‘Lenny the Lion’ leaves proud record
A WELSH boxing champion who rose out of a Maesteg colliery to challenge Howard Winstone for the British and European featherweight titles has died.
Featherweight Leonard ‘Lenny The Lion’ Williams, who lived in Tonyrefail, lost his fight against longterm ill health 50 years and two days after he took on Merthyr Tydfil’s Winstone at Afon Lido, Port Talbot.
Lenny, then 22, lost his most memorable bout in a TKO in the eighth round, but it rounded off what had been a short but near-perfect career, during which he also briefly held the world record for the fastest knockout after a bout at Maesteg Town Hall .
Born in Brown Street, Nantyffyllon, Maesteg, on February 2, 1944, to Hettie and Granville Williams, Leonard and his family later moved to the prefabs built after the war in Maesteg Park.
Sister Sandra Williams, 71, from Maesteg, said their father – who was also a successful boxer known to everyone as ‘Glan Pitman’ after his profession – trained Lenny for stardom from an early age.
But the youngster, who went to Plasnewydd and Llwynderw schools in his hometown, did not find success straight away and secured a job at Coegnant Colliery.
“But they did give him time off to go boxing,” said Sandra.
“He would run through the streets of Nantyffyllon and Caerau and do shadow boxing. Often, I’d be going to work at 6am and he’d be running behind the bus doing his training.”
Lenny was also known to train in a room behind the former Travellers’ Rest pub in Nantyffyllon.
“My father trained him first of all and then he got bigger and better and when he was 16 he couldn’t get any fights so he went to Cardiff to train with manager Benny Jacobs,” said Sandra. “It took off from there. My brother was very talented.”
Lenny – British Junior and ABA Champion in 1960 and Welsh Flyweight Champion in 1963 – had 37 bouts between 1961 and 1966, including his last with Winstone on December 7.
He fought Frankie ‘The Tiger’ Taylor twice, including once at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963, but lost on both occasions.
His record, however, spoke for itself, as he won 33 of his fights, 25 by knockout, lost just three and drew one.
Lenny married Gloria, from Tonyrefail, and went on to live there for 50 years.
He died on Friday, December 9, and is survived by Gloria, his three children Debbie, Tyrone and Jason, grandchildren and two great grandchildren; sister Sandra and brothers David and Gareth.
“We are a very close family,” said Sandra.
His funeral will take place in the funeral parlour at David L Evans and Son, Brook Street, Tonypandy, at 12.15pm on Thursday, December 29, before going on to the cemetery in Tonyrefail at 1pm.
Friends and family will gather afterwards at the Red Gate pub, Tonyrefail.