Boxing legend Jim Watts insists that Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France win cannot be listed as Britain's Great sporting events

JIM WATT didn’t expect to live long enough to watch a Brit wearing a yellow jersey cross the finishing line on the Champs-Elysees.But the Scottish boxing legend doesn’t buy into Sir Chris Hoy’s belief that Bradley Wiggins’ Tour de France triumph can be ranked as the greatest achievement by any British sportsperson.Watt defeated Colombian Alfredo Pitalua in Glasgow in 1979 to become the world lightweight champion before successfully defending his title four times to secure his own sporting legacy.But despite hailing an astonishing cycling triumph from Wiggins, Watt pulled no punches as he refused to put the Englishman’s historic success on a pedestal.And he claimed Allan Wells’ gold run at the 1980 Olympics is the moment that springs to his mind whenever the subject of Britain’s greatest sporting moment is brought up.Watt said: “People say boxing is the toughest sport there is and if you accept that then you would have to say the Tour de France is second on that list.“Maybe it’s even tougher but it’s all a matter of opinion. I fully respect how tough the Tour de France is and it was a terrific achievement.“Having someone from Britain win that race was something I didn’t expect to see in my lifetime.“It is a phenomenal feat and full credit to Bradley.“His success didn’t come out of the blue as it looked from early on in the race as though he was going to win it.“Sometimes in sport you like the drama and that wasn’t the case with Wiggins as it was never in doubt.“But the fact he won so comfortably just underlines what a great athlete he is.“It’s a matter of opinion what the best sporting achievement is but all sports require commitment, courage and a degree of skill.“It’s impossible to compare marathon running to boxing or cycling. The only certainty is that you don’t get much better than what Wiggins achieved.”Watt believes anyone looking for a sporting performance to match Wiggins’ need only rewind to Wells bursting out of the blocks in Moscow.