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Nick Parkinson
When it comes to assessing the best British boxers of all time and the best globally in the early 1970s, Ken Buchanan’s name will always be in the discussion.
Buchanan, who has died at the age of 77, may have been underappreciated at times during his prime, but his achievements — which included being undisputed world lightweight champion and five appearances as top-of-the-bill at Madison Square Garden — have left an indelible mark on boxing history.
Perhaps his best-known moment was an excruciatingly painful one for the Scottish boxer.
Roberto Duran was a young (recently turned 21), dangerous streetfighter when he first fought for a world title against the slick boxing skills of Buchanan on June 26, 1972. Duran displayed non-stop aggression from the first bell, and Buchanan’s glorious jab was unable to repel Duran’s swarming attacks at Madison Square Garden, New York. Amid an exchange of punches at the end of the 13th round, Duran punched Buchanan in the testicles. Buchanan was left writhing in agony and never came out for the 14th round. Duran took the WBA world lightweight title, and so began his brilliant career at the top level.
Duran, from Panama, later said beating Buchanan was the greatest night of his career, which included magical wins over Sugar Ray Leonard. But Buchanan was left urinating blood, hospitalised, and never held a world title again.
Buchanan, who wore Tartan shots, won the WBA lightweight title in 1970 when he suffered sunburn as he pulled off one of the best ever victories by a British boxer on foreign soil.
The pale-skinned Scotsman fried like an egg in the scorching Puerto Rican sun on his way to a split points win over local hero Ismael Laguna to lift the WBA world lightweight title. It was more than 100 degrees at the outdoor baseball stadium in San Juan by the time of the fight at 2 p.m local time, and Laguna forfeited his right to walk to the ring second as champion so he could claim the corner that was in the shade.
Buchanan’s promoter Jack Solomons borrowed a parasol from a woman in the crowd to shade Buchanan in between rounds. Buchanan, who still finished the fight sunburnt, kept to his boxing and his accurate jab earned him a narrow split points victory.
“If I had to pick out one highlight it would be Laguna,” Buchanan told this reporter in 2015. “British fighters didn’t do those things at the time.”
Buchanan, who finished his career with a 61-8 record, added the WBC crown the following year with victory over Ruben Navarro but after two successful world title defences (he beat Laguna in a rematch on a unanimous decision), Buchanan’s reign ended in controversy and agony against Duran. It was the only fight out of five appearances he lost at MSG. On one of the nights at the iconic venue, Muhammad Ali shared a dressing room and top of the bill status with Buchanan.
Buchanan was one of boxing’s best in the early 1970s — he was named the 1970 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, beating heavyweight stars like Ali and Joe Frazier.
It was not all downhill after losing to Duran. After a points win over fellow Scot Jim Watt in 1973, Buchanan was a narrow loser against Guts Ishimatsu in Japan for the WBC belt two years later.
The Watt victory aside (which took place in front of a couple hundred people at a hotel in Glasgow), Buchanan’s most memorable moments took place thousands of miles away from his native Edinburgh, where he never had a single professional fight.
When Buchanan returned home from Puerto Rico after winning the world title in 1970, only five people — all members of his family — were there at the airport to greet him.
But history will be kinder to the ‘Tartan Tornado’, who died after suffering from dementia and was living in a nursing home at the time of his death.