The St Andrew’s Sporting Club 

Est 1973




Monday 18th of March 2013, sitting in The St Andrew’s Sporting Club, breathing in the aroma of fine food and listening to the sound of hearty laughter, this was not just any club; this was more like a brotherhood of man rejoicing in the pleasantries that the club had to offer. There was Guest of Honour, Jackie McNamara, the new manager of Dundee United, Guest Chairman, Journalist Jim Black and the Guest Speaker was Former Criminal Defence Lawyer, Bill Copeland who had the place in tears of laughter.

I could not take my eyes off the ring, the venue may have changed but the tradition of the club and its members have remained the same. I could envisage my dad and Jim Watt gracefully treading the canvas, trading blows in the opening night of this famous, historical club, a night that would go down in Scottish folklore as possibly the greatest fight ever to take place in Scotland. I was truly in the hotbed of Scottish boxing and rubbing shoulders with some of the most esteemed gentlemen in Scotland.

The evening’s entertainment was followed by the boxing, the opening bell rang to the tune of a Lightweight contest at 9st 12lbs over 6 x 2min rounds  between Barry Craig from Airdrie and Sid Razak, Birmingham. Barry Craig was by far the busier man in the opening rounds coming out throwing double jabs and an array of combinations working to the head and body followed by nice straight one-two- left hook- right screw shots to the head, Sid Razak having a wealth of experience with 39 contests under his belt went about his business mainly throwing single shots to the head progressing to straight left-rights, however, it was in the latter stages of the fight that Razak produced his best work switching his attack from body to head, he really started to get going in the 5th round. Craig went straight back onto the trusty left jab at the beginning of the 6th round followed by a left screw shot to the head and working in a nice one-two-left hook but thereafter it was all the man from Birmingham finishing off the round mostly landing right hands to the body and head, Razak looked like he wanted more but it was a case of too little too late and referee Kenny Pringle scored the contest 58-57 in favour of the man from Airdrie who remains unbeaten.

The following fight was contested at 10st 12lbs over 6 x 2minute rounds in the Welterweight division featuring debutant Michael Towell from Dundee and Sedley’s Tom Bowen. Bowen moved straight in doubling up the jab, whereas Towell was aiming left hooks to the body and head; Bowen landed a big right hand before the bell signalled the end of the first round. Bowen stepped up the pace in the 2nd managing a four punch combination and everything he did was off the jab, Towell resorted to left and right hooks, Bowen stuck to jabs, one-two’s and left hooks, Towell persevered with left-right hooks to the head and by the 4th round Towell was throwing a lot of leather catching Bowen with  three big left hooks, Bowen looked like he was tiring near the end of the 4th round. Before the bell went for the 5th round Towell sat in his corner like a raging bull looking eager to engage with his opponent. Bowen came out throwing a straight one-two and a left hook to the head but Towell was going for it big time, left to the body, double left to the body, occasionally doubling up his hooks to the head. In the 6th round it was a bit untidy but Towell was the stronger man by far, Bowen came back with very little resolve. Referee Kenny Pringle scored the contest 58-56 in favour of Towell.

The main event of the evening was a 6 x 3 minute Lightweight contest between Scottish Light-Welterweight Champion Stuart Green who hails from Glenrothes in the Kingdom of Fife and Dougie Curran from Newcastle. Stuart Green came out the blocks slowly behind the jab throwing the more accurate punches, however, Dougie Curran threw everything but the kitchen sink. There must have been a clash of heads somewhere because Curran returned to his corner with a concerning cut above his left eye, high on the forehead. Curran came out doubling up the jab and throwing one-two’s to the head and body, Green moved into gear switching from head to body, finishing the round with a straight jab followed by a big right hand and the cut on Curran’s head looked a lot worse. The 3rd round started with the boxers going at it toe to toe working inside and it looked a more even round as both boxers got through with combinations of their own. In the 4th round Green was back behind a good jab, Curran was throwing straight one-two’s with a right to the body, Green returned a good left hook-right uppercut and a combination of punches aimed at the body and head, Curran landed a big right hand body shot before the bell rang. Curran came out in the 5th throwing straight left hands, green upped the tempo operating to the head and body, at one point in the round the boxers were trading blows against the ropes and Green knocked Currans head back and a splatter of blood hit me in the left eye. The bell sounded for the last round and it was green that was in command throwing basic two-three punch combinations that worked a treat, he worked much harder than Curran and it was obvious that Stuart Green wanted it the most. Referee Kenny Pringle scored the contest 58-56 in favour of Green.

I spoke with each of the three guests at the top table; they were very pleasant to talk to and were more than obliged to accommodate anyone who approached them.

I had a chat with the host Tommy Gilmour and he turned; pointing to a draped banner about 30ft in height with a large picture of my dad and in as many words explained the name Buchanan is embedded in the clubs history and embraced the legacy of the club.

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan

Steelmen do The Full Monty

On Friday the 8th of March 2013, courtesy of Chris Gilmour Boxing and Prospect Boxing, The Steelmen Return boxing show was held at the Ravenscraig Sports Facility in Motherwell. The name Gilmour and boxing are Synonymous with fight fans not just in Scotland but all over Britain and you know you’re in for a treat.

The first fighters to enter the ring were George Thomson and Martyn King; it was a 6 x 2 minute welterweight contest. Moments after the opening bell sounded Thomson relentlessly pressured King with wave after wave of combinations, King did look like the slicker boxer at the start of the fight throwing good straight one-two’s catching Thomson with some solid punches. However, Thomson’s sheer work rate throughout the fight not only wore King down but he drew blood from Kings nose in the 5th, there was a good exchange of punches at the end of the 6th round but Thomson went on to win the fight 58-56 and remains still undefeated.

The next boxers up were Jordan McCrory and Dougie Curran, it was over 6 x 2 minute Super-Featherweight contest. McCrory got off to a slow start but landed the more telling punches in the early rounds with mainly body shots, McCrory then opened the door for Curran to come in with jabs, a good straight right-left-right and combinations. As the fight progressed  McCrory addressed Curran with a good left hook to the head followed by solid one-two’s and a cracking left to the body, Curran had a higher work rate through most of the fight but the stronger more telling punches came from McCrory but the fight was scored as a draw 57-57.

Rhys Pagan and Ireland’s Michael Kelly stepped through the ropes in a 4 x 3 minute Welterweight contest were Pagan delivered a classy jab followed by straight one-two’s and good right hands to the body, he totally outclassed Kelly who had very little answer to Pagan’s craftwork were everything he did came off the jab. Pagan did get warned in the 2nd  round for rabbit punching but this did not take anything away from what could only be described as a boxing lesson given to Kelly whose face was visibly marked by the end of the 4th round. Pagan won every round on the referee’s scorecard with a clear margin of 40-36.

Sean Watson and James Ancliff (A former Scottish amateur Champion) touched gloves in a 4 x 3 minute Super-Featherweight contest. At the start of the bout Watson rocked Ancliff with two good right hand shots followed by two lovely left hooks, he was landing with the jab at will and adding tidy combinations, Ancliff’s punches were falling short of their destination and got warned for rabbit punching in the 2nd round. Ancliff’s continuous spoiling tactics led to the referee issuing a public warning in the 3rd round, Watson continued to throw good, solid shots, he dominated the 4th round with a variety of punches, Ancliff did manage to get through with a couple of one-two’s then wrestled Watson to the canvas, Watson clearly landed stronger and better quality shots throughout the fight, it was no surprise that Watson won by a landslide of 40-36.  

Darren McAdam faced Polish opponent Arek Malek in a 6 x 2 minute Light-Welterweight contest. Southpaw McAdam, began the bout by throwing range finding jabs that soon found the target adding a solid left right to the body, he stayed in charge of the fight by landing good combinations, Malek had little resolve to match the talent of McAdam, a straight left from McAdam clearly knocked Malek’s head back in the 3rd round. The writing was on the wall for Malek, McAdam threw two right screw shots simultaneously with ease, combinations and using a good jab he was still bouncing in the 6th round. Malek resorted to holding on in the last that reflected in the scoring with the referee awarding the contest to McAdam by a margin of 60-54.

Mark Parvin and Richard Bitner were next to take to the ring in a 4 x 3 minute Light-Welterweight contest. Parvin came out catching Bitner with a left hook to the head followed by another of the same, Bitner replied with a combination of punches, Parvin threw a flurry of blistering punches to the body and head of Bitner then a good straight one-two, Bitner then had Parvin against the ropes going for the body and head. In the 2nd round Bitner started to dominate the fight getting threw punches to the head and body, Parvin threw a straight left but Bitner came back with a mass of combinations in one of the neutral corners finishing with a right left to the body, Parvin’s punches were missing the target. Bitner continued to keep Parvin on the ropes throwing combinations, Parvin got through with an uppercut, straight jab and a right hand, Bitner had parvin back on the ropes getting through with a solid one-two. A right hand from Bitner forced Parvin’s gum shield out resulting in Parvin being given a standing count in the last round, the referee scored the contest 39-36 in Bitners favour.

Ryan Scott and Billy Campbell made their way to the ring in a 4 x 3 minute Middleweight contest. Campbell started off quickly throwing straight one-two’s and a one-two-left hook, Scott came back with an onslaught of combinations but resilient Campbell had Scott against the ropes going to the head and body. In the second round Scott was landing clean left hands to the head, he then went on to do what can only described as a two handed frenzied body and head assault that got the fans off their seats in anticipation of the fight being stopped but Campbell refused to go down. At one point Scott just stood there staring at his opponent with his hands down. Campbell refused to go away and throwing regular combinations where Scott could only answer with a one-two. Campbell had the bit between his teeth and dug deep continuing to pepper Scott with an assortment of punches. Scott hit back in the later stages of the fight with a solid right to the body but it wasn’t enough. The referee scored the contest in favour of Campbell by a score of 39-38.

The current British Masters Light-Welterweight Champion Mitch Prince entered the arena to face Bulgarian, Radoslav Mitev, in a 6 x3 minute Lightweight contest. Prince came out fighting looking like a classy, stylish fighter throwing a stunning three punch combination followed by a straight one-two, Mitev responded with a heavy one-two and a big right hand, Mitch was dancing like a prince measuring up his opponent for a lethal strike. Prince threw an accurate left to the body, moved in and threw a straight one-two to the head immediately followed by another big right hand to the head that knocked Mitev to the canvas where he could not get back up to beat the count. Prince wins the fight by way of knockout in the 1st round after one minute and nineteen seconds.

Preceding the main event of the show, Iain Butcher stepped through the ropes to square up to Bulgarian southpaw opponent Galin Paunov in a 6 x 3 minute Flyweight contest. Butcher immediately caught Paunov with an uppercut and left hand to the body, Paunov threw a right to the head, Butcher came straight back with a sharp three punch combination, a left-right to the body and a right hand to the head put Paunov down for the count of eight, another body to head combination put Paunov on the canvas for the second time, a right to the body coupled with a right to the head had his Bulgarian opponent on the deck for the third time and after 1 minute 57 seconds the referee stopped the fight in the 1st round.

The main event of the show was for the Vacant Scottish Middleweight Title over 10 x 3 minute rounds featuring unbeaten Gary McCallum from Castlemilk and Stranraer’s Paul Allison. Gary McCallum came out dancing around the ring showing off great footwork throwing a neat jab followed by nice left-right-left hook to the head, he threw a much greater volume of punches than Allison who himself got through with a few combinations where he teed off using the right hand. McCallum went back on the jab, double jab keeping distance between himself and his opponent; this was to become the trend for McCallum. In the early doors of the fight it was evident Allison was eager to get close to McCallum where he produced his best work at close counter, against the ropes or in the corners. McCallum dropped to the body with his punches and reverted back to up to four punch straight combinations to the head. McCallum started the 3rd round throwing six straight jabs, Allison returned a solid right-left to the body, McCallum’s work off the jab coupled with some tidy footwork was be the key factor for him, however, Allison stepped up his work rate and finished the 4th round the stronger man. McCallum came out in the 5th looking strong, the minute break seemed to have replenished him and he was back on the jab, everything coming off the left jab that led Allison to lead with a right hook to the head. By the sixth round you could see that McCallum’s ring craftsmanship was beginning to frustrate Allison. McCallum was throwing a variety of punches off the jab with ease including two consecutive right hands but a combination of punches from Allison at the end of the 6th round must have given Allison the belief he could turn the fight around. Where McCallum would prod out his left fist Allison would work to the body. By the 8th round McCallum was producing some left hand work that was a joy to behold, rapid one-two’s to the head, Allison doubled up his lefts to the body but the clock was running down in favour of McCallum. In the ninth McCallum started the round well working wonders with the left hand, Allison caught him with two rights to the body, McCallum was back dancing going to the body and the head, Allison caught him with a right-left to the body on the ropes. Alison threw a punch after the referee called them to break but it did not bother McCallum in the slightest, he we back on the jab and double one-two to the head, McCallum was tiring at the end of the ninth so Allison’s only chance was to stop McCallum in the last round. In the 10th and final round Allison came out fighting, pressuring McCallum with shots to the head and body, McCallum looked content with surviving the round, he must have known Allison had to knock him out but the man from Castlemilk had more tricks up his sleeve than David Blaine, his footwork and torso movement were enough to keep him out of trouble, Alison did win the last round hands down but my thoughts are that Allison would have preferred the fight to have took place in a phone box, however, in a 15 ft square ring McCallum proved himself to be the worthy winner and when the belt went round his waist the two boxers sportingly embraced. The official verdict from esteemed boxing referee Victor Loughran was 98-93 in favour of Gary McCallum.  

The huge crowd in attendance certainly got their money’s worth, The Steelmen Return was the full package and it really was the Full Monty.  

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan