Oct 18, 1948 82Loss61–18–3 Teddy GardnerPTS8Aug 23, 1948 81Loss61–17–3 Jean MachterlinckKO4 (10)Jul 27, 1948 80Win61–16–3 Fernando RosaTKO8 (10)May 5, 1948 79Loss60–16–3 Rinty MonaghanKO7 (15)Mar 23, 1948 78Win60–15–3 Alfredo ChavezPTS10Dec 15, 1947 77Win59–15–3 Stan RowanKO5 (15)Oct 20, 1947 76Loss58–15–3 Stan RowanTKO2 (10)Sep 8, 1947 75Win58–14–3 Emidio CacciatoriKO3 (10)May 15, 1947 74Win57–14–3 Corrado ContiPTS10Apr 17, 1947 73Win56–14–3 Johnny KingKO7 (15)Feb 10, 1947 72Loss55–14–3 Cliff AndersonPTS8Jan 20, 1947 71Loss55–13–3 Theo MedinaKO4 (15)Oct 30, 1946 70Win55–12–3 Joe CurranPTS15Jul 10, 1946 69Loss54–12–3 Rinty MonaghanRTD7 (10)Jun 7, 1946 68Win54–11–3 Jimmy WebsterKO5 (8)May 22, 1946 67Win53–11–3 Theo MedinaDQ8 (15)Mar 19, 1946 66Loss52–11–3 Bunty DoranPTS10Mar 8, 1946 65Loss52–10–3 Theo MedinaPTS10Nov 19, 1945 64Win52–9–3 Sammy ReynoldsTKO3 (10)Nov 6, 1945 63Win51–9–3 Jim BradyPTS15Sep 12, 1945 62Loss50–9–3 Gus ForanPTS10Aug 24, 1945 61Win50–8–3 Jackie GrimesPTS8Jan 29, 1945 60Loss49–8–3 Ben DuffyKO7 (10)Dec 14, 1944 59Loss49–7–3 Danny WebbTKO3 (10)Oct 25, 1944 58Win49–6–3 Ronnie ClaytonTKO12 (15)Aug 12, 1944 57Win48–6–3 Ben DuffyPTS10Jul 6, 1944 56Win47–6–3 Ben DuffyPTS10Apr 24, 1944 55Win46–6–3 George PookTKO6 (10)Nov 24, 1943 54Loss45–6–3 Len DaviesPTS10Sep 27, 1943 53Win45–5–3 Gus ForanPTS10Aug 11, 1943 52Win44–5–3 George WilliamsTKO2 (10)Jul 22, 1943 51Win43–5–3 Peter KaneKO1 (15)Jun 19, 1943 50Win42–5–3 Al PhillipsTKO3 (10)Mar 17, 1943 49Win41–5–3 Phil MilliganTKO2 (10)Jan 13, 1943 48Win40–5–3 Battling Jim HayesKO1 (10)Nov 26, 1942 47Win39–5–3 Norman LewisPTS10Sep 24, 1942 46Win38–5–3 Phil MilliganPTS10Aug 7, 1942 45Win37–5–3 Eddie PetrinKO2 (10)Jul 20, 1942 44Win36–5–3 Frankie Kid BonsorTKO2 (10)Jul 6, 1942 43Win35–5–3 Billy TanseyKO2 (10)Jun 18, 1942 42Loss34–5–3 Frankie Kid BonsorTKO6 (10)May 18, 1942 41Win34–4–3 Joe HardyTKO4 (10)Mar 12, 1942 40Win33–4–3 Joe HardyTKO6 (10)Feb 23, 1942 39Win32–4–3 Dudley LewisKO1 (10)Dec 8, 1941 38Win31–4–3 Billy HazelgroveKO9 (10)Nov 14, 1941 37Win30–4–3 Richie TannerPTS10Sep 19, 1941 36Loss29–4–3 Jim BradyPTS15Aug 5, 1941 35Win29–3–3 Jimmy LydonTKO9 (10)Jun 20, 1941 34Win28–3–3 Jimmy StubbsPTS10Jun 1, 1941 33Win27–3–3 Richie TannerTKO2 (10)May 27, 1941 32Win26–3–3 Billy HazelgrovePTS10May 19, 1941 31Win25–3–3 Phil MilliganPTS10Mar 24, 1941 30Win24–3–3 Jim BradyPTS10Feb 12, 1941 29Win23–3–3 Paddy RyanTKO8 (15)Feb 3, 1941 28Win22–3–3 Billy ClintonKO2 (10)Jan 1, 1941 27Win21–3–3 Jimmy StewartKO3 (10)Dec 28, 1940 26Win20–3–3 Teddy O'NeillPTS10Dec 25, 1940 25Win19–3–3 Jimmy StewartKO6 (10)Nov 13, 1940 24Win18–3–3 Richie TannerPTS10Jul 25, 1940 23Win17–3–3 Young ChocolateTKO2 (10)Jun 26, 1940 22Win16–3–3 Wally KnightleyTKO8 (10)Jun 1, 1940 21Win15–3–3 Richie TannerPTS15Mar 11, 1940 20Loss14–3–3 Charley BrownPTS10Nov 27, 1939 19Win14–2–3 Paddy RyanKO13 (15)Sep 30, 1939 18Win13–2–3 Eric JonesKO1 (15)Aug 15, 1939 17Win12–2–3 Joe CurranPTS10Jul 19, 1939 16Win11–2–3 Tut WhalleyKO1 (10)Jun 15, 1939 15Win10–2–3 Freddie TennantTKO11 (15)May 31, 1939 14Draw9–2–3 Valentin AngelmannPTS10May 16, 1939 13Win9–2–2 Raoul DegrysePTS10May 3, 1939 12Win8–2–2 Gavino MattaTKO7 (10)Mar 10, 1939 11Win7–2–2 Jack KileyKO1 (10)Feb 24, 1939 10Draw6–2–2 Tut WhalleyPTS10Jan 16, 1939 9Win6–2–1 Phil MilliganTKO6 (10)Dec 19, 1938 8Win5–2–1 Billy NashRTD8 (10)Dec 14, 1938 7Win4–2–1 Mickey O'NeillPTS10Sep 27, 1938 6Loss3–2–1 Joe CurranTKO4 (10)Aug 26, 1938 5Draw3–1–1 Tommy StewartPTS10Aug 19, 1938 4Loss3–1 Joe CurranDQ4 (8)Aug 17, 1938 3Win3–0 Pat McStravickTKO8 (10)Aug 2, 1938 2Win2–0 Rinty MonaghanKO5 (8)Jul 23, 1938 1Win1–0 Joe KielyPTS10May 27, 1938
Titles in boxing Major world titles NBA (WBA) flyweight champion (112 lbs)
The Ring magazine titles The Ring flyweight champion (112 lbs)
Regional/International titles Lonsdale Belt flyweight champion (112 lbs) Scottish Area flyweight champion (112 lbs) British flyweight champion (112 lbs) Commonwealth flyweight champion (112 lbs) Commonwealth bantamweight champion (118 lbs) European bantamweight champion (118 lbs) British bantamweight champion (118 lbs) (2×)
Undisputed titles Undisputed flyweight champion
See also List of flyweight boxing champions List of British bantamweight boxing champions List of left-handed boxers List of British flyweight boxing champions
Notes and references Notes
References
External links
Maurice Golesworthy, Encyclopaedia of Boxing (Eighth Edition) (1988), Robert Hale Limited, Jackie Paterson: World Champion 1943 BBC – A Sporting Nation Jackie Paterson – CBZ Profile https://titlehistories.com/boxing/wba/wba-world-fl.html