Ken Buchanan, MBE
(b.1945)
Boxing
Inducted in 2002
Buchanan won the world lightweight title in 1970, the first British boxer to do so since Freddie Welsh in 1917. Buchanan turned professional in 1965 and five years later, on 26 September 1970, on a night of 125-degree temperatures in Puerto Rico, he defeated Ismael Laguna to become the world lightweight boxing champion. In 1971, Buchanan twice successfully defended his title in Los Angeles and New York, versus Ruben Navarro and Laguna. He was eventually defeated by Roberto Duran on 26 June 1972. Buchanan retired from boxing in 1983: he had won sixty-two of his seventy fights.
- World Boxing Association lightweight champion, 1970 - 72
- European champion, 1974 - 75
- British lightweight champion, 1968 - 71, 1973 - 74
- Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 2000
Image from Steve Lindridge - Ideal Images