BoxRec

How does the a peak Laing rate among British welterweights? Better than Honeyghan, Hatton?

Great fighter but too inconsistant mostly down to not bothering to train and pissing most of his talent away. I wouldn't rank him as high as Honeyghan or Hatton but just below.

You cannot rate Laing higher than Hatton and Honeyghan. All the ability in the world is worth nothing without the dedication to make the most of it. Laing beat a Roberto Duran who was far from washed up and that shows just how much talent he had.

Laing was one of my favourites when i first got interested in boxing, when he was on form he had all the talent in the world, but he could also be one of the most annoying boxers to watch as well, losing to the likes of Buck Smith and Reggie Ford.

On talent he could beat most of the british welters, but he never fulfilled it. I'd rank him below the likes of and Honeyghan.

OK, how about trying to do a top ten of welters since 1970

1, Lloyd Honeyghan
2, John H Stracey
3, Kirkland Laing
4, Colin Jones
5, Gary Jacobs
6, Dave Green
7, Jawaid Khaliq
8, Sylvester Mittee
9, Kostas Petrou
10, Adrian Stone

I have not rated Hatton, as he has yet to fight at welter, and picking Laing over Jones is always going to be a hard call.

topper123 wrote:
picking Laing over Jones is always going to be a hard call.

Yeah wouldn't want to tell Jones The Dig about that!

MightyWarrior wrote:

topper123 wrote:
picking Laing over Jones is always going to be a hard call.

Yeah wouldn't want to tell Jones The Dig about that!

Well i certainly wouldn't say it to Jones face, I've probably let my heart rule my head in rating them like that, Laing was always a favourite of mine.

What was the reason that Colin Jones never fought again, I know that he lost to a peak Don Curry, but that was no disgrace. I always thought that he had alot to offer both on the Euro and world scene

good post that man - cant see kirk ahead of jones for your very reasons.
and gary jacobs was a wasted talent IMHO.

topper123 wrote: What was the reason that Colin Jones never fought again, I know that he lost to a peak Don Curry, but that was no disgrace. I always thought that he had alot to offer both on the Euro and world scene

Didn't he have problems with his back?

Must have been only 25 or 26 when he last fought.

wouter wrote:How does the a peak Laing rate among British welterweights? Better than Honeyghan, Hatton?

It seems incredible in this day and age Laing never got a world title shot. He had all the physical tools - mentally, however, I'm not so sure about him at top level. He beat Duran, but Duran was always vulnerable in 10-rounders, which he used as warm-ups for title fights (and Duran still made it a split).
"If he's any good, pull him out," said Shelly Finkel beforehand to Mickey Duff. They knew Duran was in no kind of shape.
But, still, he beat Duran. Then he lost heavily to Fred Hutchings, before peaking in the mid-80's at British and European level. At world level, like I say, I'm not so sure.

kirkland had amazing reflex`s and i remember as a lad watching the laing/ jones fights on t.v
on both occasions didnt laing built up a big lead only to be stopped late on. one of the abiding memories of watching boxing when i was a kid was laings face when he was sitting on the canvas, he was almost in shock, a true wtf happened there face if there ever was one.

Laing's fights with Jones were fornicating great, Laing boxing brilliantly and getting KO'd both times. the second fight was a real shock ending.

i was told Laing used to get the better of Honeyghan in sparring.
Can anyone confirm?

beagleboy wrote:i was told Laing used to get the better of Honeyghan in sparring.
Can anyone confirm?

i wouldnt know but it wouldnt surprise me, he used to box half the fight with his hands behind his back and his chin out taunting the other fella!

to have all the talent that kirk had and still not make it to the top shows what a demanding sport this is.

yes laings face at the climax of the jones tear up was indeed worth the admission fee.
durans performances in 10 rounders was less than wonderful (jimmy batten did well against him) although kirk had the talent to box anyones ears off - it was loss of concentration, perhaps he got bored during a fight, that was his major hang up.

wouter wrote: How does the a peak Laing rate among British welterweights? Better than Honeyghan, Hatton?

well apart from the fact Hatton has not boxed at welter at this time, there is no way you can rate Laing near these too.

I mean this is the same Laing that got KO'd by v. ordinary Buck Smith, Brian Jansen, twice Ko'd by Colin Jones, ko'd by fred Hutchings.

Laing's only win of note is (admittedly impressive) that against Duran. But Duran wasn't up for it and hadn't trained properly; though it is a good win nonetheless.

There is not another near world class win on his record. Mitee is his best win after Duran, byt Sylvester is just a decent British class fighter.

I don't buy this hype about Laing and how great he would've been if he'd trained properly etc.... he trained properly for Jones and still got chinned. And training hard is a talent in itself.

topper123 wrote:
1, Lloyd Honeyghan
2, John H Stracey
3, Kirkland Laing
4, Colin Jones
5, Gary Jacobs
6, Dave Green
7, Jawaid Khaliq
8, Sylvester Mittee
9, Kostas Petrou
10, Adrian Stone

How can you possibly rate Laing (given the above points) above Jones? and also above Green. As to rating Jacobs above Green - on what grounds?[/quote]