Pat Cowdell

[BoztheMadman]

Pat Cowdell was one of the best English and British featherweights and super featherweights. He fought in the same era as Barry McGuigan, who was then regarded as the best and most popular British featherweight. The two have never met eachother in the ring however. After a decorated amateur career, Cowdell embarked on a professional run which saw him fight for the world title twice, but each time coming up short-in two radically different results.

 

He was born 18 August 1953, in the small town of Smethwick in the West Midlands and in 1973 he became the British amateur champion as a bantamweight. In 1975 he would repeat this achievement as a lightweight and in 1976 and 1977 as a featherweight. In 1976 Olympics in Montreal he won the bronze medal as a featherweight, eliminating his first two opponents with a 5-0 score, before losing to Gu Yong-Yu, the eventual gold medallist, by 1-4. He also won the bronze at the 1975 European championships and a gold at the 1974 Commonwealth games. He entered the pro ranks on 5 July 1977 and won his first five fights, but in the sixth he lost on a cut eye stoppage in the 2nd round to Alan Robertson. In September '79 he challenged for the British featherweight title against Dave Needham but lost to him by a single point. He beat him in the rematch, again by one point, and thus became the British champion. He defended the belt first against Jimmy Flint by RTD 11 and then beat Needham in the rubbermatch by RTD12. Needham retired due to excessive swelling. He then vacated the belt and after winning five more fights, he went for the first time outside UK to fight for the WBC title in Houston, Texas against Salvador Sanchez, on 12 December '81. Sanchez had a record of 41-1 and was regarded as a great fighter with power, but Cowdell gave a very good account of himself, going the distance against the future legend. He was dropped in the 15th and last round. Two judges scored it decisively for the champion, but the third surprisingly had Cowdell ahead by a point. It didn't help, of course and Cowdell had to go home empty handed. In his next fight he won the European title at home against Salvatore Melluzzo by TKO 10, after Melluzzo had to withdraw with a cut eye. Interestingly, he went to Switzerland for his first defense against the local man Sepp Iten and beat him by TKO12. He then defeated Jean-Marc Renard by decision to lift the super featherweight version of the belt and stopped Roberto Castanon (also a former Sanchez-challenger) by TKO 5, which was his most impressive victory. He also beat Kelvin Seabrooks by TKO 5. Seabrooks was the former IBF bantamweight champ who lost his title against Orlando Canizales. He made his last European defense on points against Carlos Hernandez, himself a former European champion.

 

He then received his second world title shot for the same title, the WBC featherweight one, against the new champion, the great Azumah "Professor" Nelson of Ghana. The fight was in Birmingham, at Cowdell's home turf, where Nelson would produce one of his greatest victories. As the two traded from the start, Cowdell was throwing a left hook and dropped his right hand. The faster Nelson immediately acted and landed a sweeping left uppercut that put him down and out. It was a devastating end to what would prove to be Cowdell's last attempt at world title glory. He would never fight at world level again. In April '86 he captured the British super feather title by KO6 against John Doherty but then a month later suffered another devastating and shock defeat to unheralded Najib Daho, who put him down twice early in the first round only to knock him out after about two minutes in the same round. He avenged this defeat a year later when he stopped Daho by TKO 9, recapturing the BBBofC title. And that was his last hoorah. In May '88 he was stopped by then-undefeated Welshman Floyd Havard by way of TKO 8 and that would be his last fight. He was now 35 and retired with a record of 36(18)-6.

 

Cowdell now runs four professional dinner shows a year at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham city centre. He also works as a trainer. In 2009 he made the headlines when he was banned from a golf club for singing war songs.

Edited January 23, 2016 by BoztheMadman

[robprosser]

Re: Pat Cowdell

 

Good article but one correction. Kelvin Seabrooks was actually the IBF champion that Canizales won his title from and successfully defended against. Both late rounds KOs if I recall correctly. Also the Daho stoppage was mildly controversial due to a ring invasion by Daho fans following the last knockdown.

[BoztheMadman]

Re: Pat Cowdell

 

Good article but one correction. Kelvin Seabrooks was actually the IBF champion that Canizales won his title from and successfully defended against. Both late rounds KOs if I recall correctly. Also the Daho stoppage was mildly controversial due to a ring invasion by Daho fans following the last knockdown.

 

Thats right. Seabrooks was the champion...but not for long, that's why I forgot it. ;-) And yes, that was mildly controversial, but Cowdell was already knocked and counted out.