| Benny Lynch | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Benny Lynch |
| Rated at | flyweight |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Born | 2 August 1913 Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 6 August 1946 (aged 33) Govan, Scotland |
| Stance | orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 108 |
| Wins | 81 |
| Wins by KO | 34 |
| Losses | 12 |
| Draws | 15 |
| No contests | 0 |
Benny Lynch (2 April 1913 – 6 August 1946 in Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland) was a Scottish professional boxer who fought in the flyweight division. He is considered by some to be one of the finest boxers below the lightweight division in his era and Ring Magazine has described him as the greatest fighter that Scotland has ever produced. He was born in the Gorbals area of Glasgow and learned his fighting skills in the carnival booths that were popular in the West of Scotland during the Great Depression.[1]
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Lynch won the Scottish flyweight boxing title on 16 May 1934 with a 15 round decision over Jim Campbell in Glasgow. He then went on to win the British, European and world flyweight titles from Jackie Brown in an historic bout held in Manchester on 9 September 1935.[2] The fight attracted enormous support from Glaswegians who travelled en masse to support "our Benny".
There was dispute, on at least on one side of the Atlantic, as to who was the best flyweight boxer in the world. Lynch settled the matter when he out-pointed Filipino Small Montana in London in 1936 to established himself as the undisputed world flyweight boxing champion.
From 1932-36, he lost just five fights; two of them were points losses to Jimmy Warnock a 'southpaw' from Northern Ireland, on 2 March 1936 in Belfast and again on 2 June 1937 in front of a home crowd in Glasgow.
In 1937 he handed legendary English puncher Peter Kane his first loss (KO).
By 1938, Lynch's drinking lifestyle meant that he could no longer make the weight for the flyweight division. He lost his world flyweight title to American Jackie Jurich, when he weighed in at 118.5 lb (53.8 kg), half a pound over the bantamweight limit. This was made sadder by the fact that, despite his weight problems, Lynch stopped Jurich in the 12th round.
Lynch's boxing career was over by the time he was 25 and he battled with alcoholism for the rest of his life. He died in 1946 from malnutrition, aged 33.
His record for the seven years of his professional career was:
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1998. A film about the life of Benny Lynch, directed by John Mackenzie and starring Robert Carlyle, was made in 2003.
He was featured on the cover of Scottish rock band Gun's second album, Gallus, in 1992.