BoxRec

I was the another topic about commentators and it got me thinking


I remember when i used to watch the old Tyson fights and i used to wonder who the Scottish commentator was,i knew it wasnt Watt or Buchanan but i thought it must be someone decent as he was on primetime in the US,then eventually i found out it was Sutherland who id never heard of which was surprising as Scotlands not exactly seaped in history when it comes to boxers who are/were known in the States and being Scottish myself i thought i would have heard of him at somepoint as we make a big deal if someone is/was universally known


I know a liittle bit more now,like he fought Leornard if im right,i,ll have a look on Boxrecs records page but does anyone know what became of him,does he still live in the states and is he still involved in boxing?

I always remembred the name as its exactly the same as my daughters uncles,first n last

I know its a slow news day

i saw he had a gym or was involved with one a
while back

Sorry just checked it wasnt Leornard it was Hearns i must have meant

I seen he fought Michael Spinks twice and Muhammed also and a couple of other decent names

And he was also a former IBF champion

Bleak wrote:i saw he had a gym or was involved with one a
while back

That was all i was able to find out too

It says on his wiki that Matthew Saad Muhammed claimed Sutherland was the toughest fight of his career

also noticed his fights were in america, so I wander did he move there at a young age? or did he turn over
there as pro, did he box for Scotland as AM etc ?

Bleak wrote:also noticed his fights were in america, so I wander did he move there at a young age? or did he turn over
there as pro, did he box for Scotland as AM etc ?

Yeah i noticed that too,he had a thick accent so i assume he was raised in UK till fairly grown up but ive got to admit ive hardly ever heard anything about him which i havent looked up myself,his name never really pops up in any of the books ive read

And when ive read stuff about former titlists from not just Scotland but UK,i cant recall seeing much

I imagine theres a few more former World champs from Britain that i havent heard of if thats the case

YouTube is your friend....his fight with Hearns is well worth a watch. That's a time Hearns also...people remember Andries effort...Murrays is much better.

Don't know much about him other than the youtube videos of him...seems like a very good all rounder...nice jab and could fight well on front or back foot. Would have undoubtedly been a world champion in today's climate. Would have been a good fight with Froch.


Won a world title with a new organisation in a new devision in the States and lost in the first defence. That's why he is very rarely mentioned in the uk scene....shame. As ed Robinson said, now this is "our" devision and Froch holds the same title with pride.

stujones wrote:YouTube is your friend....his fight with Hearns is well worth a watch. That's a time Hearns also...people remember Andries effort...Murrays is much better.

Don't know much about him other than the youtube videos of him...seems like a very good all rounder...nice jab and could fight well on front or back foot. Would have undoubtedly been a world champion in today's climate. Would have been a good fight with Froch.


Won a world title with a new organisation in a new devision in the States and lost in the first defence. That's why he is very rarely mentioned in the uk scene....shame. As ed Robinson said, now this is "our" devision and Froch holds the same title with pride.

I,ll check that out later stu,ta

He was a bit before my time, and looking at his record he was one fo those boxers that could of done with the Super Middle's being from the start of his career. I'm sure Bennie could tell us alot more if he is still posting on these forums

I think (not sure) he won the inaugural super middle IBF championship. I always thought it odd I never heard his name on British TV. He was clearly handy enough. And Scotland has not been inundated with heavy champs.

He moved to the US at some point I guess and stayed there. I would be interested to hear his story

reggaereggae wrote:I think (not sure) he won the inaugural super middle IBF championship. I always thought it odd I never heard his name on British TV. He was clearly handy enough. And Scotland has not been inundated with heavy champs.

He moved to the US at some point I guess and stayed there. I would be interested to hear his story

agreed i only heard of him to begin with through his commentary,

perhaps billy or some one will know more ??

I'm sure Murray Sutherland was trainer for Eric Esch AKA Butterbean

Sutherland got into boxing via the Toughman circuit back in the late 1970s in Canada, where he was working on the oil pipelines. He developed into a tough, clever, superbly conditioned fighter who didn't hit hard enough to topple the light-heavyweight monsters back then, although he busted up Saad in a title shot before Saad launched his customary fightback and he came from behind to score a big win over a dangerous Cameroon fighter, Jean-Marie Emebe, on the Hagler-Scypion show, which made the TV screens over here. He was a world class fighter.