BoxRec

Who remembers the featherweight Colin Macmillan and how did you guys rate him? He looked to be going places until the shoulder injury against Ruben Palacio.

He looked good on the way up , but i think his lack of punch would have been a problem at the very top level, he seemed to be having problems with Ruben Palacio even before the shoulder popped out.

He was excellent and his record is a poor reflection of his great natural talent.

I remember when his shoulder popped out against Palacio - it looked gruesome and he was in incredible pain.

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=008876

I'm not sure how much this debilitated him later but he certainly didn't achieve his full potential. On the way up, I thought we had a British superstar on our hands. Stecca was a decent champ (or my memory could be playing up) and Sweet C beat him convincingly.

I thought McMillan would beat Steve Robinson after that though to regain the title, but I guess he was never as good again, and Robinson was better than we thought.

On a sad note I notice from Palacio's record he died in 2003.

Mr Hesketh wrote:I thought McMillan would beat Steve Robinson after that though to regain the title, but I guess he was never as good again, and Robinson was better than we thought.

On a sad note I notice from Palacio's record he died in 2003.

I seem to remember the lad had HIV at the time he boxed Colin. On the other hand, I could be confusing him with Rock Hudson who, to my knowledge, never boxed at featherweight.

He had great skill but virtually no punch power!

I thought he looked a lot like Sugar Ray Leonard, facially too!

Anyone agree?

He did look a little like Sugar Ray Leonard actually, good observation!

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly, I don't think your memory is playing up, at the time Stecca was rated pretty highly and as you say Sweet C did a number on him.

Punch power, or lack of really would have been a problem for him as his level of competition increased.

Slight subject change but now that I have broadband enabled, does anyone know of any decent sites for downloading fights?

Sweet C had the skills but not the strength to go with it.

He looked a bit feeble at times in the ring

I saw him standing outside Bond Street tube the other day, obviously waiting for someone.
Looked just the same as he did in his fighting days.

If you want to know more about his career, here's the book -

This Bloody Mary Is The Last Thing I Own - by Jonathan Rendall

one thing about MacMillan he was made big by being on ITV, i don't think he would have been such a big star if he had been on SKY, as less non-boxing people would have seen him.

Colin McMillan was born in Hackney Hospital London on 12th February 1966 and spent his younger years in the London area mainly Stratford, East London before his family relocated to Chadwell Heath in Essex where he spent his teenage years.

Leaving school with 7 'O' and 3 'A' levels passes, Colin McMillan gave up the chance to go to university, instead going in search of success in the boxing ring.

Colin was a successful amateur (although he never won an ABA title) and in 1988 he took up his first time employment in the Department of Health and Security, however it was some two years later while a technician with British Telecom that Colin ventured into the pro ranks, not turning full time professional for some time after receiving sponsorship. An inspired move that turned out to be!

McMillan a fleet footed boxer with lightening hand-speed was not blessed with true knock out-power but as a technician, few rivaled his style and application, he also carried a more than useful dig. A thinking man's fighter if you will, his career got off to a stupendous start (despite losing his third fight on a cut) he raced to the British featherweight title beating Gary De Roux (13-4-1) in his 19th fight after two further defences of the British title he was to move on for further honours. (Colin beat Kevin Prichard (20-2-0) and Sean Murphy (20-2-0))

After adding the Commonwealth title to his British belt, it was time for “Sweet C” to up the ante and challenge for world honours, this he did in spectacular fashion by recording a knockout in round six over Mexican Tomas Valdez (32-13-2).

A further successful defence against Maurizio Stecca (44-1-0) - a points victory, then disaster struck when Colin dislocated his shoulder in front of home fans against Ruben Dario Palacios (44-11-2) in September 1992.

The impact of this injury and possibly the shock of a losing the title he had worked so hard for meant Colin was never quite the same fighter on his return. He unsuccessfully challenged Welshman Steve Robinson (19-9-1) in October 1993 for the title that he lost due to the dislocation but sadly lost on points to the Welshman, who was just entering a purple patch of his career.

Further bad luck for Colin.

Lesser men may well have hung up the gloves at this point, but Sweet C still had some fight left in him and he intended to show it. Adding six victories on the spin to his record and he was to challenge once more for the British title out pointing Jon Jo Irwin (15-2-0) in May 1996 just under a year later an Colin was to bring the curtain down on an esteemed career when he was ko'd by Paul Ingle (14-0-0) in the eighth round, Ingle as we know went on to be a world class performer himself.

Colin is now retired from boxing although still involved in a managerial / promotional capacity (he briefly managed Audley Harrison when the Olympic heavyweight first turned professional) but now concentrates more and more on community work with large groups of approximately 60-75 children in question and answer workshops, and is a good inspiration for kids.
He is obviously a well-educated caring individual and has recently written an autobiography 'Feel The Power'.