Bunce article on Michael Watson

[Mensa07]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 58050.html

[thepocketrocket]

Wonderful....

This may sound daft, but is Michael still improving or has it got as good as it will get??

BTW, the man should be knighted

[Deno1986]

Fantastic but very, very sad article. As with a lot of stories like this there are so many "what if's" involved.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Wonderful....

This may sound daft, but is Michael still improving or has it got as good as it will get??

BTW, the man should be knighted

Michael is still severely impaired, the improvements finished some time ago. He slurs and walks clumsily and slowly, that's how he will remain unfortunately.

[Srebmun]

Cheers for posting the link.

[curtis wood]

great piece to such a sad story,just a quick little story about mr watson, i went to a sportsmans dinner where he was on the top table about 3 years ago in scunthorpe after the dinner had ended i went to get a photo with him he said to me people here told me you used to be a footballer and now your a boxer i answered yea thats me, he then said they also tell me your wasting your time boxing because your not very good i laughed and said i think im gunna be a good fighter he then told me how the doctors told him he would never walk again and that i shouldnt pay any attention to people who doubted me, he then offered me a race to the end of the room and back to prove the doctors got it wrong!!! im not sure if he will remember our little chat but its something i will never forget a true fighter in and out of the ring

[coghaugen11]

[martinmrts]

champions forever

[Bladder]

^^^^^ Great Picture ^^^^^

[matko]

Documentary on tomorrow sky sports 3

[boxingchat]

BTW, the man should be knighted

I disagree. He's been awarded the MBE and that's a fair one but a knighthood would be overkill.

Great article by Bunce.

Personally I'd like to see him light the olympic torch next year like Ali did in the states. Not many more deserving.

[thepocketrocket]

Agreed Boxingchat! Only issue will be that he never appeared at the Olympics! But a great idea

[dondada]

Buncey always says 'I only read people who were there'.

That piece certainly supports that view.

Some excellent insights, super piece.

[loaded_gloves]

Personally I'd like to see him light the olympic torch next year like Ali did in the states. Not many more deserving.

That would be awesome!

[SteveDow]

Excellently written article!

[Final round]

Thought provoking stuff. I'm not religious in any way but you look at Michael and you can't help but wonder about the strength of the human spirit.

[Jeff Thomas]

great piece to such a sad story,just a quick little story about mr watson, i went to a sportsmans dinner where he was on the top table about 3 years ago in scunthorpe after the dinner had ended i went to get a photo with him he said to me people here told me you used to be a footballer and now your a boxer i answered yea thats me, he then said they also tell me your wasting your time boxing because your not very good i laughed and said i think im gunna be a good fighter he then told me how the doctors told him he would never walk again and that i shouldnt pay any attention to people who doubted me, he then offered me a race to the end of the room and back to prove the doctors got it wrong!!! im not sure if he will remember our little chat but its something i will never forget a true fighter in and out of the ring

That's a great story

[JDC]

BTW, the man should be knighted

I disagree. He's been awarded the MBE and that's a fair one but a knighthood would be overkill.

Great article by Bunce.

Can't be knighted. Hes not British

[ejruane]

That's a great idea about the Olympic flame.

(I know he never competed in the Olympics but I believe he ticks all the boxes re the 'Olympic ideal').

I was a big follower of Watson when he was at his peak and think his achievements after the Eubank fight have been incredible.

We all have our favourite fighters and I'm the kind of person who prefers the less brash type (Ali notwithstanding - he was one in a billion).

Consequently, during those fantastic 80's battles, I tended to favour the likes of Watson and Collins over Benn and Eubanks (not denigrating their ability, both real warriors - just a personal choice thing).

I would not attempt to separate them regarding bravery, but I do think Watson and Collins were the better 'boxers'.

All just opinion of course and what helps makes boxing the sport it is.

I wish Michael nothing but the very best.

[gobbles]

BTW, the man should be knighted

I disagree. He's been awarded the MBE and that's a fair one but a knighthood would be overkill.

Great article by Bunce.

Can't be knighted. Hes not British

Since when? And how can he get an MBE then?

[JDC]

I disagree. He's been awarded the MBE and that's a fair one but a knighthood would be overkill.

Great article by Bunce.

Can't be knighted. Hes not British

Since when? And how can he get an MBE then?

He can be a member of the British empire, but he isn't of the realm. Thats how I understand it. Do you know of any non Brits who have a knighthood?

[gobbles]

Can't be knighted. Hes not British

Since when? And how can he get an MBE then?

He can be a member of the British empire, but he isn't of the realm. Thats how I understand it. Do you know of any non Brits who have a knighthood?

Sir Viv Richards, Sir Garry Sobers, Sir Donald Bradman

Anyway, he is British, he was born in London

[JDC]

Since when? And how can he get an MBE then?

He can be a member of the British empire, but he isn't of the realm. Thats how I understand it. Do you know of any non Brits who have a knighthood?

Sir Viv Richards, Sir Garry Sobers, Sir Donald Bradman

Anyway, he is British, he was born in London

Maybe the realm extends to the commonwealth or 2nd/3rd generation non nationals. Not sure, but I do remember learning about it having a boundary and MBEs etc not having.



I thought he was born outside Britain. Must have him mixed up.

[JDC]

Best answer I could find on the web:

Anyone who's a citizen of a Commonwealth country where the Queen is Head of State can become a Knight. If they're not they can have an honorary knighthood i.e. they can't use the title "Sir" but can use the letters KBE (Knight of the Order of the British Empire) after their name.

Terry Wogan is not a good example because even though he was born in Ireland he has British citizenship and therefore is Sir Terry.

Bob Geldof is not Sir Bob (even thought the papers like to call him that) because he's still an Irish Citizen.

To become a Peer (Lord or Baroness) you have to be British or Irish. Strange how some things work isn't it?

[smcb80]

Speilberg has a knighthood. Personally, i don't feel non-olympians should light the torch.