JOHN WESTGARTH, one of British boxing’s nearly men and the dad of the late Scott, has died at the age of 64. He suffered a stroke last month while working in Manchester and passed away after a short illness.
A hard-hitting, give-it-everything heavyweight of the 1980s, Westgarth was probably best known for a defeat 38 when he suffered the agony of a splitdecision loss in a bid for the European title against Steffen Tangstad.
John was convinced the two judges who gave the Norwegian the narrowest of winning margins robbed him of a shot at boxing’s ultimate prize at a time when British heavies were not exactly top of the pops.