Pat Cowdell was one of the Midlands’ finest

By Miles Templeton

A couple of years ago I wrote about the decision given against Pat Cowdell by referee Sid Nathan when he fought Dave Needham for the British featherweight title in 1979.  Although this decision was highly controversial it would be wrong to place too much emphasis on it when remembering Pat and his illustrious career. 

Cowdell was one of the finest boxers of the 1970s and I rate him extremely highly when considering the best fighters to have come out of the Midlands since the war.

Pat was an exceptional amateur. The 1974 Commonwealth Games champion and the 1976 Olympic Games Bronze medallist at Montreal, he also won four ABA titles at three different weights: bantam in 1973, lightweight in 1975, and featherweight in 1976 and 1977. 

When he turned professional in July 1977, great things were expected of him, but he failed to impress in his debut, beating Birmingham’s Andrew Coley in a scrappy six-rounder. Pat admitted that, with the sheer weight of expectation being heaped upon him by the press, the pressure had got to him.

There were further problems in his sixth contest when a badly gashed eyebrow saw him stopped in two rounds by Newcastle’s Alan Robertson. Pat kept winning after this setback and, in March 1979, he beat Les Pickett of Merthyr in an all-out war at the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, to qualify for his title shot against Needham.

Nathan’s controversial decision against Pat left the diminutive referee needing a police escort to leave the hall, and it was back to square one for Cowdell. 

The Board of Control saw things differently, and they ordered a hasty rematch between the two, with Cowdell taking the decision after a wonderful scrap at the Royal Albert Hall. Dave Needham left everything in the ring that night and played his part in a great fight.

Manager Ron Gray had big plans for Pat, and the British title was to be just the start. Pat’s first challenge was to win the Lonsdale Belt outright, and he accomplished this in record time after beating Jimmy Flint and then Needham again at the start of 1980. He then surprised everybody by accepting a contest with the great Salvador Sanchez (below) for the WBC world featherweight title.

Under the headline ‘Gambler Cowdell faces supreme test’, BN reported that “It’s a title chance gained without the usual steady conditioning against ranked opposition. Pat, having his first fight abroad, has cut all the corners to reach his goal and starts a huge underdog against a daunting champion”.  

Coming off the back of an awesome victory over Wilfredo Gomez, Sanchez looked unbeatable, and BN predicted a stoppage victory.

After an epic performance, Sanchez complemented Cowdell by saying, “That man is a credit to boxing, and a credit to himself”.  he Mexican had to go the full 15 rounds to retain his title on a split decision and editor Harry Mullan admitted that BN had been left with a “red face”, along with many other pundits. 

Cowdell stated after the contest that, “Sanchez is a hell of a fighter, one of the greatest, but I think I deserve another crack”. He never got the chance, for within eight months, Sanchez was dead after crashing his Porsche on a highway in his native country.

To get back on track, Pat then won not one, but two European titles, picking up the featherweight title in 1982 and then winning at super-featherweight in 1984.  With Sanchez winning his last fight against Azumah Nelson, it was fitting that, when Pat got his second chance to win a world title, it should be against the wonderful Ghanaian. Unfortunately, Pat was beaten in double-quick time with Nelson (below) knocking the Midlander out cold in the first round.

Action Images

After finishing as a fighter, Pat became a decent trainer and a very active promoter, putting on many shows with his ex-manager, Ron Gray.  He was a superlative boxer and a credit to the game.