ONE of Scotland’s greatest boxers, former world flyweight champion Walter McGowan, has died at the age of 73.

His death took place in Monklands Hospital on Monday night. He is survived by a son and daughter, and two grandchildren.

McGowan, who was born in Hamilton in1942, had suffered from dementia for many years.

Walter McGowan was the son of Thomas McGowan, a miner who boxed professionally under the name of Joe Gans in tribute to the great American fighter of that name.

At their home in Hamilton, his father taught young Walter the basics of the noble art, and it was soon clear that the diminutive McGowan – he was just over 5ft 2ins at his tallest and his usual fighting weight was just over 8 st – was a boxer of the highest class.

As an amateur, he enjoyed an outstanding career, losing just two of 124 bouts and winning the ABA flyweight title in 1961.

Turning professional under his father’s management, McGowan’s strict training regime included cold baths and daily five mile runs.

Such was his prowess that he was matched against Edinburgh’s Jackie Brown for the Scottish flyweight championship in only his third paid fight. Brown won on points, but McGowan gained revenge two years later when he defeated Brown, by then the British and Commonwealth champion, to gain a Lonsdale Belt.

McGowan knocked Brown out in the tenth round of the fight at Paisley Ice Rink and was soon awarded the Belt outright, there being no other British challenger good enough to face him.

In April 1964, McGowan took on Salvatore Burruni of Italy for the European flyweight title, losing on points in Rome.

Burruni went on to win the world title, and in the rematch at the Empire Pool, Wembley, in April 1966, McGowan gave Burruni a masterclass in boxing skills to win the WBC championship aged 23, for which he was awarded the MBE.

McGowan had one great weakness, and that was a tendency to cut easily. His next opponent, Alan Rudkin of Liverpool, tried to aim for the scar tissue around McGowan’s face, but was completely outboxed as McGowan took Rudkin’s British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles.

A terrible cut to his nose saw McGowan lose his world title in Thailand in his first defence against Chartchai Chionoi, and it was more cuts which stopped McGowan in the rematch in September,1967.

After he lost his British and Commonwealth titles to Rudkin, McGowan fought on until 1969, when he retired with a record of 32 wins, seven losses and a draw.

Peter Harrison, father and coach of former world featherweight champion Scott, said last night: “Boxing as an amateur in the 1960s, Walter was my hero. He had such fantastic skills.

“Later, he worked with me in the Glasgow Phoenix Amateur Boxing Club and even then, I was picking up things from him every day.

“It’s a big loss for our family as he was very close to Scott. He should never be forgotten.”

Scotland’s top manager and promoter Tommy Gilmour said: “He was an outstanding boxer, one Scotland’s all-time greats. He was a family friend who was just a nice guy and a great, great fighter.”