Jim Watt retirement

Just seen on Twitter, Jim's hanging the mic up.

Some will be pleased although it'll be for nothing if he doesn't ride off into the sunset with Halling beside him.

All the best wee Jimmy.

Thank God!

Talks with authority yet constantly gets shown up

I always felt that the criticism Watt got as a commentator was overblown and I was one of his few fans when it came to his mic skills and punditry…Well, up until the last couple of years or so, anyway. Admittedly in that time frame he’s occasionally failed to keep the frankly embarrassing sycophant Halling on the leash, and has mirrored the slightly cringe-worthy attitude of the Hearn brigade. But still, for the most part I thought he had a fantastic voice for commentary and I admired his straight talking, so I can allow for that little loss of form.

He’s had a lot of personal tragedy in the last couple of decades or so, so hopefully the next couple will give him a much happier retirement. Cheers Jim, all the best!

Did wonder if this would get a thread and if so if the good folk of 606 would find it within themselves to at least be gracious in wishing him a happy retirement. I suspected I knew the answer to the former, I absolutely knew the answer to the latter. Have said it previously on here but I don’t mind Watt as much as many others. If he is guilty of one thing, and this seems to be common practice in the world of sports commentary it is probably staying around a little longer than he should. Peter Alliss, John Motson and countless others have done similarly.

However I don’t particularly hold that against him. As a fighter he was someone who got the absolute maximum amount out of the talent he was given and certainly in his time with Gutteridge there was probably not a better co-commentator in the country. He has always represented the sport well, has tried his best to defend it when necessary and I for one wish him nothing but a long and enjoyable retirement.

I think Halling muddied Watt's outlook somewhat....In the last few years he went from a good analyst to a bit of a cheerleader....Easy mistake to make with such a left field sycophant next to you...Halling is the pits and would drag anybody down..

Can't really forget how he hoped the judges were watching a different fight when Floyd fought Ricky a bit rich coming from the guy who coined the phrase "It's a disgrace"..

BUT....If we got rid of all commentators with double standards there'd be none left..

He was a good analyst...He cared about the fighters..Gave credit where it was due and had a good voice you didn't get bored of..

Overall the good outweighed the bad...

Think he'll be missed...

Good luck to him.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I think Halling muddied Watt's outlook somewhat....In the last few years he went from a good analyst to a bit of a cheerleader....Easy mistake to make with such a left field sycophant next to you...Halling is the pits and would drag anybody down..

Can't really forget how he hoped the judges were watching a different fight when Floyd fought Ricky a bit rich coming from the guy who coined the phrase "It's a disgrace"..

BUT....If we got rid of all commentators with double standards there'd be none left..

He was a good analyst...He cared about the fighters..Gave credit where it was due and had a good voice you didn't get bored of..

Overall the good outweighed the bad...

Think he'll be missed...

Good luck to him.

X2

Hope the judges are watching a different fight. Not biased at all.

Also Jim lost a daughter, didn't he? That's very sad and hope he finds some happiness in his retirement.

The watt guttridge partnership... was probably britains best ever commentary team. Like most commentators he became a bit of a caricature of himself in later years, and seemed to have his mind made up from the first bell in a few fights.

But he never really got under my skin in the way he seemed to do to many. Unless sky rescue Ian darke back, I suspect people might find themselves missing him when he's gone.

Brave and tough as old boots as a fighter.

I wish him all the best in his retirement.

Jim Watt never bothered me at all as a commentator. I'll just add that when he retired from fighting, he held the record for the most title defences by a British fighter, and this was back when there were only two titles per division.

Overall, a successful fighting career and commentary career. We like to see fighters do well after their careers are over don't we? Well Jim did that.

Best of luck Jim.

Liked Watt as a commentator until about 5 or 6 years ago. Think he ended up falling in line and turning into a cheerleader and sounded a bit frustrated at times.

Think his commentary for froch groves 1 was exceptional

He just went down the cheerleader route a bit too much

If Chris hadn't given credit in the second post then the thread woukd look very different. Cheerleading tw@ts

That's right fingers, not an independent thought among us. And your views on Jim?

Added a sense of drama to a big fight from America. Only criticism is he sometimes saw the fight he wanted to see but I guess that was part of the package. But he usually made a big fight sound exciting. Problem is who the hell is going to replace him, good distinctive voices don't grow on trees. Please not Adam Smith that's all, just hasnt't got it as a commentator. Sorry but just felt the need to add that. I think Jim should have given up his domestic duties but carried on doing the odd fight from America. Must have had an awful last couple of years but never showed it. Will be missed.

Shame really, actually like Watt - I just cant stomach Halling.

He is utter pants, knows nothing about the sport, should be kicked off the mic.

Preferred it when Malignaggi was on the mic.

Hell, id sooner have Buncey on there.

cant say i remember the watt who was good, can only remember the one who cheered on the "sky" fighters (hardly on his own there, cant stand any of skys live coverage) and if he had it set in his mind one fighter was going to win then theres nothing that would change his mind. his scoring was fairly woeful as well

happy retirement jim, it was the right call. now just need that buffoon motson to retire aswell. out with the old

I think I rushed the initial post without giving Jim any credit as I actually didn't mind him and his voice did sell fights. I was trying to articulate that, going off what I've seen others say on here, Halling is the one that should be going.

I hope Jim enjoys his retirement and I hope sky use this to change things up on the commentary team. Paulie and Ian Darke would be my ideal choice. Wouldn't be surprised if it was Froch though. Paul Smith has had some stick on Twitter off people thinking he'll get the job but he could do the job. Alex Arthur is another.

milkyboy wrote:The watt guttridge partnership... was probably britains best ever commentary team. Like most commentators he became a bit of a caricature of himself in later years, and seemed to have his mind made up from the first bell in a few fights.

But he never really got under my skin in the way he seemed to do to many. Unless sky rescue Ian darke back, I suspect people might find themselves missing him when he's gone.

Brave and tough as old boots as a fighter.

I wish him all the best in his retirement.

Spot on with that  summary great with Guttridge, just thought he went off the boil in recent years, but good look to him in retirement.

Jim Watt was one of the truly hard men of boxing the state of his boat after going 12 rounds with Alex Arguello was frightening but he kept going to the final bell. Never forget is comment post fight "I have a car business and if I had to do an estimate on my face, I would probably write it off."
Jim should also be respected for the fact his ITV commentary with Reg Gutteridge before the channel and fighters future was intertwined was the best we ever had on these shores. Good luck to the bloke all of us boxing fans over the age of 50 know just what a great fighter you was in the ring and even more out of it.

He will be missed, I liked the fact he was the only commentator that scored fights as badly as I did.

He gave the nod to Nicky Valuev over Haye when no one else did but you could definitely make a case for the big lump in hindsight.

Talking of Frampton, I don't mind anyone who scored that fight close, though Frampton put enough daylight between them in first half to just hold on fifteen rounds could have been really interesting with Quigg coming on with a wet sail. The weekend I've always had Santa Cruz two or three levels above Quigg truth be told so this is the REAL litmus test for Carl. Really looking forward to it, Carl needs to do what he does best box and counter use his superior skill maybe he's hitting harder up at 26 too. Some punters think Carl has the tools here that the Mexican is basic and made for Carl, but Leo knows how to bring pressure like some of the great Mexican fighters before him. Both unbeaten something's got to give. This one not to be missed.

mobilemaster8 wrote:Shame really, actually like Watt - I just cant stomach Halling.

He is utter pants, knows nothing about the sport, should be kicked off the mic.

Preferred it when Malignaggi was on the mic.

Hell, id sooner have Buncey on there.

Good news: rumours Halling has been "let go".

There was an article in the press praising Watt and some of the great calls he's made during his commentating career, namely that there was something wrong with McClelland during his fight with Benn however, my abiding memory of Jim will be post Eubank/Watson II when, lying on the canvas, he referred to Michael as "a spent force"

Of course no-one really knew at the time how bad Watson's injuries were but I thought it was a tad crass trying to shoehorn in a clever quip (Watson being known as "The Force" back then) when he should have been more concerned about the fallen fighter.

hazharrison wrote:

mobilemaster8 wrote:Shame really, actually like Watt - I just cant stomach Halling.

He is utter pants, knows nothing about the sport, should be kicked off the mic.

Preferred it when Malignaggi was on the mic.

Hell, id sooner have Buncey on there.

Good news: rumours Halling has been "let go".

Here's hoping the money made from PPVs this year has been put aside to buy Ian Darke back from BT.

According to twitter both boxing magazines approached Watt for interviews during his commentating days and his response was always to decline and say they should give the publicity to young fighters. Very classy if true.

Milky, youre well.

Coukdnt give a monkeys that's he's retired because he never offered anything particularly insightful, which is surprising considering his history. He wasn't monotone, which is good.

You mean, you don't think saying 'they're just  arrrrm punches' a lot is insightful? More fool you, fingers.