THE TITAN OF TARBOLTON
Boxing’s king of the ring dies aged 74
During his heyday, Evan won the British Boxing Board of Control Scottish Area bantamweight title, BBBofC Scottish Area featherweight title, BBBofC British featherweight title, and Commonwealth featherweight title.
He was a challenger for the BBBofC British bantamweight title against Alan Rudkin, and European Boxing Union featherweight title against José Legrá.
His professional fighting weight varied from 53kg to 57.8kg.
Such was Evan’s popularity that five former world champions were among the boxing legends who honoured him at a gala lunch in 2004 organised by Ayr man John Hendry.
Flyweight kings Walter McGowan and Charlie Magri, lightweights Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt, plus middleweight Alan Minter were joined by Scottish Olympic and European lightweight champion Dick McTaggart and many more at Ayr Racecourse.
Evan succeeded Dundee southpaw legend Dick McTaggart as skipper of the Scottish amateur international squad in 1959.
One of his great e s t achievements was taking Joe Medel the full distance in the Mexican’s own backyard.
Armstrong combined rabbit breeding with flying 12,000 miles to Brisbane to successfully defend his Commonwealth featherweight title against Bobby Dunne.
Among the prize scalps he claimed were top- notchers from England Alan Richardson and Jimmy Revie, and Scotland’s ex- British flyweight champion Jackie Brown.
In 2013, Evan was a recipient at the annual Benny Lynch Certificate of Merit Awards in Glasgow.
He was recognised for services to boxing alongside fellow greats like Ken Buchanan and Dick McTaggart.
In his latest years, Evan faced a battle to save his memory. He turned to painting to help focus his thoughts and some of his works went on public display.
Evan admitted that he had no interest in art when he was at school and, in an interview almost 20 years ago, he joked he would rather have been in a playground fight.
Fighting was his life, he said, but his new- found passion helped in his battle to improve his condition.
Evan lived quietly in Tarbolton with daughter Susan.