Jim Watt Breaks Silence on Son's Tragic Death
A sad piece on Jim Watt, published on Boxrec News in August 2010. I was pleased to hear that Tris Dixon, editor of Boxing News, contacted Ian McNeilly, editor of Boxrec, with positive feedback on the piece.
Jim Watt Breaks Silence on Son's Tragic Death
If one is fortunate enough to have a high profile position in an environment swarming with passionate fans, some criticism is inevitable. The commentary Jim Watt provides on Sky Sports boxing shows divides opinions within boxing forums, with comments confirming his quality sandwiched between a few unsatisfied mutterings of repetitiveness.
However, snippets from the personal life of a figure in the public eye can enlighten one's knowledge of the said figure's character. It can be intriguing to know what consumes a man when the beaming lights and scrutinising cameras are powered off and he is left with his own thoughts. Speaking to Radio Scotland's Stuff of Legends, the former lightweight world champion describes the unimaginable torment of having to bury his son, Jim junior.
At just seventeen years-old and having recently passed his driving test, Jim junior was bought a car for his birthday by his proud father. Two short months later and Jim junior died in a car crash, in the October of 1995 in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow. Watt has avoided publicly talking about the tragedy for 15 years before breaking his silence with a statement any parent can relate to and understand, "The worst thing that can happen to me has happened to me."
The Scotsman tried to block the sad events from his mind, using methods adopted from his succesful boxing career, but admits that every good thing in his life is tempered with thoughts of the son he lost. Indeed, he confirms deliberately avoiding talking about the tragedy.
"I never have discussed it. No one had one quote. I didn't want to tell people how I felt. It was the lowest point of my life. You shouldn't bury your children - your children should bury you."
"That was horrendous. My wife has been left in a terrible state. She'll never get her head around it. The way I get my head around it was the way I've pretty much dealt with my whole life.
"When I was boxing there were things I had to do and things I couldn't do in order to get fit. I could channel my mind in a certain way. And I think the way I dealt with the death of young Jim was I tried to keep it out of my head, I didn't let it in.
"It was a horrendous time; I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was just terrible and tragic. He was 17 and it was a car accident. I'd just got him the car a couple of months before. I have two granddaughters to my other son (Andrew). When both were born the first thing you think is young Jim would have loved them."
"My daughter (Michelle) had her first child seven months ago and again they were fabulous times. We were all deliriously happy - but then a little bit of your mind clicks back and you think, 'How would young Jim have loved this?'
"We still have a great life. Great things have happened since, to myself and the rest of my family, but every good thing that happens there is always a blunt edge where Jim's not here to enjoy it as well."
Having exposed his inner demons, you can't help but feel sympathy for someone who has experienced every parent’s nightmare. Boxing can fill gaping holes in the lives of its pugilists and fans, but I think we would all agree that there are some things that go way beyond boxing, and this will without doubt have been the toughest fight of Jim Watt's life.