Walter McGowan vs Alan Rudkin II - 13th May 1968
A superb article on the great Bantamweight Battle of Britain - a rematch between British & Commonwealth Champion Walter McGowan from Scotland and Liverpool's Alan Rudkin on 13th May 1968 at The Kings Hall in Manchester.
Written by Greg Paterson
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On the 6th of September 1966, two fighters embraced as the bell rang and waited anxiously for the referee to make a decision on who had won.
In one corner was the slick Scottish flyweight from Burnbank, Walter McGowan (left) who was WBC world champion. The other was Liverpool's reigning British and Empire bantamweight champion, Alan Rudkin. Rudkin's titles were on the line.
The decision was given. McGowan had won a controversial decision, most believing Rudkin had taken it, although respected veteran broadcaster Harry Carpenter believed McGowan had just done enough. There were calls for a rematch that seemed inevitable. However, Rudkin felt hard done by, believing he'd had his titles stolen from him.
22 months later the fighters re-entered the ring in the long awaited rematch. It was a natural to sell; the first fight was an epic and close fight and ended with a disputed decision. And here it was.
McGowan had lost his flyweight title to the great Chatchai Chinoi in a war but eventually his eye gave out and he lost on cuts. In the rematch he was ahead on the cards before his left eye fell to pieces and again he lost on cuts. He took eight months out before signing to fight Rudkin again.
Rudkin on the other hand was quite successful in the interim with six wins including two stoppages. However he had lost on points in a fight for the European bantamweight crown but still longed for his British and Empire titles. After the defeat by Mimoun Ben Ali (for the European title) he rebounded with a brilliant second round KO of the touted American Ronnie Jones, landing a perfect right hand to lay Jones out.
The action got under way.
The early rounds were close with McGowan the pure boxer he was landing fast jabs but Rudkin fought back well with the harder shots and edged these early rounds. Both fighters produced beautiful boxing of the highest quality.
As the fight wore onto the middle rounds Rudkin hit fine form in the eighth; he turned up his pressure and McGowan started to struggle as Alan forced himself forward with hard straight punches to the head and brutal body shots. He continued this in the ninth causing TV commentator, Harry Carpenter, to a liken him to a ‘Bulldog’. A few seconds later Alan seemed to floor Walter with a wicked right hand but legendary referee Harry Gibbs ruled it a slip, which was highly plausible as the ring was very slippy. But, Alan turned it on believing Walter to be hurt and really bullied the Scotsman for the rest of the round. In the tenth Rudkin kept up the pressure and looked to be in complete control with the average card being 8-2 to the scouser and Rudkin was keeping a ferocious pace.
Walter sat down on his stool after the tenth, his right eye was shut and in the last round Rudkin had opened a cut over his left cheek bone. Looking at him you wouldn’t have expected what was about to happen.
The bell for the eleventh rang. McGowan, sensing the need for a big push in the late rounds, got up on his toes and started to land beautiful combinations and fast jabs on the advancing Rudkin. No one could believe it. Walter looked to be fading in the last few rounds but had started this amazing comeback. Could he keep it up?
As Walter came out for the twelfth round he walked onto a brilliantly placed shot by Rudkin that seemed to shake the Scotsman. Watching it, I had the feeling this could be the end for the Scotsman as he tied up Rudkin to avoid his follow up attacks. As they broke Walter got up on his toes and proceeded to box as he had done in the last round but this round he was landing with authority and landed a precise right uppercut onto the onrushing Alan’s chin, forcing him back. This brilliant comeback continued in the thirteenth as Walter boxed brilliantly but Alan was always forcing the pace. Now the solid lead for Rudkin had evaporated and now the fight was in the balance but all Rudkin needed to do was win one of the last two rounds to secure victory.
The penultimate round commenced and Alan tore straight into McGowan with punishing body shots. The tide started to turn as Rudkin found the target more and more with hard accurate shots. Commentator Carpenter commented that Rudkin had ‘savage intensity’ which summed it up brilliantly, Alan wasn’t going to be denied of his titles that he believed rightfully belonged to him. Alan’s ‘savage intensity’ caused a horrific cut over the cut-prone McGowan’s left eye.
‘Seconds out, fifteenth and final round!’ shouted the timekeeper.
Both men rose from their stools Rudkin cut over his left eye and McGowan with both eyes shut and cuts above and below his left eye. You knew these guys had been in a fight. They got to centre ring and touched gloves and proceeded to tear into each other like hungry dogs. Rudkin landed furiously to the body making sickening 'booms' every time they landed. Walter threw fast flurries to the body back in an attempt to keep Alan off him but he couldn’t as they both kept trading. McGowan had to give ground and he did, as Alan stalked him landing bloodying combinations as McGowan leaped in with fast flurries in a brilliant last round.
As the bell sounded both men embraced tightly and Walter planted a kiss, instead of a hook, on the cheek of Rudkin, which summed up the love and respect each guy had for each other. In a fight of such savagery they could embrace like this was a testament to their sportsmanship.
Harry Gibbs walked over to Rudkin and raised his hand; he had scored it to Rudkin by a round or half a point – the closest it could be!
Rudkin was delighted he had redeemed himself and won back his treasured titles. The look on Rudkin’s face showed it all he was full of relief and joy for winning as he was raised onto someone’s shoulders and paraded around the ring as the crowd cheered for his and McGowan’s amazing performance. Oddly there was some booing but this writer believes it to be of fans' disagreement with the decision but the booing was minimal.
Thus concluded the greatest, most savage yet superbly skilled fight to take place in the British ring. Many would say that one of the Kevin Finnegan vs Alan Minter trilogy, or Jamie Moore vs Mathew Macklin.
But for me this honour belongs too the incredible fight between two of the almost forgotten greats of the British ring in Alan Rudkin and Walter McGowan.
