I got bullied at school because I was skinny, but all I wanted to be was the best fighter in the world
Ken Buchanan relives how he became all-time boxing great
SCOTLAND’S greatest ever boxer, former world champion Ken Buchanan, has told how getting bullied at school turned him into a fighter.
Buchanan, who was born in Leith, Edinburgh, in 1945, made history when he became undisputed world lightweight champion in 1971.
The only living British fighter in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, he became an alcoholic after he retired and now receives roundthe-clock care for dementia.
In Undisputed: The Life and Times of Ken Buchanan, to be shown on BBC Scotland on Tuesday, the 76-year-old ring legend studies old photos from his life and career.
He recalls proud moments – from teaching playground bullies a lesson to the “magic” of representing Scotland – as well as the tragedies of his life, including the death of his most passionate supporter, his mum Cathy at the age of 51, and the low blow from boxer Roberto Duran that cost him his world title.
He said: “I’ve had my life and I’ve had a good kick of the ball. I’ve no axes to grind. I’ve just lived my life and that’s it because if I were to sit and worry about it I would never get any sleep.
“I’m just Kenny Buchanan. I was a world champion but that’s all behind me, finished and done with.”
He added: “I think I’m a Jock Tamson, I don’t put myself above anybody. Everybody is on the same level as me and I’m not feeling bad about my life and how it’s gone. I’ve had a good life – I’ve had a great life – I’ve done things nobody in this country has done and I enjoyed it.”
Buchanan took up boxing at eight after persuading his dad Tommy to take him to Edinburgh’s Sparta Club. He won his first medal shortly after, weighing 3st 2lb. He made his international debut at 17 and turned pro after winning the British amateur title two years later in 1965.
Buchanan said: “I got bullied a wee bit at school because I was skinny. I had a wee bit of a chip on my shoulder but only because guys wanted to fight me, and then his brother would want to fight me because I would knock him out.
“It was just a left jab I gave him, and that was it. All I wanted to be was the champion of the world – the best fighter in the world.”
His dream came true on September 26, 1970, when he became WBA world lightweight champion after defeating Panamanian Ismael Laguna over 15 rounds in sweltering Puerto Rico.
He recalled: “It was roasting, absolutely roasting. I don’t know (how I managed to survive that fight). I went out there two weeks before the fight. It should have been two months.”
The same year, he was named the American Boxing Writers’ Association’s Fighter of the Year, ahead of heavyweights Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. In February 1971, he defeated Mexican Ruben Navarro in LA to add the WBC belt and become undisputed lightweight champion of the world. Buchanan got the 1971 British Sports Writers’ Sportsman of the
Year Award, ahead of fellow Scot, F1 champion Jackie Stewart. He lost his world title controversially to Duran in June 1972. The fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden ended after Buchanan was floored by a low blow in the 13th round. Looking at images of the punch that should have seen the Panamanian disqualified, Buchanan said: “You can see it a mile away, he’s done it up the way.” Buchanan retired in 1976 after an eye injury but returned in 1978, finishing his career in 1982 with a record of 61 wins and eight losses. He found it difficult to adjust to
life outside the ring and, before developing dementia, struggled with alcohol addiction.
Speaking in the documentary, his son Mark, 50, said: “We used to have arguments over it and he said, ‘Son, all I wanted to be was a world champion – I wanted to be the best in the world at boxing.’ He said, ‘I achieved that and I missed out on all my life, so all I’m going to do now is have fun and do what I want.
“He took it a little bit too much to the extreme in some cases but he’d done what he wanted to achieve.
“He wasn’t interested in the money or the fame really – he wanted to be the best boxer in the world.”
Undisputed: The Life and Times of Ken Buchanan is on BBC Scotland at 10pm on Tuesday.