Buchanan got SPOTY snub for Princess Anne, Watt for a skater, so Josh is in the best company
PRIZE FIGHTERS REAL GLORY COMES IN RING ED KASH
JOSH TAYLOR might have been snubbed by the Beeb but Scotland’s boxing superstar at least finds himself in good company.
Even tartan fight legends Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt barely got a mention when it came to the Sports Personality of the Year Award.
There was outcry in the boxing game when Taylor wasn’t even listed among the nominees for the top gong, which was eventually picked up by cricketer Ben Stokes at the lavish ceremony in Aberdeen on Sunday.
But it was an even bigger slap in the face when it came to the BBC’s round up of the sporting year – and boxing hardly got a sniff.
A two-minute segment was presented by KSI – apparently a YouTube ‘star’ who took part in a pay-per-view white collar bout against some other guy who is on the internet – and quickly covered the likes of Anthony Joshua.
Meanwhile, Britain’s quickest unified champion from Prestonpans got a grand total of one sentence of a mention.
This is a fighter who won the world title in 15 fights, unified the division in his 16th and won the prestigious World Boxing Super Series with his epic victory against Regis Prograis – which was regarded as a global fight of the year contender. Scottish fight doyen Tommy Gilmour reckons it was below the belt – but it was hardly a shock.
The legendary promoter said: “It was disgraceful to reduce Josh’s achievements to a mere footnote. What he did in 2019 was incredible.
“It’s no surprise though. I can remember
BY MICHAEL GANNON Ken Buchanan being one of the biggest stars in the world. Not just a boxing star but a real celebrity here and in America.
“He was a unified champion but look who won Sports Personality of the Year. Princess Anne – for showjumping.
“It was the same with Jim Watt. He was on top of the world and they had Robin Cousins getting the top award. He was a figure skater, for goodness sake.
“They’d rather have cricketers or half an hour on the England woman’s football team than recognise sports like boxing.
“It was my grandson who told me who this KSI lad was – I thought he was a singer.
“I had a deal with the BBC back in the day. We had BBC Scotland fighting our corner but the guys in London wouldn’t pay the money. We had fights that had viewing figures the same as Old Firm games but we got shafted in terms of the cash.
“I remember back in the 70s, Grandstand on the BBC used to show boxing every Saturday at 1pm.
“It gave fighters a platform but by the 80s the Beeb had turned its back on boxing.”
It’s not just boxing either. Darts is one of the most popular sports around right now but you’d never know it after the awards bash on Sunday.
Gilmour manages Scottish arrows ace Gary Anderson and said: “When Gary won his world championship he got invited to SPOTY. The event was in Belfast but they wouldn’t cover his costs to get there.
“They wanted him to cough up £1000 just to turn up.”
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