BoxRec

Kirkland "The Gifted One" Laing and Lloyd "Ragamuffin Man" Honeyghan.

They provided two unforgettable 1980's "upsets" :

Laings defeat of Roberto Duran (1982).
Honeyghans world titile victory over Don Curry (1986).

In the mid-eighties these two classy welterweights were at the peak of their powers , why didnt they mix it up for a title or non-title bout?

Its hypothetical now and slightly sad after the state old Kirk has ended up in (according to Bunce's documentary).
How is the Ragamuffin man doing?

My money would have been on younger Lloyd for a Unanimous Decision.


Time will only tell if Amir Khan (a probable welterweight of the future) will provide us with as much excitement as these two warriors did.

Everything depends on Laing's condition and mindset coming into the fight. If he's on song and doesn't get careless then he easily outpoints Honeyghan. Any lapse and he'd on the canvas wondering what happened

Didnt Laings style "infuriate" trainers ? he kept his hands very, very low, often described as almost "lazy" ?
He apparently went AWOL after he beat Duran , maybe thats where it started to go wrong for him... unlike Honeyghan who just grew with each success after beating Don Curry.

2 of my favourite fighters these. If they were both at their peaks, i'd have to go for Honeyghan on points, both could punch , but i would say at his peak Honeyghan had a better all round defense and was the more busier of the 2.

Well Lloyd is doing pretty well these days I hear, promoting the odd show here and there. Looking a lot rounder, but probably has 5 or 6 girlfriends on the go, as per usual.

Both from the same Terry Lawless stable and managed by Duff, which was a major reason they never met ( apart form the fact it was almost impossible to find Kirk half the time ).

At their peaks I'd take Laing to outpoint Honeyghan - the guy had so much talent it was unbelievable. Not sure Honey had the neccesary one punch TNT to take out Laing - unlike Colin Jones, probably one of the single hardest hitters the welterweights have ever seen. Either hand too.

Laing probably had the ability/potential to beat Honeygan but I would pick Lloyd to beat him every time, if that makes sense.

Honeygan overpowers Laing and stops him in the middle rounds.

Terry Lawless said that Honeyghan was the hardest trainer in his gym, which is quite surprising when you think of his playboy lifestyle.

I've a lot of time for Lloyd Honeyghan, larger than life figure, and a man with unshakeable self belief. Went to the lions den, and kicked the lion right in the knackers and made off with his lunch, balls of titanium. Seems happy enough the times I've seen him at a show, always smiling at any rate. I saw him at York Hall and shouted out to him 'Oi, aren't you that geezer who kicked Don Curry's arse?' A throaty cackle was the reply.

His peak was relatively brief, not sure whether that was due to his lifestyle or boxing style, or the fact that his win over curry said more about Curry than Lloyd. Curry was overrated, but he was still hardly a paper champion. Lloyd never gave him a chance to settle.

I spoke to Curry's trainer a while back doing some research, but he wasn't too keen to divulge much information on Don's extracurricular activities when fighting. I know he had a big coke problem, but was never quite sure if it was , during or after his career at welterweight.

yip nice post James though I hasten to point out Honeygun defended his title many more times than Barry Mcguigan did which surprises some people!!! I dont think 7 succesful and 2 unsucessfeul defences is that briefer a prime.

id be pretty bloody made up if a brit could defend the genuine world titles that many times now. (not the WBO).

Actually you've got a point, in retrospect he had a pretty good run. He did seem to fade rather suddenly though.

Actually, not to be picky but he didn't defend it 7 times. He defended it 3 times, then lost on TD to Vaca, wins it back, then defends it once against Chung. So really that's 4 defences J...

Depending when you put his peak, his peak was about 3 years. Wins it in 86, then loses to Starling in 89, and is never really the same fighter again. Was only 28 when he lost to starling. Maybe Starling and Breland had the wrong style for him though, but Curry was arguably just as difficult an opponent.

Is there a biography on Honeyghan? I've never seen one anywhere, if not, I'm surprised, I'm sure it would make terrific reading.

I always loved watching Honeyghan anyway, one of my favourite British fighters, who often seems to get overlooked.

sorry you are right bout that 4 tiomes not 7. with winning it it twice that 6 times he was victorous in title fights sorry but correct defended 4 times.

totally agree with you massivley underrated.

most people would rate Barry as a better champ when if you look at it he wasnt at all in the scheme of things Llloyd achieved more.

both great fighters in a golden age for the lighter weights in Britain.

Funny, looking back over it, the post Leonard era saw a lot of different guys holding the belt, Curry, Honeyghan, Blocker, Starling, Breland, with most of them fighting one another.

The truth may be that during his brief peak, Curry was the best, but his descent was pretty rapid. Before losing to Honeyghan, he beat Starling twice, beat Jones, battered McCrory, but after losing to Honeyghan, it was a slow descent, even though he did win another belt. He peaked at 25 it would seem. I remember before he lost to McCallum, a lot of people were saying he would bounce back and go on to become another all time great, and he was big favourite to beat Mike....

Agreed, Honeyghan's reign is more impressive than McGuigan, but for some reason, McGuigan is remembered with enormous affection, probably because of his demeanour, he was always so polite and friendly.

Curry was never the same fighter after his defeat by Honeyghan. I think he was never the same confident fighter afterwards and also looked a little chiny in his Light-middle weight days, being shaken in a few fights after having looked invincible till the Honeyghan bout.
Another top Welter of that era who is often overlooked is Simon Brown who was a very good fighter who the other champs didn't seem too keen on fighting.

Speaking of 1980's welterweights, Colin Jones was pretty young when he knocked boxing on the head if I remember. Jones vs Honeygahn would have been a good fight.

I watched a DVD of Honeygahn-Bumphus the other day. Wierd seeing a boxing ring and turnbuckles without any sponsorship!

dandantheweatherman wrote:Speaking of 1980's welterweights, Colin Jones was pretty young when he knocked boxing on the head if I remember. Jones vs Honeygahn would have been a good fight.

I watched a DVD of Honeygahn-Bumphus the other day. Wierd seeing a boxing ring and turnbuckles without any sponsorship!

Jones trainer Eddie Thomas used to say that he believed fighters should retire at the age of 27 or 28 I believe.... and Jones was 26 when he had his last fight (against Curry). But I think his retirement was mainly due to a back injury which he could'nt shake off there were also rumours about eye problems at the time.

Very interesting matchup this, good idea for an all British Matchup.

The one I seem to think about more than most is Sibson v Benn... But I digress, back to Honeyghan v Laing

A very hard one to pick, and one that, in my opinion may have made a dull fight. (Please note I stress may, not would)

Kirk had great speed of hand and foot and reflexes, but so did Lloyd.

Lloyd had, in his prime, the better chin, stamina, and better condition.

I envisage a 13th round with Laing rescued on the ropes with Honeyghan slightly behind on points, but his better stamina and chin pulling him through.

Plenty of good boxing throughout, a bit of cat and mouse.

Any takers on Sibbo v Benn?

KO Atrist wrote: Any takers on Sibbo v Benn?

Now you're talking - Benn steams into Sibson at the bell, stunning him with a huge right hand, Tony grabs hold and steers clear for a minute or so, then lands the big left hook to have Benn in trouble. Benn bobs and weaves on the ropes to see out the round.
They'd take turns hurting each other for 3 or 4 rounds, but my cash would be on Sibbo blasting out a tiring Benn with left hooks mid fight.
Sibson probably had a slighty better chin...
This would have fight of the year written all over it.