Pat Clinton
Born (1964-04-04) 4 April 1964
Croy, Lanarkshire, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Statistics
Weight(s)Flyweight
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Boxing record
Total fights23
Wins20
Wins by KO9
Losses3
Draws0
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing  Scotland
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Belfast Flyweight[1]

Patrick "Pat" Clinton (born 4 April 1964) Was a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1994. He held the WBO flyweight title from 1992 to 1993. At regional level, he held the British flyweight title from 1988 to 1999, and the EBU European title in 1990.

Career

Amateur

Born and raised in Croy, Scotland, one of ten children, his father Billy was a former Scottish professional champion and his uncle Jim an amateur champion.[2]

He was a member of Croy Miners Amateur Boxing Club. Clinton represented Great Britain as a Flyweight at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Results were:

Clinton was also the Amateur Boxing Association of England flyweight champion in 1984 and 1985.[3]

Professional

Clinton turned professional in 1985, his first pro fight a points victory over Gordon Stobie in October that year. After winning his first eleven fights, he won his first title in September 1987, stopping Joe Kelly to take the vacant BBBofC Scottish Area flyweight title. In his next fight he again faced Kelly with Clinton's Scottish Area title and the vacant British title at stake. Clinton won on points this time to become British champion.

In February 1989, Clinton faced Eyüp Can for the vacant European title, losing a unanimous decision. He made successful defences of his British title against Danny Porter and David Afan Jones before getting a second shot at the European title in August 1990; Clinton took a majority decision against Salvatore Fanni in Cagliari to take the vacant European title.[2][4]

In March 1992, Clinton challenged for the WBO world flyweight title held by Isidro Pérez at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. Clinton took a split decision to become WBO world champion.[5][6] In September 1992 he successfully defended the world title against Porter, but lost it in May 1993 when he was stopped by Jacob Matlala in the eighth round at the Scottish Exhibition Centre.[2][6]

Clinton was out of the ring for eleven months, returning in April 1994 to face Adey Benton. Benton stopped him in the first round, in what proved to be Clinton's final fight.[2][7] He retired at the age of 30 with a professional record of 20 wins and three losses.

In his thirties, as a result of perforated eardrums suffered during his boxing career, Clinton suffered tinnitus and started to lose his hearing, and had to start wearing a hearing aid at the age of 33.[2] He returned to his trade as a joiner before going on to work as a salesman for British Gas.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "1st Commonwealth Championships". Amateur Boxing. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Barry, Nicola (1998) "Boxing Left Me Deaf at 34.but I'd Do It All Again; SAYS FORMER WORLD CHAMP PAT CLINTON", Daily Record (Scotland), 27 April 1998.
  3. ↑ "National ABA title 1980". Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  4. ↑ Tibbetts, Graham (2002) "BOXING CHAMP PAT'S HEART ATTACK TERROR; Ring Hero, 37, Misses Bash to Mark Career", The Mirror, 20 March 2002.
  5. ↑ Keevins, Hugh (1992) "From the Scotsman Archives : Pat Clinton Crowned Champion of the World", The Scotsman, 1 March 2014.
  6. 1 2 Black, Jim (2017) "Pat Clinton 25 years on from coronation as world flyweight champion", Glasgow Herald, 18 March 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2018
  7. 1 2 McInnes, Henry (2002) "Clinton rolls with past punches", Scotland on Sunday, 20 October 2002.
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