Tom Imrie

died May 16 2015

Tom Imrie, one of the most destructive punching light-middleweight and middleweight boxers ever to emerge in Scottish 20th century boxing has died aged 67 at his adopted Fife home.

He was responsible for one of two outstanding televised amateur boxing knockout blows retained in the individual and collective memories of 1960's British boxing fans.

There was the devastating right hand sock that English heavyweight Billy Walker threw to destroy giant American opponent Cornelius Perry in 1961 when Britain destroyed the USA at Wembley in an international boxing match that year, and the crushing left hook of Edinburgh's own Tom Imrie which knocked out feared English puncher Mark Rowe to win the 1966 British ABA title. Imrie-trailing widely on points, flattened Rowe, but then Imrie's raw power is what made him a huge favourite of ringside fans in boxing arenas at home and abroad the 1960's and '70's.

Tom Imrie was born in Leith's Tennant Street a short distance from Scotland's still extant oldest amateur boxing club, the Leith Victoria. Imrie, one of five siblings including brother Mike who also boxed, first pulled on the gloves after his family migrated the short distance from Leith along the shore of the Firth of Forth to Granton.

There he gravitated to the famous Buccleuch amateur boxing club in Granton Square which produced throughout the 1950's and 60's outstanding amateur stars such as ferocious hitting welterweight ''Mighty' Malcolm McKenzie who enthralled boxing fans with his exciting ring style while boxing for Scotland.

Flyweight Tony Reid - who became a top British Army boxing official was just one of many boxers taught the noble art by Buccleuch coach Jock Stevenson.

However, from an early age the young Tom Imrie eschewed fancy dan boxing for the kind of non stop big punching that boxing fans universally love.

A power packed, pulverising, ring modus operandi that brought Imrie a clutch of District, Scottish and British ring crowns. At top international level, only the very best like Soviet European champion, Trebugov could beat Imrie when the Soviet ring star did so in Bucharest in 1969. in the European championships.

Elsewhere, Leith dock worker and sometime brewery drayman, Imrie, became noted for his victories such as a further British ABA 11 stone title win in 1969 - a victory that propelled him towards achieving his highest honour in amateur boxing when he beat Zambian opponent Julius Luipa in a jam packed Murrayfield Ice Rink venue that was awash with local partisan fervour willing Imrie to wining the light-middleweight gold medal for Scotland.

Ironically though, it was arguably one of Imrie's least impressive performances with many feeling the points verdict in Imrie's favour could have gone either way. Imrie subsequently revealed that he had been plagued pre-bout, by stomach ulcers which, in retrospect,made his victory over the tough African even more laudable.

Also appearing at Murrayfield Ice Rink that same evening in 1970 was Liverpool based future world lightheavyweight champion John Conteh, who won the middleweight gold medal. But the large ecstatic pro Imrie home crowd ensured that the man from Granton upstaged every other boxer on show that night.

Outside the ring Imrie's job as a capital dance hall doorman led him to meet and marry his wife May in a union that was blessed with a son and daughter.

Given his awesome punch power Imrie decided to follow in the footsteps of his former Buccleuch boxing clubmate Malcolm McKenzie, by turning pro under the aegis of top London manager Sam Burns who had helped guide another British middleweight, Terry Downes to British and world titles in the early 1960's.

However, like erstwhile amateur boxing clubmate McKenzie, Imrie's paid career never really took off or attained the heights that he had achieved boxing for his Granton-based Buccleuch club or for Scotland in international tournaments. Although he won more bouts than he lost as a professional boxer Imrie retired from boxing in 1976 - due also in part to ongoing health problems.

Imrie migrated to Fife living mainly in Dalgety Bay but he was thrilled when he was inducted into the Scottish Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008 n a ceremony held in a Glasgow hotel.

Tom Imrie is survived by wife May and his son and daughter and by his two brothers and a sister.