The Scottish boxer Ken Buchanan, who has died aged 77, is viewed by most good judges of the sport’s history as one of the best produced by Britain. A nimble and technically gifted fighter, he became world lightweight champion in 1970 and had sufficient global recognition to have topped the bill on several occasions at the New York boxing venue Madison Square Garden.
He won the world lightweight title by outpointing the Panamanian fighter Ismael Laguna in the Puerto Rican capital San Juan, but lost two years later in an epic battle against the Panamanian lightweight legend Roberto Durán. Buchanan claimed, with justification, that Durán had illegally punched him in the groin to end the fight in the 13th round, adding that he felt the pain of the blow for the rest of his life.
