I think only Benny Lynch can rate above Ken Buchanan,I ain't claiming to be a supremely knowledgeable guy on all Scottish fighters, but I like to think I know them better than most.
I only saw him fight in the flesh once ,he was past it ,and scrapping purely for the dosh. I think he was fringe great,and I don't use the term likely.Definitely a class above Watt, imo. A discerning judge who is also Scottish, HUGH McILLVANNEY, thought that Dave Charnley would give him a hell of a fight.
Madison Square Garden offered Ken a 10-Round Non-Title fight versus Antonio Cervantes, after he lost the title to Roberto Duran. early-1974.
I rate Lynch as the second best Flyweight of alltime ,narrowly pipped by Jimmy Wilde .Lynch looks fantastic on film,imo.
Ken was one of my favorite fighters of the day, it was unfortunate he shared the decade with one of the best at 135 Roberto Duran but there was an illegal blow and he never got a rematch...I am not so sure he would have won the return but he gave Duran a rough battle in fight one and would have acquitted himself well I think
Upon reviewing the Duran-Buchanan fight, as I do periodically, it's clear that Ken gave Duran the best fight of all Duran's defenses..the first round "knockdown" was a badly called farce, and Buchanan, though shellacked quite often, overcame it and showed his world class chin, and skills in coming back, IMo, very well until that blatant foul...he may very well have lost the rematch..probably so, but a well prepared Buchanan could very well have done his very best and pushed it to the distance.
i have never kept score in this fight but have always felt duran was winning by a wide margin .have you scored the fight if so did you think it was close
Well yes, Duran was winning, and there would have been no chance for ken to possibly cop a decision, but overall, I think Buchanan better contested Duran and withstood the fury of his punches much better than Duran's subsequent challengers...DeJesus included. No wonder Duran never gave him a rematch.