Craig Docherty

Craig Docherty (born March 27, 1979 in Govan, Glasgow) is a Scottish professional boxer, best known for having held the Commonwealth (British Empire) Super-Featherweight championship and being one-half of the biggest Scottish fight since Jim Watt-Ken Buchanan.

Docherty is known primarily as a body-puncher; his tactics typically centre on his methodical attacks, hurting opponents particularly with his left hook to the liver. His defense is assisted by excellent head movement and a solid chin.

Docherty turned professional in 1998, after failing in a bid to win a Commonwealth Games medal. Competing at Bantamweight he was beaten early on. His future opponent Alex Arthur had better success in the featherweight division, winning Gold and returning a national hero. Docherty turned professional under the promotional banner of Tommy Gilmour and began to notch up victories.

After winning 12 fights, with 1 draw, and no losses, Docherty was rewarded for his progress by being granted a shot at the current British champion - Mancunian Michael Gomez, a rough-and-tumble, aggressive fighter who had over double the number of fights that Craig had. The contest was pulsating while it lasted. Docherty attempted to go toe-to-toe with Gomez, something of a foolhardy decision, as Gomez was well known for his relentlessness and heavy hands.

The fight ended inside two rounds, with Gomez battering a bloody Docherty until the referee stopped the proceedings.

Choosing to rebuild, the Glaswegian wasted no time in chalking up another three victories, before again being rewarded with a Commonwealth title shot. This came on April 12, 2003, when he squared off with Dean 'Pitbull' Pithie, in Bethnal Green, London. Despite being booed by a predominantly English crowd, Docherty dominated the bout, hurting Pithie with consistently hurtful bodyshots, leading to an eighth round stoppage.

The victory brought Docherty much media coverage in Scotland, in the national tabloids, and talk circulated around a possible fight with counterpart Alex Arthur. Instead, Craig, now nicknamed 'Hot Property', decided to defend his belt against mandatory Ghanaian Abdul Malik Jabir, which he won by Unanimous Decision in an enthralling classic.^[1]

The gritty performance earned him much praise, and a quick-fire defense was set up with another challenger, Kpakpo Allotey, which Docherty won by sixth-round stoppage.

Before deciding to meet old friend and Commonwealth Games team-mate Arthur, Doc decided to challenge the experienced Boris Sinitsin, the Russian European champion. It was a step too far however, and Sinitsin managed to use his experience and stamina to slightly outwork Docherty. Despite that, one judge had it a draw.

The clamour for a unification with British champion Alex Arthur still mounted however, and the fight was inevitable. Purse bids led to the fight originally being scheduled for Docherty's backyard of Glasgow, but Frank Warren later came up with the highest bid, and the fight was set for Meadowbank, Edinburgh.

Docherty was relatively quiet in the lead-up to the bout, whereas Arthur, as usual, was buoyant and brash. He even said that if he lost, he would run through Princes Street in Edinburgh, bare naked.

It did not come to that however, as Arthur managed to pound out a ninth-round stoppage. Docherty dominated early on, but seemed hurt by a big Arthur uppercut mid-way through the contest. Body shots led to his misery, and the ninth-round knockdown ended Docherty's fight.

Since then, Docherty has had a string of comeback fights in the Light Middleweight division, where he won the British Masters Title via first-round knockout of durable capable fellow Scotsman Paddy Pollock.

Notes

External links

• Box Rec Profile