RIP Kirkland Laing

[coghaugen11]

Kirk had a great amateur rivalry with Dave Boy Green.

[coghaugen11]

Kirk also helped a young Mike Watson no end.

[coghaugen11]

A legend of boxing.

[banjo]

Great tribute as always bennie

[Coco]

Great tribute as always bennie

x2

[bennie]

Who'd have known. .mighty warrior. .I was also there at the Ramada that night. .stood rocky on his head..kirk was different class, kelly's style was made for kirk that night..also a young gary Jacobs on the undercard..great times !

Ahhh it’s a small old world Saad, i worked around the corner on the north end road back then, so no way I was gonna miss that one

Warrior once bought some dope off a fella in a dodgy district and the fella's minder was...Rocky Kelly.

[JamesPhilips]

I remember watxhing Laing getting flattened by Buck Smith. A surprise. Also at a similar time he battered Rocky Ice Berg ans Antoine Fernandez in a Euro fight. Unfortunately anyone following the Laing story knew he would be unlikely to live a long life. Talk about burning the candle at both ends. Hes was unique.

[ironbeard]

Considering his lifestyle, he lived a relatively long life.

R.I.P. Kirkland Laing. Thanks for the memories.

[MightyWarrior]

Who'd have known. .mighty warrior. .I was also there at the Ramada that night. .stood rocky on his head..kirk was different class, kelly's style was made for kirk that night..also a young gary Jacobs on the undercard..great times !

Ahhh it’s a small old world Saad, i worked around the corner on the north end road back then, so no way I was gonna miss that one

Warrior once bought some dope off a fella in a dodgy district and the fella's minder was...Rocky Kelly.

Well remembered Bennie though it was actually Rocky buying some weed a few nights before the fight in a pub round the corner, and asked me not to tell his manager Harry Holland

[banjo]

Was it a Laing fight where the rounds were all over the place timing wise? Rounds lasting less than 3 minutes and some lasting well over 3 minutes?

[Coco]

Was it a Laing fight where the rounds were all over the place timing wise? Rounds lasting less than 3 minutes and some lasting well over 3 minutes?

Yeah that was out in Italy defending his euro belt

[margaret thatcher]

i'd thought he'd passed a while ago actually, i guess because of how he'd fallen after his retirement. obviously a very talented dood with quite some style

[coghaugen11]

Beat Dave Boy Green in 73 with his hands by his ankles, stinking of weed.

[THEBUTCH]

The British title wins over Sylvester Mittee, Rocky Kelly, George Collins and Trevor Smith bring back fond memories of Laing in full flow.

[bennie]

Ahhh it’s a small old world Saad, i worked around the corner on the north end road back then, so no way I was gonna miss that one

Warrior once bought some dope off a fella in a dodgy district and the fella's minder was...Rocky Kelly.

Well remembered Bennie though it was actually Rocky buying some weed a few nights before the fight in a pub round the corner, and asked me not to tell his manager Harry Holland

Jesus. Rocky Kelly buying weed in a pub a few days before a British title shot. No wonder he went into a flap when you recognised him.

[Muttley]

Who'd have known. .mighty warrior. .I was also there at the Ramada that night. .stood rocky on his head..kirk was different class, kelly's style was made for kirk that night..also a young gary Jacobs on the undercard..great times !

Ahhh it’s a small old world Saad, i worked around the corner on the north end road back then, so no way I was gonna miss that one

I was there as well and the weigh in.

[Muttley]

Ahhh it’s a small old world Saad, i worked around the corner on the north end road back then, so no way I was gonna miss that one

Warrior once bought some dope off a fella in a dodgy district and the fella's minder was...Rocky Kelly.

Funny thing was I was delivering to sweatshop in the east end a few days before the Kelly weighin and guess who I see at 8am in the morning with a rather large roll up in his mouth?
Well remembered Bennie though it was actually Rocky buying some weed a few nights before the fight in a pub round the corner, and asked me not to tell his manager Harry Holland

[spudder56]

RIP Kirk he was one of the most naturally talented fighters we have ever had in Britain RIP THE GIFTED ONE

[olij999]

I was fortunate enough to be his biographer, with his blessing. When tracking down his old opponents, trainers and significant people in his life, the point that struck me repeatedly was how much goodwill and fondness people still had for Kirk. He was an extravagant talent - we won't see his like again. God bless you, Kirk.

[Bladder]

I was fortunate enough to be his biographer, with his blessing. When tracking down his old opponents, trainers and significant people in his life, the point that struck me repeatedly was how much goodwill and fondness people still had for Kirk. He was an extravagant talent - we won't see his like again. God bless you, Kirk.

It's an excellent biography. My only gripe is that you didn't track down Colin Jones.

[olij999]

I was fortunate enough to be his biographer, with his blessing. When tracking down his old opponents, trainers and significant people in his life, the point that struck me repeatedly was how much goodwill and fondness people still had for Kirk. He was an extravagant talent - we won't see his like again. God bless you, Kirk.

It's an excellent biography. My only gripe is that you didn't track down Colin Jones.

Thank you - glad you enjoyed it. In hindsight, the Jones thing was odd, but there was already plenty of interesting stuff he'd said about the Laing fights before and after, so it didn't seem as critical to trace him. For me, the bigger question is why someone hasn't written a biography of Jones himself. I'm sure it would sell pretty well.

[banjo]

Have you seen how much your biography on Laing is going for? Christ almighty, there's two copies on eBay for £190 and £256 respectively and £109 on Amazon.

[coghaugen11]

He was a forgotten, household name.

[Wales]

Always remember in the mid - late 90s a guy I knew in North Wales telling us that the bloke he was working with on a local building site had beat Roberto Duran.

99999 times out of 100000 this would be a Johnny whopper telling tall tales. But it was Laing who was working as a brickies labourer.

“I beat Roberto Duran” - what a thing to be able to say

[THEBUTCH]

Duran was 74-3 at the time Laing licked him, with Wilfred Benitez & Ray Leonard beating Duran too. Movement and skill had to be in good supply to tame Duran and Laing had plenty.