Top 5 Greatest Scottish Boxers?

Discussion in 'British Boxing Forum' started by SonnyRoll, Nov 3, 2025 at 3:33 AM.


  1. SonnyRoll

    SonnyRoll Stop, Jop, Roll banned Full Member

    34
    22
    Friday
    1 Ken Buchanan
    2 Benny Lynch
    3 Josh Taylor
    4 Scott Harrison
    5 Ricky Burns
     
    Fireman Fred likes this.
  2. LeavemealoneKoooogs

    LeavemealoneKoooogs LeTs rUn iT bAcK Full Member

    2,041
    2,899
    Apr 30, 2021
    Dick McTaggart deserves a mention even though he never went pro.
     
    thistle, DJN16, crixus85 and 2 others like this.
  3. Bulldog24

    Bulldog24 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    11,378
    4,278
    Aug 2, 2013
    Jim Watt’s win over Howard Davis Jr was terrific
     
    jarama, crixus85 and Fireman Fred like this.
  4. Fireman Fred

    Fireman Fred Active Member Full Member

    641
    1,555
    Mar 8, 2014
    I´d agree completely.

    Also gave a near peak Buchanan a good fight and hung tough with Arguello something Alexis following 4 lightweight challengers couldn´t do (including Mancini).

    Dominated undefeated Davis who later came so close to beating Edwin Rosario. His best career performance and one of the best of any British fighter.

    Watt´s win over reigning EBU champ Charlie Nash (fresh off a win over an ageing Buchanan) is rarely mentioned. Ruined Nash.

    Jim´s reign as EBU champ has virtually no footage available, by all accounts he was devastating against dangerous Spaniards Jeronimo Lucas (himself coming off a huge 3 round win over former EBU super-feather champ and WBC challenger Sven Erik Paulsen)+Antonio Guinaldo (big puncher who moved up to super-lightweight to score 2 EBU title kos abroad before Boza Edwards outpointed him).

    I would place him either 4th or 5th on SonnyRoll´s list.

    This content is protected
     
  5. Noel857

    Noel857 I Am Duran Full Member

    10,065
    13,112
    Mar 24, 2019
    1 Benny Lynch
    2 Ken Buchanan
    3 Jackie Peterson
    4 Josh Taylor
    5 Walter McGowan
     
    Fireman Fred and VanBasten like this.
  6. LD Boxer-Puncher

    LD Boxer-Puncher Well-Known Member Full Member

    1,790
    1,190
    May 10, 2017
    1. Ken Buchanan

    2. Ricky Burns

    3. Josh Taylor

    4. Scott Harrison

    5. Benny Lynch
     
    OddR, SonnyRoll and Fireman Fred like this.
  7. AntonioMartin1

    AntonioMartin1 Jeanette Full Member

    5,274
    4,340
    Jan 23, 2022
    Mancini did hang tough with Arguello. Only one round less.

    The Davis quote is entirely true, through.
     
    Fireman Fred likes this.
  8. thistle

    thistle Boxing Junkie Full Member

    7,548
    8,079
    Dec 21, 2016
    Benny & Kenny are often cited, but that is typical modern cited 'achievement based listings which fall short of H2H and Era realities...

    a more all inclusive accurate list is

    Lynch
    Clarke
    Buchanan
    Paterson
    McGowan
    Harrison

    Keenan
    Gilroy
    Kilrain
    Calderwood
    Milligan
    McCormack
    Brady
    Hill
    Lafferty
    Watt
    Taylor

    Burns
    Ken Shaw, Scotland's best ever HW...

    and loads of lesser known greats like Hugh Cameron, Johnny McGrory, Ginger Stewart and a good few other British Contenders & Noted fighters.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
    mhudson, Fireman Fred and DJN16 like this.
  9. DJN16

    DJN16 Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,748
    2,821
    Sep 15, 2013
    Hard to determine criteria but I would have Ken Buchanan as no 1 and Josh Taylor would probably be in my top 5. Benny Lynch top 5 as well somewhere.
     
    Fireman Fred likes this.
  10. Bulldog24

    Bulldog24 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    11,378
    4,278
    Aug 2, 2013
    O’Grady night was a great night too at Kelvin Hall on ITV. Always blood shed in Jim Watt fights.
     
    Fireman Fred likes this.
  11. Bulldog24

    Bulldog24 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    11,378
    4,278
    Aug 2, 2013
    Watt wasn’t the most gifted but a terrific tactician. Strong chin and would take a half step back when more talented fighters would load up a combination, allowing it to fall marginally short of the target. He could see through blood and think through pain.
     
  12. AntonioMartin1

    AntonioMartin1 Jeanette Full Member

    5,274
    4,340
    Jan 23, 2022
    Brilliant fight as you'd all say! Thank you!
     
    Fireman Fred likes this.
  13. mhudson

    mhudson Active Member Full Member

    560
    761
    Nov 4, 2022
    Always difficult to compare across eras, but if making a list:

    1) Ken Buchanan
    2) Benny Lynch
    3) Jim Watt
    4) Walter McGowan
    5) Tancy Lee

    Ranking gets difficult after the top two, and there's a dozen or so names you could potentially throw in the mix. A few years ago I would have presumed Taylor would be a lock once his career was done, but the bottom pretty much fell out of his career as an elite performer.

    There has to be a weighting towards fighers who were legitimately the number one guy in the division, which is why Ricky Burns doesn't make the cut. You can make a solid argument based on longevity and consistency, but he was always one titlist amongst many.

    Watt was the top Lightweight in between Duran and Arguello. McGowan didn't have a long run at the top, but I rate his wins over Burrini and Rudkin higher than more recent fighters.

    Tancy Lee has a standout win over a prime ATG, regardless of how it tends to get diminished, which separates him from the pack.
     
    thistle, DJN16, Noel857 and 1 other person like this.
  14. jarama

    jarama Active Member Full Member

    960
    340
    May 13, 2014
    I would definitely have Watt in the top 5 probably 3rd and Murray Sunderland in top 10
     
    Fireman Fred likes this.
  15. thistle

    thistle Boxing Junkie Full Member

    7,548
    8,079
    Dec 21, 2016
    Scotland has produced a good few dozen greats,
    grading fighters by world titles is fine, but it truly gives a wrong idea, simply and in part, because in the last 40 years or so we have all these plastic belts & 17 divisions, which also forgets greater & more superior eras...

    at one time and for a long time, the British title was only 2cd to the world title, National titles, in all of boxing's Leading Nations, held clout and were necessary in order to propel fighters into higher ratings and more prestigious titles and noted history.

    Scotland, like other great Boxing Nations, had dozens of greats, that fighters like Burns, Taylor (should have been more), and even Watt would sit well behind them. There really were more than you can imagine.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
    DJN16 and mhudson like this.