I spotted Denis Waterman on TV the other evening and got to thinking about his brother Peter. Can someone remind me what were the circumstances that made him retire from the ring...? Was it a bad beating in his last fight against Dave Charnley??
Also I notice on BOXREC that his "date of death" isn't recorded, but I think it's early 1986. I seem to recall that his health had failed quite badly, but I'm not sure if that was boxing related.
Any info appreciated.
J
Peter Waterman
If I remember correctly Waterman suffered some form of blood clot or head injury during the Charnley fight and had an emergency operation, he survived it but obviously could never fight again and I think was left with some physical impairments afterwards. I'm not sure if his injuries contributed to his death. Theres quite a bit on Peter and his career in Dennis Watermans autobiography, which I cant recall the name of now.
The thing about Peter is that he was an extremely talented fighter but was pushed along extremely fast and had a lot of tough fights too early, much like Terry Spinks of the same era... Peter was still only 21 or so when his career was ended... having read Boxing News reviews of his fights its interesting that he showed a marked deterioration in his ring performances in his fights leading up to the Charnley fight... sad case of burn out it seems...
The thing about Peter is that he was an extremely talented fighter but was pushed along extremely fast and had a lot of tough fights too early, much like Terry Spinks of the same era... Peter was still only 21 or so when his career was ended... having read Boxing News reviews of his fights its interesting that he showed a marked deterioration in his ring performances in his fights leading up to the Charnley fight... sad case of burn out it seems...
Dennis book is not very helpful as it only touches on the subject and refers to Charnley as the middleweight champion when he was the Lightweight champion.john2345 wrote:Thanks Silkov.... I vaguely recall that he was unable to fight on as a direct result of the Charnley fight and that he had been in fragile health for a long time. I'll see if I can track down Denis's book on Amazon or others.
Regards, J
Whilst Dennis career was at its peak his brother was alcoholic destitute.
A sad tale
It was common knowledge they never get on. Jealousy, probably. Peter was in the limelight, which the young Dennis was jealous of, then Peter's life was messed up and Dennis took the limelight.
Also, Peter was an intensely proud man who would never have sought any charity off his brother. Peter was so independent (always impeccably dressed, etc), he probably didn't even communicate with Dennis. Moreover, Dennis was such a big star when Peter died (due to Minder of course), his absence at the funeral was glaring and more was made of it than there probably was.
Incidentally, Peter's brain condition had absolutely nothing to do with the Dave Charnley defeat (nor were he and Charnley enemies, just rivals). Obviously boxing didn't help, but it was an hereditary condition, followed by a botched operation, that ended his boxing career and led to his disabilities.
But he still worked for a living, was a fine boxing writer (for various publications) and didn't deserve what life threw at him.
Also, Peter was an intensely proud man who would never have sought any charity off his brother. Peter was so independent (always impeccably dressed, etc), he probably didn't even communicate with Dennis. Moreover, Dennis was such a big star when Peter died (due to Minder of course), his absence at the funeral was glaring and more was made of it than there probably was.
Incidentally, Peter's brain condition had absolutely nothing to do with the Dave Charnley defeat (nor were he and Charnley enemies, just rivals). Obviously boxing didn't help, but it was an hereditary condition, followed by a botched operation, that ended his boxing career and led to his disabilities.
But he still worked for a living, was a fine boxing writer (for various publications) and didn't deserve what life threw at him.
Thanks for that update, Bennie.... in the words of the song... "It's all coming back to me now!".... I remember Waterman's rise and the two Gavilan fights, then the Charnley defeat but then he just faded off my radar so to speak. I think he was also lumbered by the press with the title of "best educated boxer ever to win a British title" as he had one or more "O" Levels.bennie wrote:It was common knowledge they never get on. Jealousy, probably. Peter was in the limelight, which the young Dennis was jealous of, then Peter's life was messed up and Dennis took the limelight.
Also, Peter was an intensely proud man who would never have sought any charity off his brother. Peter was so independent (always impeccably dressed, etc), he probably didn't even communicate with Dennis. Moreover, Dennis was such a big star when Peter died (due to Minder of course), his absence at the funeral was glaring and more was made of it than there probably was.
Incidentally, Peter's brain condition had absolutely nothing to do with the Dave Charnley defeat (nor were he and Charnley enemies, just rivals). Obviously boxing didn't help, but it was an hereditary condition, followed by a botched operation, that ended his boxing career and led to his disabilities.
But he still worked for a living, was a fine boxing writer (for various publications) and didn't deserve what life threw at him.
It's a real shame the way things turned out for him.
J
When I say, hereditary condition, it was more genetic. Then they carried out a barbaric brain operation and ruined him.john2345 wrote:Thanks for that update, Bennie.... in the words of the song... "It's all coming back to me now!".... I remember Waterman's rise and the two Gavilan fights, then the Charnley defeat but then he just faded off my radar so to speak. I think he was also lumbered by the press with the title of "best educated boxer ever to win a British title" as he had one or more "O" Levels.bennie wrote:It was common knowledge they never get on. Jealousy, probably. Peter was in the limelight, which the young Dennis was jealous of, then Peter's life was messed up and Dennis took the limelight.
Also, Peter was an intensely proud man who would never have sought any charity off his brother. Peter was so independent (always impeccably dressed, etc), he probably didn't even communicate with Dennis. Moreover, Dennis was such a big star when Peter died (due to Minder of course), his absence at the funeral was glaring and more was made of it than there probably was.
Incidentally, Peter's brain condition had absolutely nothing to do with the Dave Charnley defeat (nor were he and Charnley enemies, just rivals). Obviously boxing didn't help, but it was an hereditary condition, followed by a botched operation, that ended his boxing career and led to his disabilities.
But he still worked for a living, was a fine boxing writer (for various publications) and didn't deserve what life threw at him.
It's a real shame the way things turned out for him.
J
bennie wrote:When I say, hereditary condition, it was more genetic. Then they carried out a barbaric brain operation and ruined him.john2345 wrote:Thanks for that update, Bennie.... in the words of the song... "It's all coming back to me now!".... I remember Waterman's rise and the two Gavilan fights, then the Charnley defeat but then he just faded off my radar so to speak. I think he was also lumbered by the press with the title of "best educated boxer ever to win a British title" as he had one or more "O" Levels.bennie wrote:It was common knowledge they never get on. Jealousy, probably. Peter was in the limelight, which the young Dennis was jealous of, then Peter's life was messed up and Dennis took the limelight.
Also, Peter was an intensely proud man who would never have sought any charity off his brother. Peter was so independent (always impeccably dressed, etc), he probably didn't even communicate with Dennis. Moreover, Dennis was such a big star when Peter died (due to Minder of course), his absence at the funeral was glaring and more was made of it than there probably was.
Incidentally, Peter's brain condition had absolutely nothing to do with the Dave Charnley defeat (nor were he and Charnley enemies, just rivals). Obviously boxing didn't help, but it was an hereditary condition, followed by a botched operation, that ended his boxing career and led to his disabilities.
But he still worked for a living, was a fine boxing writer (for various publications) and didn't deserve what life threw at him.
It's a real shame the way things turned out for him.
J
Didnt he have a brain operation after the Charnley fight?.... thats what I seem to recall Dennis Waterman saying in his book....