[8.6] MICHAEL WATSON 30-25(21)-4-1: The Independent online - Fighting Back: The Michael Watson Story TV -
Boxing: The night Michael Watson’s career was ended: We all know when Michael Watson’s boxing life ended: it was 10.54pm on Saturday 21 September 1991 in a corner of a boxing ring in the middle of the White Hart Lane pitch. That was when it ended.
Watson was 26 that night when he was led from one corner of the ring to his own corner after taking the final punches. He was gazing over the shoulder of the referee, Roy Francis, looking at his opponent. Francis had a hand on Watson’s elbow and was having a screaming match with trainer Jimmy Tibbs, who had jumped up into the ring yelling abuse at the referee for stopping the fight early. ‘He's gone, Jim, and you know he's gone,’ Francis roared back. We all knew Francis was right; it was very noisy high up in the ring but it was going very quiet, very quickly inside Watson’s head.
Tibbs finally took charge of his boxer and then it all changed. ‘He just slumped. I felt him go, he was on my chest and I knew he was gone,’ remembers Tibbs.
In a neutral corner Chris Eubank, his own features smeared with swellings, was having his gloves removed and trying to smile as people screamed in joy at him from ringside. There was blood on his teeth. In other areas, not far from ringside, fights broke out in sections of the 22,000 crowd. The television images were still going out live on ITV and an audience of 13 million tuned in. They watched as the people in Watson’s corner started to panic, they watched as desperate cameras tried to find Watson somewhere under the track-suited horde that guarded the boxer’s corner. There was a glimpse of his boot; it was a recurring image during the next hour.
I was at ringside, resting a hand on the second rope about three feet from Watson’s head. His head was resting on a briefcase belonging to the British Boxing Board of Control’s doctor. It was 10.56 p.m. and the fighter was slipping away. The rope I was holding, and the place where I was gripping it, was just about exactly where the back of Watson’s head had hit with such fury in the very last second of the 11th round.
The 11th round is unforgettable. Eubank was sent reeling and exhausted to the canvas with about 20 seconds left in the round. He was finished, his eyes a blur as he took some of the count on his knee. The noise was incredible. Nobody was sitting.
‘I know that I was thinking about my daughters, thinking about my family. Thinking that life would be easy from now on; I would be world champion. What else would I have been thinking?’ Watson told me.
Eubank stood, wiped his gloves on the referee’s shirt, stepped forward and threw one punch. It was all it took. Watson also walked forward, his chin neatly hidden between his blood and sweat-coated gloves, but Eubank’s punch, a simple right-uppercut, picked the direct route and slid between the gloves to connect cleanly with the point of Watson’s chin. He went over, his legs stiff and his head snapped off the second rope. The bell sounded. It remains, even after all these years, a moment that never fades. Tibbs and Dean Powell, his assistant on the night, were quick to assist their boxer back to his corner. It’s the hurt business, a brutal game so don’t ask questions of men that act and fight with their hearts in truly desperate moments. Watson replied to Tibbs in the corner, he was alert. Big Roy Francis stood in the middle of the ring and called the boxers out to touch gloves after the 60-second break. It was the last round of a rematch that had dominated the back pages and was only taking place because of public demand. Watson faltered but that was because Tibbs had hold of his heels to gain a few extra seconds of rest. Everybody wanted to fight some more.
Watson was leading the fight on all three scorecards by three rounds, six rounds and one round. He only had to survive three minutes and the World Boxing Organisation’s super-middleweight title would be his. It would also be sweet revenge for the injustice of his loss on points to Eubank in June of the same year. The bell sounded and 29 seconds later it was over. Watson was not throwing punches and Eubank was throwing too many. Francis, his hair flying in the outdoor breeze of a cooling autumn night, jumped between them. ‘He's gone, Jim, and you know he’s gone.’
In Watson’s corner it is now 11.08pm and he has been placed on a stretcher. The doctor has a tube in Watson’s mouth to help him breathe. He is, let’s not hide from it, slowly dying. There is no emergency resuscitation equipment available at ringside. That all changes in the months to come. Tibbs, the DJ Tim Westwood, a nice guy called Kamel and a scared-looking medic each has a corner of Watson’s stretcher. He is carried at pace from the ring, from the ringside area and to a waiting, but ill-equipped, ambulance. The police have restored order inside the football ground and as Watson leaves the pitch an announcement comes over the Tannoy thanking people for coming, and giving details of the next Spurs home game.
Watson is taken to the North Middlesex Hospital, arriving there at 23.22 p.m. It is the wrong place. There is inadequate resuscitation equipment and no specialist head trauma staff. That all changes after the fight. He is placed alongside other Saturday night specials and his boxing boots are glowing in the gloom. His pupils were fixed and dilated; his brain stem had suffered an injury. (If this is grim reading, try and listen as Watson tells the story in his faltering and often haunting voice. Thankfully, he is resuscitated and one pupil becomes unfixed. It is 23.55 p.m. when he leaves North Middlesex for Barts Hospital. That is one minute outside the Golden Hour of essential rescue that all neurosurgeons preach. But, this is Michael Watson and he doesn’t want to die.
Meanwhile, in another part of town Dr Peter Hamlyn is having a night away from surgery. Hamlyn receives the call shortly after Watson arrives at Barts and has been assessed by experts. He has a massive bleed on the surface of his brain. The fighter is prepared for surgery and goes down just before 1 a.m. Hamlyn has reached the hospital but is unable to enter because of a gathering crowd of friends, fans, the curious and media outside the main entrance. He walks to the back of the Victorian building, searching for an open door. He knows time is crucial. He is standing in despair and looking up when a darkened door in front of him, and immediately below where he needs to be, suddenly opens. It is the bag lady of Barts, a legendary woman who has been living inside the hospital for years. Hamlyn races through.
The surgery, the first of five procedures, is over by 4.20 a.m. and Watson is placed in the eerie world of intensive care. His mother goes to his bed. At 5.10am Tibbs, who had been on his knees praying with Watson’s mother and all the sisters from the church, was sent in to see his boxer. I know it was a final look. But, the other fight is on and the hospital years have started.
‘Michael was closer to death than anybody that I have ever operated on,’ Hamlyn said. The pair are now great friends. ‘Michael has done more for me spiritually than I've done for him physically.’ And, yes, Hamlyn does call it a miracle. The Independent online article 21 September 2011 Steve Bunce
In a quest to become world champion, Michael Watson’s fight with Chris Eubank rocked the boxing world. The most controversial fight ever seen in a British ring left Michael Watson fighting for life. Fighting Back: The Michael Watson Story, BBC 2001
But being a clever fighter wasn’t enough. This was the late 80s: it was the era of flash, hype and the great British middleweights. It was the era of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank. ibid.
‘Michael was so so smart … [I] got beat by a nice guy.’ ibid. Nigel Benn
Michael was not earning the big money that Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn commanded. ibid.
‘Michael Watson has been plain robbed.’ ibid. UK post-fight commentary v Eubank
‘That’s boxing for you: politics and money.’ ibid. Michael
Michael finally goes into theatre two hours after the fight [v Eubank II] is stopped. ibid.
He received a visit from one of his boxing heroes: Muhammad Ali. ibid.
Michael believed that the British Boxing Board of Control had failed to protect him by not providing adequate medical care at ringside on the night, and he decided to sue them for negligence. ibid.
24) Nigel Benn ***** TKO6: UK Fight Commentary TV -
v Nigel Benn 21 May 1989 Finsbury Park, London [r1] … He’s [Benn] come out firing … The crowd are absolutely baying for Benn … He’s [Watson] throwing good punches … Banging away to the body Benn … He’s [Watson] taking some whacks around the side of the head … We knew it would be explosive … [r2] … Benn piling on this pressure but smart countering and covering up by Watson … [r3] … He really does lean in with the shots now Nigel Benn … He’s [Watson] standing his ground … [r4] … Another good left hook from Benn … Watson knows he can shake Benn … bang in trouble … oh what a return … what an incredible fight … [r5] … He’s [Benn] taken a few … What a round … non-stop … Benn looks badly shaken … [r6] … A perfect punch [Watson] … Oh he’s [Benn] gone … He’s been counted out on his feet … The underdog has won and he’s done it in style. (Boxers: Benn & Boxers: Watson) UK fight commentary Reg Gutteridge & Jim Watt
25) Mike McCallum ***** KO11: UK Fight Commentary TV -
v Mike McCallum 14 April 1990 WBA Royal Albert Hall London [r1] … Both good punchers … Nice little right hand from Watson … He’s a hand man Mike McCallum … A couple of McCallum’s left hooks … punches to the body … Good opening round … [r2] … Trying to out-jab each other … He’s [Watson] a little bit reckless … Watson has been shaken up … [r3] … The right tactics don’t suit Michael Watson … These [McCallum] shots are still vicious … [r4] … unrelenting … He’s [Watson] right back in again … Watson’s best punch so far … As good a punch as he’s taken from McCallum … [r5] … He’s [Watson] feeling the pace … Right hand [McCallum] … What a great battle … [r6] … [Watson] edging a bit closer … What a good fightback by Watson … [r7] … Good shot there [Wason] … [r8] … Michael’s doing it the right way … getting a little bit closer … Good fight … Accurate [McCallum] single shots … dangerous left hook … [r9] … McCallum is so smart … realises he must’s let Watson push him back … He’s [Watson] still full of heart … his legs are beginning to struggle … [r10] … Peach of a hot [Watson] … he’s driving himself on … What a battle … salvos of punches [McCallum] … and raises the pace … [r11] … He’s got Watson in trouble … What a champion … To to toe … and that was sheer exhaustion [Watson] … A real champion finish. (Boxers: Watson & Boxers: McCallum) UK ITV fight commentary Reg Gutteridge & Jim Watt
29) Chris Eubank Lost MD Points 12: UK Fight Commentary TV -
v Chris Eubank 22 June 1991 WBO Middleweight Earls Court London [r1] … I’m going to pick Eubank in a close points decision [McGuigan] … Both guys are in tip-top condition … Watson’s body shots … [r2] … Good shots from Chris one-two … Eubank the counter-puncher … This is going to be a classic … [r3] … Good right hand over the top [Eubank] … good body shots [both] … Good right hand from Watson, Eubank smiled … Watson’s round … All square so far … [r4] … Good round this for Eubank … Good left hook [Eubank] … Good right to the body from Watson … [r5] … What a good right hand from Eubank … Already’s Watson’s left eye is swelling … beautiful left hook … Watson says fine by me … This is a bad round for Watson … [r6] … Good right hand from Watson; Eubank didn’t even budge … 12,000 people are loving this … [r7] … Here he [Eubank] goes … Watson is throwing more punches but the quality shots are thrown by Eubank … Good right hand by Watson … [r8] … Top drawer both fighters … Watson’s forcing it … Good right hand … Good right hand from Chris … [r9] … It’s a very close fight … Watson is just growing and growing in confidence … The heavier shots are from Eubank but just not enough … Good left hook [Eubank] … He’s got him again … [r10] … Chris switches on and off … Very strong, very determined, very brave [both] … The [Watson] body shot … What a cracking fight! … Eubank does look in a little bit of trouble … he’s looking a little bit wobbly … [r11] … He’s going straight for the body Watson … And it’s Watson … Watson’s is starting to win this fight … Eubank pouring it on … and Watson it is who comes straight back … Beautiful left hook from Eubank … What a fight … They are absolutely level [sic] … It’s dead close [McGuigan] … [r12] … This has been a fight to remember … This fight for me has surpassed the Benn fight … Watson has hardly taken a backward step … Quality shots from Eubank but quantity from Michael Watson … storming fight … Good right hand from Watson … Eubank a last lunge … One of the best … I make them dead level … A superb fight … [116-113 Eubank, 114-114 draw, 115-113 Eubank] (Boxers: Eubank & Boxers: Watson) UK ESPN fight commentary