Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920 – 19 November 1966) was a Scottish boxer who was world flyweight boxing champion.
Born in Springside, Ayrshire, Paterson emigrated with his family from Scotland, when he was eight years old, to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Paterson was a southpaw with a knockout punch in either hand, his most lethal weapon being his left hook.
In his nineteenth fight he won the vacant British flyweight title, beating Paddy Ryan by a knockout in the thirteenth round.
In March 1940, he added the vacant Empire title to his British one, when he won on points against Richie Kid Tanner in Manchester.
[1][2] In February 1941, he defended both titles against Paddy Ryan in Nottingham, winning on a technical knockout in the eighth.
Nine days later he beat Empire bantamweight champion Jim Brady on points in a non-title fight.
Recognising that his performance levels were dropping, which he blamed on having insufficient time to train while serving in the RAF, in November 1946, Paterson announced his intention to retire after touring either South Africa or Australia, although he changed his mind and would continue for several more years.
In October 1947, he defended his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles against Welshman, Norman Lewis, at Harringay Arena, London.
In July 1947, he was due to defend his World flyweight title against Dado Marino, but collapsed at the weigh-in after making over-strenuous efforts to lose weight.
In March 1949, he defended his titles in Liverpool against Stan Rowan, losing on points over fifteen rounds.
He briefly came back to Britain, but returned to South Africa in December 1965 and began working as a lorry driver in Durban.