Ken Buchanan

“All Time Great”

Edinburgh bom former Scottish, British, European and undisputed World Lightweight champion Ken Buchanan MBE remains one of the greatest boxers of Caledonian origin to step inside a boxing ring. Former Sparta amateur boxing club coach Bobby Home who played a key role in Ken winning an ABA title, told me once ‘Of course, Ken was a brilliant ring artist but people tend to underestimate another quality he had even as a kid “ his enormous bottle and toughness!”

It was these qualities that enabled Buchanan to travel several thousand miles to San Juan, Puerto Rico and outpoint WBA lightweight champion Ismael Laguna in a broiling 104 degree heat. A similar heat defeated American ring legend ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson who only lasted 13 rounds against Joey Maxim in identical conditions in June 1952 but it did not defeat Scottish legend Buchanan against Laguna.  The same toughness that enabled Ken with a badly lacerated eyelid to still outpoint Laguna, the man that Buchanan nominated as being his most skilful pro’ opponent ever. The same inbuilt machismo that allowed Ken Buchanan to become the first Scot to win an undisputed World title in Los Angeles where cups of urine and lighted cigarette butts could not prevent ring artist supreme, Buchanan, from outscoring tough Mexican-American Ruben Nava over 15 hard rounds. Incidentally, although they later split, Buchanan has always acknowledged that the great corner work of his Welsh manager, Eddie Thomas, saved his title on the occasion of his cut eye victory over Ismael Laguna.

Again, it was also the selfsame qualities of soaring ring talent, toughness and self belief that allowed Ken Buchanan to give away 13lbs in weight to a top Canadian welterweight who had beaten old Dick McTaggart conqueror Johnny Cook from Bootle and Frenchman Marcel Cerdan Junior, called Donate Paduano.
Ken’s great exhibition of boxing skills that evening against classy Canuck Paduano in New York’s Madison Square Garden, not only had Senator Edward Kennedy and then New York Governor John Lindsay in raptures at ringside but led to Ken winning the Edward J. Neil Trophy for Boxing Excellence. The only time this prestigious award has been given to a British boxer. What is more, Ken beat ring greats Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier into third place in the voting by American boxing scribes!

A win that helped to make Ken Buchanan a recently honoured inductee to the International Halls of Fame in both Canastota, New York and Los Angeles, California. Similarly, Shottons Maurice Cullen was credited with having British Boxing’s sweetest left jab but it didn’t save Cullen, or his British title and Lonsdale Belt, in 1968, when Ken Buchanans even better left jab and kayo right hand decked Cullen five times then knocked out the English boxing master from Shotton in the 11^th round to give Ken the title and Lonsdale Belt at London’s Anglo American Sporting Club.

A win that made Ken Buchanan the first Scot to win a British lightweight title since Peebles native, seaman James Hall, in 1922. Similary, the generally poor state of Scottish pro’ boxing between 1967-1972 meant that Buchanan fought at championship level before a Scottish crowd only once (his winning British title joust with Jim Watt in January 1973 in Glasgow). It was the first British lightweight title bout staged in Scotland since 1949 when Harry Hughes of Wishaw lost to Yorkshireman Billy Thompson. As a result of scarce domestic Scottish ring opportunities Ken Buchanan became Scotland’s most successful championship class boxer abroad.

In this connection, Italy has proved an unlucky place for Scots boxers like Walter McGowan or Chic Calderwood but twice Ken went to the land of a “knockout will get you a draw” on European championship business against Antonio Puddu and Giancarlo Usai and returned home victorious, although a riot after the Usai fight robbed him of the European championship belt, which he never acually received until many years later.

Having a good chin is another component for greatness. He was never stopped or knocked out in 56 domestic non-title bouts. His sole stoppage loss in title bouts was down to extremely dubious tactics by Panamanian ring great Roberto Duran who tore Buchanan’s crown from his head at Madison Square Gardens in June 1972 but even Duran who fought guys like Thomas Heams, Marvin Hagler and Davie Moore, nominated Ken as his hardest ever opponent.

Little wonder then, that the readers of ‘Boxing News’ voted the man from Edinburgh as Britain’s best ever boxer. Little wonder too that Buchanan once appeared on the cover of American boxing magazine ‘Ring’ under the caption ‘Buchanan? is this the name for boxing?’

A rare honour seldom, if ever, granted to British boxers but then no more than this exceptional craftsman from Edinburgh deserved.