23/07/2022
ANTONINE’S Charlie Kane claimed Scotland’s first Commonwealth Games Gold medal in 20 years in Auckland, New Zealand in 1990.
The Light-Welterweight returned to the Games following his controversial stoppage as a teenager in the prelims to Northern Ireland’s Chris Carleton in the Games in Edinburgh in 1986.
In the four years in between, the Clydebank boxer had gained a lot of experience, boxing at the European Championships in Torino, Italy in 1987 and reaching the Quarter-Finals of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Charlie defeated Brunei’s Mokmin Rahman by 2nd round stoppage in the prelims, before claiming a 3-2 split decision against Nigeria’s Moses James in the Quarter-Finals.
It would be a unanimous points victory against Australia’s Stefan Scriggins in the Semi-Finals, before a 3-2 decision went the Scots way in the Final against Kenya’s Nicodemus Odore.
Charlie was one of just five Scottish Gold medal winners at the Games in New Zealand, alongside the likes of 10,000m runner Liz McColgan, while he became the first boxer to win Gold since Tom Imrie’s Light-Middleweight success in Edinburgh in 1970.
Charlie Kane, speaking in 2019, said: “It is only now when I look back at what I achieved in my career that I realise how significant this [Commonwealth gold] was, but at the time I really didn’t realise what I’d achieved at that moment.
“I can remember while waiting on the decision, I was saying to myself please god, please god let it be me.”
Charlie was one of two Scottish medallists at the 14th edition of the Games, as Bellahouston’s David Anderson won the Bronze medal at Lightweight.
Anderson stopped Papua New Guinea’s Augustine Aba in the third round of their preliminary contest, before a unanimous points victory over England’s Peter Richardson in the Quarter-Finals, before suffering a 3-2 split decision defeat to Uganda’s Godfrey Nyakana in the Semi’s.
Other Scottish representatives in New Zealand included Paul Weir (48kg), John McLean (51kg), Wilson Docherty (54kg), Mike Deveney (57kg), James Pender (67kg), Steven Morrison (71kg), Stephen Wilson (75kg) and Andrew Caulfield (81kg).
Scottish boxing medallists Commonwealth Games 1990 – Auckland, New Zealand;
Charlie Kane, Light-Welterweight Gold🥇
David Anderson, Lightweight Bronze 🥉