KEN BUCHANAN (Part 1)

by Ralph Oates

London, Buchanan was impressive stopping Tonks in round 2 of a contest scheduled for 6. After this debut win Buchanan fought often sharing the ring with the kind of opposition who would give him vital ring experience. On the 23 January 1967 he fought for his first title the Scottish Area lightweight championship of Scotland. At the Central Hotel in Glasgow. Buchanan won the crown when he boxed his way to a 10-round point’s decision over John McMillan. Five more victories followed before Buchanan was pitted against Jim Spike McCormack in an eliminator for the British lightweight title on the 30 October 1967. The venue being The National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London. This looked to be a testing fight for Buchanan against a ring wise fighter who had accumulated a record of 92 fights, winning 42, losing 38 with 12 drawn. McCormack would not be an easy opponent to get past. On the night Buchanan excelled boxing his way to victory with a 12-round points decision. The Scot was now undefeated in 23 bouts.

In this month’s column I have paid tribute to the outstanding Ken Buchanan who sadly passed away on the 1 April 2023 aged 77 years, 9 months and 4 days. There is no doubt that Buchanan was a true boxing great. while a proud Scot he had a very strong connection to Wales, that being in the early stages of his career he was managed by Cardiff born Eddie Thomas the former British, European and Commonwealth welterweight champion he was also the stable mate of Welsh legend Howard Winstone who was also managed by Thomas. Under the guidance of Thomas, Winstone won the WBC world, British and European featherweight titles so the Scot was in good company being guided by a man who really knew the sport. In later years Buchanan, would follow Winstone achieving world honours not at featherweight but at lightweight, eventually becoming the undisputed title holder.

In the amateur ranks Buchanan had won the ABA featherweight title in 1965 and as expected turned professional having his first bout against opponent Brian (Rocky) Tonks on the 20 September 1965 the venue being the National Sporting Club, Piccadilly

The big moment came for Buchanan on the 19 February 1968 when he stepped into the ring at the Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London to challenge Maurice Cullen for the British lightweight crown. Cullen had won the vacant title on the 8 April 1965 when he outpointed opponent Dave Coventry over 15-rounds and had since defended it successfully on three occasions. So, make no mistake, Cullen was a good champion with a record consisting of 47 bouts winning 40, losing 5 with 2 drawn. It looked as if Buchanan had a difficult task in front of him. Many felt that Cullen would leave the ring on the night as the victor giving Buchanan his first defeat in the paid ranks. However, the Scot showed his class and produced a spectacular performance to take the championship by knocking out Cullen in round 11 of a contest set for 15. This win showed that Buchanan was a little special, but he still had mountains to climb. Winning the British crown was an outstanding achievement but when looking at the global scene there was a number of tough fighters who would provide the Scot with stern opposition. The question was would Buchanan be able to compete with them on equal terms when the time arrived.

The Scot next entered the fray on the 22 April 1968 against Frenchman Leonard Tavarez a man who knew his way around the ring and looked more than capable of giving the British champion a tough night. The two squared up at the National Sporting Club Piccadilly in London. At the end of eight keenly contested rounds the Scot emerged with a point’s victory.

After the Tavarez bout the Scot had a further 8 winning bouts which further elevated his position in the world rankings. His reputation was growing greatly, fans were beginning to recognise his ring skills. Buchanan travelled to Madrid in Spain on the 29 January 1970 to contest the vacant European lightweight crown against home fighter Miguel Velazquez who had a resume of 40 bouts, winning 38, with 1 defeat and 1 draw. It is always difficult for a visiting fighter when he has to do battle on the home fighters’ turf. All the advantages are with the local man. It was of course a shame that promoters could not have secured the fight for the UK since the outcome might well have been different. On the night the Scot entered the ring with an unblemished record of 33 fights. At the end of the 15-round contest Buchanan had lost his undefeated record when Velazquez was given the decision. It was a setback one which had first sight appeared to put his chances of having an early tilt at the world crown very unlikely. It seemed it would be a case of having to rebuild and hence attempt to climb his way back up the world rankings.

Boxing like life can be strange, since after a further three winning fights which included an impressive defence of his British lightweight crown on the 12 May 1979 against Brian Hudson at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London, which resulted in a knockout in round 5 of 15; an unexpected opportunity presented itself when Buchanan was offered a title shot at Ismael Laguna. I say opportunity but this looked to be a fight where the challenger was not experienced enough to share the ring with a champion of Laguna’s class. The defending title holder was born in Panama and over the year’s had fought the very best during his time in boxing and had comprised a record of 70 fights, winning 63, losing 6 with 1 drawn. Laguna was showing no signs of being on the slide. Buchanan had to travel to the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico to cross gloves with the champion. Not only would Buchanan have to battle against an outstanding title holder, but he would also have to cope with the debilitating heat. In truth very few people if any thought that the man from the UK would come out of the contest with the championship belt strapped around his waist. It looked a routine defence for Laguna, who would simply know too much for the man standing in front of him. Prior to this bout Laguna had been stripped of the WBC version of the title leaving him with the WBA portion of the crown. Laguna had the WBC crown taken from him since he allegedly broke a contract with a promoter Aileen Eaton to make his next defence on her show. However, despite this Laguna was still regarded as the real champion, the top man in the division. Buchanan make no mistake had the odds greatly stacked against him. It would be an outstanding achievement for him to last the full 15-rounds let alone win.

Once the bell sounded the fight showed the class of the two men inside the ring who exchanged punches, using their left jab to good effect. As the fight progressed those at ringside were greatly surprised to see that Buchanan was equal to the champion, matching him punch for punch showing exceptional ring skills. At the final bell the two warriors were exhausted. They had given their very all. It was punishing waiting, while the judges checked their score cards. When the decision was announced it was a dream come true. Buchanan had won he had shocked the world, he was the new champion, he had defeated Laguna, this was a fantastic victory. Amazing to say despite this outstanding win the Scot was not recognised in the UK as world champion since the British Boxing Board of Control were not members of the (WBA) the World Boxing Association. Yet there was no argument that at that moment in time when considering the facts, the Briton was the best lightweight in the world. He was without doubt the main man in the division.

The next port of call for Buchanan was Madison Square Garden, New York. In a 10-round non-title bout on the 7 December 1970 the British fighter was matched with the unbeaten Canadian welterweight champion Donato Paduano who had an impressive resume of 22 bouts in which he was undefeated. This did not look like a gift contest for the fighter from the UK, it looked a very tough fight indeed. Once again Buchanan produced a winning performance which more than impressed the American audience. He gave a masterful display of boxing; his talent was now being lauded by many pundits who followed the sport.

Buchanan was next in the ring on the 12 February 1971 at the Sports Arena, Los Angeles, his opponent being American Ruben Navarro who came with a resume of 28 fights, winning 24, losing 2 and drawing 2. The contest saw the Scot make the first defend his WBA version of the lightweight crown. The fight also involved the vacant WBC title. At the end of 15-rounds Buchanan’s hand was raised in victory. He was now the undisputed world lightweight king. The next assignment for Buchanan was at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London on the 11 May 1971 against Venezuela born Carlos Hernandez the former undisputed world super-lightweight champion who came with a record of 75 fights, winning 60, losing 11, with 4 drawn. The contest was a non-title bout which the Scot duly won by way of a stoppage in round 8 of 10.

At this time Buchanan’s career was clearly going from strength to strength he was on a crest of a wave.

Part 2 in next months edition