How good was Ken Buchanan?

Buchanan was excellent but Laguna wasn’t half as mobile or sharp when he beat him, he was better than Pedroza when McGuigan beat him (and greater overall anyway) but we Brits love overhyping a win over a faded legend don’t we?

Still, Buchanan was very, very good; awkward and evasive upper body movement, good legs that didn’t take him too far out of punching range, which was good as he had that excellent jab, which at the weight was about as constant and useful as Whitaker’s.

Buchanan was gritty as fook as well, he was a capable inside fighter and although he wasn’t much of a puncher he gave it a go. Chang Kil Lee was decent enough and Buchanan just pasted him inside of two rounds.

Yeah, mainly remembered in some circles as Duran’s coming out party, which is a shame, but what he should be thought of is as one of Duran’s very best wins.

With his attributes I can imagine Buchanan giving Ike Williams a tough fight and possibly beating him, that’s a stylistic thing though and not indicative of my thoughts on his overall standing in the rankings or anything.

Top 25 seems fair. High praise in one of boxing’s deepest divisions.

 

Laguna had lost a nip of his prodigious speed and lateral movement but was still a great fighter more or less imo when Ken beat him first time out. He'd retained his offensive sharpness and become cagier with it, I think; it wasn't long before that he'd outslicked Mando Ramos and cut him up in one of his best performances. It was as much Buchanan's strength and other-worldly stamina and endurance that won him the fight down the stretch, a pasty, pale jock in furnace-like heat. And away from home, which he doesn't get enough credit for. Laguna was more noticeably faded by the rematch I thought and lost more widely as a result.

Buchanan had one of the divisions great left educated left hands and some of it's greatest footwork and peripheral movement. Good if over-exuberant upper body movement and a knack for not getting caught on the ropes, a great ring general. Like Flea says, a capable infighter too and with a granite chin and fiery edge. If anything he relied on this at the top level as much as his jab and movement, he was hittable and susceptible to straight fast punches and could be pulled into a fight similar to Winstone and McGowan. A sharp hitter when he set his feet but not a heavy one at the same time , he probably would've benefitted from a bigger punch as he fought more like a boxer puncher than a pure boxer for me. He actually racked up a nice series of ko's post Duran over Lee, Malave, Puddu etc.

He took his time reaching the top and fell off quite quickly but was great at his best.

 

I think you could rank him anywhere from just inside the top 15 to top 25. It's lightweight we're talking about though, the deepest division ever, so him ranking not especially highly is understandable in the context.

One of the little things I like about Buchanan is the sort of flashy, spiteful little jig he'd do when he'd extricated himself from a tight situation, usually followed a peppering of sharp, accurate jabs to rub salt in.

 

Lightweight rankings are impossible past the top 5 really.

Yeah, Buchanan won a strap, but then someone like...Leach Cross for instance, rarely gets any love but is very accomplished. Someone like Lew Tendler never won a belt but also isn’t top 10. Very hard division to rank.

 

Mike costello referenced this very fight in a recent podcast as one of the three best British performances, so not entirely forgotten.

Great thread this, learned a lot.

 

A extremely good fighter, as Duran has testified. Shame he came along as champ to run into a hungry young Roberto .

 

About 25 minutes in https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p06qvdfn

honeyghan against don curry and Hatton vs kosta tszyu

 

Maybe they were confusing him with a Cornish pasty.

 

Listen, it was bad enough that they called him patsy - confusing a Scot for a Tommy fecking Atkins is a step to far for them. It probably took all of Buchanan's restraint not to grab Laguna's ears and nut him into a coma.

 

Just outside of the top 25 for me, but worthy of the boxing hall of fame.

Buchanan who was losing to Duran deserved a re-match based on how the fight ended. Duran not only used low blows, but also his head.

Duran backed out of two singed contracts to fight Buchanan. What was Roberto afraid of? He was winning the first fight rather easily.

 

Underrated today, IMO should be a lock for top 25 at least. He's h2h better imo than he is going just by his resume. His movement and jab would keep him almost any LW fight for the distance and possible points win.