Who is the best Bare Knuckle Boxer ever?

These days, the world of bare knuckle boxing has enjoyed something of a resurgence. In fact, you could argue that it’s now more mainstream than ever and has international coverage. However, back in the day – bare knuckle boxing was more of an underground sport that was dominated by gypsies and local hardmen. This tradition of unregulated fights dates back hundreds of years and as a result, some of the records are patchy.

As you may expect, there are lots of myths and rumors that circulate in the bare knuckle boxing community too. Because of this, you will always find certain people claiming they were the best or exaggerated records. On the one hand, this is quite exciting, but it’s also best to take things less seriously too. Remember, this post is purely an opinion and everyone is different. So, here’s the best-ever bare knuckle boxer according to Budodragon.

Why Lenny McLean was the greatest Bare Knuckle Boxer ever

Lenny McLean is the stuff of legend and although he was a skilled boxer, there’s also undoubtedly a lot of gossip and hysteria that follows him. It’s important to note that he died in 1998, at a time when the internet was still in its infancy. Basically, he lived in a different era – where records weren’t easy to get hold of, especially in underground boxing.

As a result of his fighting talents, McLean was awarded the title of ‘The Guvnor’, which says it all. A man not to be messed with, he stood at 6’3 feet tall and weighed over 132KG. In brief, he was a gigantic man with a passion for violence. This saw him earn his tough reputation as a bouncer in London’s east end – at a time when the area was known for lots of criminal activity. Furthermore, he then became an associate with the infamous Kray twins, two of London’s biggest ever gangsters.

However, McLean didn’t just fight out of bloodlust, he also fought for money. Early on in his career, he was paid hundreds of pounds to fight. At the time, this was a lot of money. So, even though he wasn’t a professional boxer in a typical sense, he was able to make a solid living as an underground fighter. After one fight, he was meant to put his opponent into a coma due to landing such heavy shots. As you can imagine, this was a man surrounded by violence and boxing. Combined with his huge frame, it’s no wonder why he gained such a tough reputation.

Is Lenny McLean’s record real?

According to his autobiography, McLean had fought in bare knuckle boxing bouts for over 30 years (he was 49 when he died so this is entirely plausible). He also claimed to have had around 4000 fights during this period. However, other sources have claimed that he had closer to 2000. Even so, this is still an incredible number if true.

To put this into perspective, there are just under 11000 days in 30 years. This would mean that he’d have had a fight roughly once every 5 days to get this record. Even crazier, had he participated in 4000 fights, this would have meant he’d have fought once every 2-3 days on a weekly basis for 30 years.

When you look at this objectively, it seems very unlikely that this was possible. However, the truth maybe stranger than fiction. As mentioned, McLean lived a violent lifestyle and was known as a top bouncer. During this time, he may have legitimately had several fights on a regular work shift. Combined with organized BKB fights, it’s plausible that he could have achieved thousands of fights. Sadly, we’ll never know the truth though as only Lenny himself would truly know.

Did Lenny McLean ever lose a fight?

If you had thousands of fights then the chances are, you would lose a few. This is only natural and not everyone is invincible. This could be down to an off-day, bad luck, or just a style clash. So, it’s known that Lenny McLean did lose bare knuckle boxing matches but this wasn’t very often. One man he did lose to was Roy Shaw.

At the time, McLean claimed that his gloves had been tampered with (as he also fought with boxing gloves too) and demanded a rematch. Here, McLean won by way of first round knockout. In short, McLean did lose a few fights and there’s been a few names documented too. Having said this – for the most part, McLean was often victorious. This makes sense, considering his fearsome reputation. Even some of the greatest fighters ever lose every now and then.

How good was Lenny McLean at boxing?

Thankfully, there is footage of McLean around – and you can tell that he has good fundamental boxing skills. This also reinforces his reputation. Of course, there’s still not much to go on – other than that he could box and looked like a standard heavyweight boxer. One thing worth noting though is that he probably wasn’t the best boxer in the world.

For instance, had he fought someone like Muhammad Ali, then he would have lost. There’s no shame in this – but the fact that McLean never went professional is quite telling. It’s also important to differentiate the difference between regular boxing and bare knuckle boxing. Basically, traditional boxing has more rules and rest rounds, whereas bare knuckle is typically bloodier and more of a slog.

This isn’t a dig at bare knuckle boxing either, but sometimes fights will go on for hours. Arguably, you could claim that professional boxing requires more talent and skill, whereas bare knuckle boxing is more of a test of will and heart. In some ways, comparing pro boxing to bare knuckle boxing is useless because they’re both quite different.

In other words, you could argue that Muhammad Ali was a master boxer and sportsman, whereas McLean was a veteran fighter and brawler. Although similar, there are differences. Put another way, Lenny McLean could easily handle 99% of men, but he may have struggled against the world’s best at the time – especially in a certain ruleset.

Conclusion

Over the years, there have been many who claim to be the best bare knuckle boxer. This is often where the term ‘gypsy king’ comes from, as champion gypsy boxers would fight for the title and bragging rights of their region or country. There are also noticeable boxers such as Jem Mace who fought hundreds of years ago into his 70s, or even Bobby Gunn who is a retired Canadian gypsy boxer.

What’s interesting about the history of bare knuckle boxing is the mysterious culture that surrounds it. Although a lot of stories are probably exaggerated, there are also some real warriors and characters that have come from the bare knuckle community. Sadly, these records and stories probably died when the internet was created, meaning these stories are confined to the history books.