Alex Ambrose

Alex Ambrose, who has died aged 78, was a top class Scottish flyweight boxer from Glasgow who was the protégé of two of Scotland's accomplished title-winning boxers and enjoyed his prime in the 1950s and 60s.

A native of Glasgow's Possilpark area, Ambrose joined the city's famous Springburn based North British Loco amateur boxing club - universally known as The NB Loco - as a youth in the early 1950s where he was tutored on how to master basic boxing skills by world rated British and Empire featherweight champion, Johnny McGrory.

It was McGrory who schooled the young Ambrose in the beautifully executed left jab that became an Ambrose trademark throughout his career. Similarly, the NB Loco club was a hotbed of future Caledonian championship ring talent. Boxers such as 1962 Commonwealth Games flyweight boxing gold medallist, John McDermott; future British and European middleweight champion John "Cowboy" McCormack and Alex McMillan plus middleweight John Doig who would become one of Canada's famed Mounted Police.

As its name implied, the NB Loco club in Springburn was attached to the NB Locomotive works which provided most of its boxers, including Ambrose, with employment. For example, both Alex Ambrose and John McDermott served their time as engineering fitters there, while 1956 Melbourne Olympics bronze light-middleweight medal winner John McCormack worked in the quality testing laboratory. These daily worktime duties were carried out in tandem with sparring with each other and training for bouts in the company gym where the NB Loco club was located.

Recalling those days, 1962 Commonwealth Games flyweight gold winner, John McDermott MBE commented: "Alex Ambrose was a beautiful technical boxer, fast and speedy and tough although he didn't have a massive knockout punch. He was also a very likeable guy who was popular in the gym."

That lack of a killer punch did not stop Ambrose from winning various amateur boxing honours and he further enhanced both his experience and skills when he elected to waive his deferment from national service as a fitter at the NB Loco works. Indeed the British Armed forces he subsequently joined contained many pro and amateur stars serving their national service stint like Ambrose so he was able to continue developing his skills in armed services boxing, before returning to civvy street in 1956 where he both resumed his disrupted fitter's apprenticeship and boxing.

However, Ambrose's decision in early 1957 to join the professional ranks was inspired by his lifelong hero worship of Glasgow bantamweight boxing champion Peter Keenan, the first Scottish boxer to win two Lonsdale Belts outright.

Indeed the year that Ambrose had joined the NB Loco boxing club in Springburn's Flemington Street - 1951 - Keenan had stormed his way in sensational style to winning both the British and Empire and European 8st 6lb crowns at Glasgow's Firhill Park. They were victories that made the youthful Ambrose consciously pattern his own style on his hero Keenan.

Consequently, despite a surprise retiral loss to Indian flyweight, Pancho Battachatchi in Hull in his eighth paid bout, Ambrose fully restored his fans' faith by beating impressively, inside the distance, Welshman Len Reece.

Even greater things followed as Ambrose hit his stride before 25,000 fans at Glasgow's Cathkin Park in 1958 where he became the Scottish flyweight champion and leading challenger for the British 8 stone title held by Stirlingshire boxer Fankie Jones by outpointing fellow Glaswegian George McDade over 12 rounds.

Again, in 1959 following his impressive win over McDade, Ambrose finally challenged Plean's British flyweight champion Frankie Jones for his crown. Jones would subsequently become the only British champion boxer ever to become a Beefeater in the Tower of London charged with guarding the English Crown Jewels. But in February 1959 in Glasgow's Kelvin Hall Jones proved equally adept at guarding his own, personal boxing championship crown by outscoring Ambrose over 15 tough rounds.

Undaunted, Ambrose covered himself in glory even in defeat in Cagliari, Italy in 1960 by taking Italy's world rated Piero Rollo the distance on the latter's home patch.

In 1961 Ambrose's seventh round stoppage win over Edinburgh's 1950 Empire Games flyweight gold medal winner Hugh Riley impressed his hero Peter Keenan, now a leading boxing promoter, to take Ambrose under his wing.

As a result, Ambrose scored two excellent points triumphs over Scottish bantamweight champion Tommy Burgoyne under his boyhood hero, Peter Keenan's promotion but these wins were to prove Ambrose's swan song as he closed out his career with a 10 round points loss in Tours France to Felix Brami, in 1963.

Subsequent to his ring career, Ambrose returned to his engineering fitting trade and later became a popular figure at the monthly Scottish Ex-boxers meetings in a Glasgow pub.

John McDermott commented: "Alex Ambrose was a very gallus guy - a great boxer who was boxing when there were many more quality flyweight boxers in Britain than there are now.

"But anyone who sparred with him like I did or saw him box guys like British champion Frankie Jones would tell you that he was a class act in his prime.''

Alex Ambrose is survived by his sister and two daughters.