Like wee Walter, Pat had aspirations to be a jockey but a fatal heart attack, which killed Pat's Dad Billy, in 1980, made Pat determined, instead, to realise his late dad's boxing dream of becoming a bona fide world boxing champion.
In a 1990s interview Pat told me: "I owe my father Billy Clinton everything regarding boxing. He taught me everything - how to move, how to counterpunch, not to mix matters in the ring unless desperate, how to box for all my openings."
And Billy Clinton had taught his southpaw son well. The proof? Shortly after Billy Clinton's death Pat boxed in 1981 in Jersey in an amateur tournament. There, he outpointed England's Duke McKenzie who went on to win, at pro level, two WBO titles - Bantamweight, Super-Bantamweight - and an IBF flyweight title.
Soon the educated Clinton southpaw style brought even more ring glory as Pat stormed to two British A.B.A. flyweight title wins, in 1984 and 1985.
Pat also took the USA's world amateur champion, Steve McCrory, to a majority points verdict in spite of boxing at 5,000 feet above sea level in Reno, Nevada. Similalry, in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games Pat Clinton was only beaten by the eventual silver medal winner.
Equally, the ring triumphs continued once Pat turned pro under London-based Burt McCarthy while being coached by legendary English trainer Jimmy Tibbs with elder brother Michael playing a key advisory role. Then, on 9 March 9th 1988 Pat made Scottish ring history by becoming the first ever Caledonian flyweight to meet and beat a fellow Scot for both the Scottish and British crowns in London, after Pat stopped Glasgow's Joe Kelly at Bethnal Green's York Hall.
A following European title bid against Turk Eyup Khan, in February 1989, ended with Pat being outpointed and hit by what he told me was the hardest single punch he ever took in ring warfare. Yet, the man from Croy still took the tough Turk the full championship distance to lose on points. Also Pat had fought Khan down to the wire with the hand problems which would subsequently bedevill Clinton throughout his ring career.
Then followed a succesful British title defence against Welshman David-Alyn Jones - stopped in six rounds - and a frustrating eight-month injury-induced wait for a European title shot. Yet, it was a wait well worth the months of frustration, for Clinton succeeded where Walter McGowan had failed (albeit due to a disgraceful drawn hometown decision against Italian homeboy, Tomasso Galli). He won in Italy the same European crown cherished by wee Walter in the 1960s, outpointing Italian Salvatore Fanni in Caligiari even though Signor Fanni decked Pat in the tenth round and despite Clinton damaging a tendon in his right hand.
