The Guv'nor

He was knocked out by two professional boxers,

Johnny Waldron

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=416&cat=boxer

and

Cliff Field

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=16601&cat=boxer

There was probably more money for him in the unlicensed fights because he wouldn't have ever made it to the top, or even close to it.

 

I think he was younger at the time he fought them. I don't know the dates but I'd say in the 1970's.

 

He was one mean monster ****in bad ******* & no he could'nt box, but he'd smash you to bits on the cobbles. Back in the 70's winner talks all unlicensed tear-ups/anything goes were popular all over the country.

My mate who McClean mentions in his book beat him 1st time round as he used to be a pro middleweight but 2nd time they had a go in this private boozer McClean mangled him once he got his paws on yer that was game over as in nut/kick/stamp yooz gone.

I was in my early 20's at the time when i first came face to face with him when they weighed in & photo shoot & McClean looked at me (As i was trying to look all hard & cool next to kev) & he said what the **** you lookin at you little **** & i got too admit i near on dumped it:yikes That was one big bad scary night:bbb

 

Frank Warren who was McClean's cousin I believe,reckoned Lenny was a bully and just an average street fighter.

He got knocked out a few times in unlicensed bouts which didn't get mentioned much in his autobiography and he appeared very limited as a boxer on film although he did look big and very strong.

There was one fight where a fat bloke headbutted him during the ref's instructions and once the bout started Lenny flattened him with a single punch then proceeded to stomp **** out of him and it took a several blokes to get him away.It's on youtube somewhere.

Personally I don't put a lot of stock in what Frank Warren says either as he looked like a guy you wouldn't want to **** with in the street.

 

Why was that **** popular? :huh Why didn't people just watch proper boxing?

 

He was just a brute of a man. He was perfect for the no rules type fights but he's be no good as a pro. There's some interesting stories in his book though

 

That was gypsy Bradshaw. Any fight i seen of McLean,and im far from being an expert, shows him fighting what i would class as old men or guys just not in shape. Same goes for that pretty boy shaw (who incidently beat ron stander). In Lennys book he mentions Danny McAlinden, the former british heavyweight champ, and tries to imply that although a good guy he wasnt up to much on the doors with Lenny, which, as anyone who knew McAlinden, will tell you is utter bollox. I think cliff fields beat him twice, think he was the guy worked in a scrapyard although i could be wrong. Nevertheless, still a very intimidating looking guy who was capable of tying your legs round your neck like a bow-tie a-la laurel and hardy

 

Lenny McLean was world class at intimidation. Just the scariest guy you could meet. Yes, most capable pro heavyweights would have handled Lenny but if a gang needed something collecting or if two gangs needed a neutral person to keep things calm during a meeting or a club full of dangerous villains needed calming down most capable heavyweights couldn’t do it. lenny was known as a “ten man job” on the streets but he knew how to frighten even bad people into behaving themselves just by looking at them in a way that is impossible for anyone else. Roy Jones, Lennox Lewis and both of the klit brothers are dangerous men in the ring but you might not be able to tell if you didn’t know them. Lenny looked like a dangerous man, a 300lb Tasmanian devil about to kick off.

 

His one unlicensed fight is brutal, but like Joe Savage, Roy Shaw, etc, etc. They hadn't a single boxing talent.

Brutal dirty fighters though...

 

:?

 

Back then this was just part of the social phychi of the day in the 70's/80's, it was'nt mainstream obviously but there was good wages to be earned at it along with all the gambling laid out + the rep which hopefully led to you getting control of security contracts & other private earning opportunties.

It's difficult obviously for any one from today's generation too fully understand what it's all about in the context of the social backgounds & UK society as a whole back then in the 70's/80's & even earlier, but it was a working class endever along with the pub/territorial culture that accepted fighting in general to be the norm along with the huge scale inter-city football riots every weekend. As long as no innocent grannies or women & kids got hurt it was accepted & expected to show yer metal (Even though maybe you were secretly dumping it) to show up & put up when called upon.

Even Elton John had a top ten hit in the 70's with "Saturday's all right for Fighting" which would be banned today as non PC. We can all judge society's perceived ill's through todays eyes much as some of yesterdays hero's are now deemed non-PC. When McClean fought Pretty boy Roy Shaw the 3rd time it even had mainstream BBC & tabloid press coverage into the outcome & the scrap was shown straight after the prime-time 6.O.Clock news:rofl It's just a throw back thing thats always been part of our culture.

We Anglo-Saxons invented Boxing/Prize Fighting & the reason it's called the noble art is because 200 years ago even the Lords & Landed gentry got between the ropes at the county fair's & duked it out with the local tough's. My late father fought in the county fair boxing booths before the 2nd world war along with plenty of other working class men of the day. It was expected that a man should be able to fight & should be he called upon to right a wrong, no police shite, just hammer the **** & hospitlize the ****er if yer had too & that was the end of it.

We all watched boxing back then as it was shown all the time on free TV & it was in our blood & educational systems unlike today. Plenty of ex-pro's went down the un-licensed route too earn some decent shillings & Ken Buchanan was one of them after his busines failed.

This is a very tiny island which you could fit into the state of texas 5 times but it goes without saying that in our long history we've nearly always been at war so there's an obvious marshal fighting culture handed down from generation to generation & which was encouraged by the ruling elite as it made for fine soldiers. Today is mostly ****-head bar brawls that breakout at a weekend & a gutless knife culture. Mine & lenny's & earlier generation's did have some set of loose rules. It's yer fists/feet & teeth only. It was just harder back then to cut yer way to any form of self advancement in monetery terms as no one ever had spare cash, no credit cards back then, whatever it took to turn a few quid yer did.

Lenny only wrote his book as he was dying of cancer so as too leave some $$$ for his family.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7UmaGhne68[/ame]

This gives a pretty good insight as to what it was all about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DraD1LFGkr8

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DraD1LFGkr8[/ame]

 

No doubt a very scary man. Looks like Andre Agassi near **** himself here when lenny gives his Demo, and i dont blame him