Benny Lynch
Titles: World flyweight champion 1937-1938
Record: 83-13-15
Born: April 2, 1913 in Clydesdale, Scotland
Years active: 1931-1938
Nickname: The Kid from the Gorbals
Lynch is perhaps the first big name boxer to suffer burn out, at the age of 23 he
was the undisputed world flyweight champion. Two years later at 25 he had already
retired. By age 33 lynch had died of malnutrition brought on by alcoholism. But
in his short time as a contender and champ he earned a place in any Hall of Fame as
one of the greatest and most popular flyweight of all time. This is quite a feat
considering he never traveled outside of Great Britain to box and he American media
never got to see him box. Lynch was a complete boxer. He should also be considered
the best boxer Scotland ever produced. British historian Ron Olver said of Lynch
"As a fighter he had no weakness, in his prime he was perfect." Standing 5 feet
5 inches he was a tall flyweight, who carried a lot of power in his left hand.
When on offense Lynch was a calculating predator, setting up opponents with good
footwork. On defense he was simply superb, particularly adept at picking off his
opponents punches with a high guard. His action style and precision punches made
him a instant fan favorite. As a boy Lynch was a newspaper boy before he fought
in the boxing booths, traveling the northern counties taking on all comers as well
as boxing in amateur boxing tourney's. His boxing skills were discovered early and
at the age of 8 he was already winning amateur trophies. In all he won 37 amateur
bouts while only losing two. In 1931 at age 18 Lynch decided to trade punches for
pay and within two years was a main event fighter. The first big win for Lynch came
in 1934 when he won a close 15 round decision over Jim Campbell to win the Scottish
flyweight title in Glasgow. A rematch saw the same result but the win was more
lopsided and any doubts over who was the best boxer of the two was settled. 1934
was perhaps the greatest year for Lynch. Along with his win over Campbell he
defeated Italian flyweight champ Carlo Cavagnoli, French champ Valentin Angelmann
and finally Spanish champion Pedrito Ruiz. A feat which had never before been
achieved, or since. Now Lynch was the toast of Scotland and Jackie Brown was
enticed to travel from America to fight Lynch in a non title match in Glasgow.
Lynch behind great lateral movement and a devastating left hook boxed the champion
Brown to a draw. Still a draw was a great showing and some still feel Lynch deserved
a decision win. Because of the closeness of the first bout a rematch was in the
cards and set for Manchester, England. It was mere six months since their last
meeting. This time, with the title on the line Lynch was much more aggressive and
his improvement was obvious. Lynch came straight at Brown instead of using the foot
speed he showed in the previous bout with Jurich. In less than two rounds Lynch
put Brown on the canvas 10 times (4 in the first round) before the champion was
rescued by his corner. The left hook was once against he key weapon. It was the
kind greatest title wining performance in the history of the division. Lynch went
on to win the Lonsdale belt at the British level with wins over with wins over
Pat Palmer and Peter Kane. It was not all great for Lynch however, a under trained
Lynch lost to tough Irishman Jimmy Warnock in Belfast. It was a good lesson for
Lynch who rededicated him self. Luckily his titles were not on the line. Lynch was
still not universally recognized as the world champion and needed to fight Small
Montana the other recognized champ. In 1937 Lynch got the opportunity as Montana
traveled to London for the bout. Montana attacked early with a fast start, driving
Lynch repeatedly to the ropes. Lynch managed to weather the early attacks with
smart movement. Slowly Lynch broke down Montana with left hooks to the body and
head. The mid and late rounds were all Lynch as he won a deserved points verdict.
Now age only 23 Lynch was world famous and began to reap the rewards of his work,
unfortunately it also effected him in the ring as he began to have trouble making
weight. Before that however he would fight and loose again to his nemesis Jimmy
Warnock, once again it was not a title bout. 5 bouts followed before he would run
into the very talented 19 year old Peter Kane (unbeaten in 41 bouts). Kane got
the title shot by beating Lynch rival Jimmy Warnock. This bout is probably the
greatest puncher duel of the flyweight divisions history. In front of 40,000 fans
Lynch dominated Kane, knocking him down 5 times before the 13th round stoppage.
Kane did start fast as did Small Montana but Lynch once again Lynch used his
superior defense to avoid major problems. In the 13th Lynch knocked Kane down two
times before the referee stopped the bout. It was a case of experience overcoming
youth. This is considered the finest performance of Lynch when you consider the
opposition. It was also his last great showing. Their second bout was much close
and some say Kane got the better of Lynch who was lucky to come away with a draw.
By now making weight was near impossible for Lynch as he was for all purposes a
functioning drunk. Lynch first began to drink in order to control his chronic
migraine headaches but it quickly grew out of his control. Benny Lynch failed to
make weight against Jackie Jurich and was forced to give up his crown even though
he won a 12 round decision over Jurich. The fight had been canceled twice as Lynch
claimed injuries, but the truth was Lynch was trying frantically to make weight.
Still Lynch came in 6 1/2 pounds over weight! The fight went on and Lynch dominated,
scoring 6 knockdowns before taking Jurich out in the 12th round. Lynch his body
a wreck from the strains of making the weight moved up to bantamweight, still
depressed about losing his title. Lynch only fought two more times, both at bantam-
weight. Both bouts ended in losses for Lynch. One to a average American fighter in
Kayo Morgan. Beny decided to retire after his only knockout loss to Romanian Aurel
Toma and returned to various odd jobs. In the Toma fight he did not land one
significant punch and the British Boxing Board revoked his license. To fuel his
need for whisky he pawned his old trophies and went back to boxing booths taking
on all comers. He did try to battle back against the bottle and even locked himself
away in a Irish Monastery for a while, but the bottle was the one foe he could
not conquer. Now divorced from his wife he became homeless when his mother died
drifting from various slum lodings in the Gorbals district of Glasgow. On August
6 a policeman found Lynch (now weighing less than 100 pounds) lying in the street
and took the former champ to a hospital. Suffering from Pneumonia and malnutrition
brought on by alcoholism, he died that same day.
Benny Lynch
Career Record: 83 W, 13 L, 15 D (34 K.O's)
1931
Apr 24 Young Bryce Glasgow KO 2
May 23 Packy Boyle Glasgow L 6
Jun 11 Young McColl Glasgow KO 3
Jul 31 Billy Leggett Glasgow W 6
Aug 14 Young Donnelly Glasgow D 8
Aug 22 Jim Devanney Glasgow KO 3
Sep 5 Young O'Brien Glasgow L 6
Sep 12 Jim McKenzie Glasgow W 6
Sep 26 Joe Boag Glasgow D 6
Oct 1 Paddy Docherty Glasgow L 8
Oct 15 Young O'Brien Glasgow W 4
Oct 29 Young Adams Glasgow L 8
Nov 6 Mick Cassidy Glasgow W 6
Nov 13 Peter Sherry Glasgow W 6
Nov 28 Pat Sweeney Glasgow W 6
1932
Jan 1 Charlie Deacon Greenock, Scotland KO 3
Feb 5 Young Hardie Glasgow W 6
Feb 11 Jack Riley Glasgow W 6
Feb 20 Kid Murray Glasgow W 6
Feb 27 Jimmy Barr Glasgow W 6
Mar 11 Scotty Deans Glasgow W 6
Mar 18 Young McManus Glasgow D 6
Apr 9 Jim O'Driscoll Glasgow W 6
Apr 16 Young Griffo Glasgow W 6
Apr 21 Tiger Naughton Glasgow W 6
Apr 24 Young Griffo Glasgow L 6
May 21 Scotty Deans Glasgow KO 4
Jun 11 Joe Aitken Glasgow W 10
Jul 8 Freddie Tennant Glasgow L 10
Jul 15 Tommy Higgins Blantyre, Scotland D 10
Jul 28 Jim Jeffries Blantyre, Scotland W 6
Aug 18 Tony Fleming Glasgow D 6
Sep 3 Paddy Docherty Glasgow W 10
Sep 26 Paddy Docherty Leith, Scotland W 10
Oct 7 Joe Aitken Airdrie, Scotland D 10
Oct 17 Freddie Tennant Leith, Scotland W 10
Oct 21 Young Beattie Hamilton, Scotland D 6
Oct 29 Alec Farries Glasgow W 10
Nov 3 Tommy Higgins Bridgetown, Scotland W 10
Nov 9 Ginger McLeod Edimbourg, Scotland KO 5
Nov 17 Paddy Docherty Glasgow D 10
Dec 1 Paddy Docherty Glasgow W 10
Dec 8 Jim Naughton Glasgow W 6
Dec 21 Freddie Tennant Glasgow D 10
1933
Jan 11 Dan Conlin Glasgow W 10
Jan 25 Freddie Tennant Dundee, Scotland W 10
Jan 31 Paddy Docherty Glasgow D 10
Feb 15 Joe Aitken Glasgow D 10
Mar 25 Jim Brady Glasgow W 12
Mar 28 Jimmy Knowles Dundee, Scotland L 12
Apr 19 Walter Lemmon Glasgow W 10
May 2 Jim Brady Dundee, Scotland D 12
May 3 Freddie Tennant Glasgow W 10
May 10 Alec Farries Glasgow W 8
May 24 Jim Maharg Glasgow W 12
Jun 14 Billy Warnock Glasgow KO 11
Jun 28 Kid Hugues Glasgow KO 9
Aug 17 Alec Farries Glasgow KO 4
Sep 8 Joe Cowley Glasgow KO 8
Oct 12 Willie Vogan Edimbourg, Scotland KO 2
Oct 24 Boy McIntosh Blantyre, Scotland KO 4
Oct 29 Bert Kirby West Bromwich, England W 12
Nov 9 Bob Fielding Liverpool, England D 10
1934
Feb 1 Jim Brady Edimbourgh, Scotland W 12
Feb 8 Fred Webb Glasgow KO 3
Mar 21 Carlo Cavagnoli Glasgow W 12
Apr 17 George Lowe Glasgow KO 2
May 16 Jim Campbell Glasgow W 15
May 27 Evan Evans Glasgow KO 3
May 29 Peter Miller Glasgow KO 8
Jun 27 Jim Campbell Glasgow W 15
Aug 8 Maurice Huguenin Glasgow W 12
Aug 30 Jim Brady Glasgow W 12
Sep 26 Valentin Angelmann Glasgow W 12
Oct 25 Billy Johnstone Glasgow KO 5
Nov 7 Pedrito Ruiz Glasgow W 12
Nov 12 Peter Miller Glasgow KO 8
Nov 29 Johnny Griffiths Edimbourgh, Scotland KO 1
Dec 5 Tut Whalley Dundee, Scotland WDQ 8
Dec 13 Sandy McEwan Edimbourgh, Scotland W 12
1935
Jan 7 Bobby Magee Glasgow W 12
Mar 4 Jackie Brown Glasgow D 12
Apr 15 Tommy Pardoe Birmingham, England KO 14
May 6 Charlie Hazel Glasgow KO 2
Sep 8 Jackie Brown Manchester, England KO 2
(Wins NBA and British Flyweight Titles)
Dec 3 Gaston Mathon Glasgow W 12
Dec 12 Harry Orton Leith, Scotland W 10
Dec 19 Phil Milligan Glasgow W 12
1936
Mar 2 Jim Warnock Belfast, N. Ireland L 12
Apr 25 Mickey McGuire Newcastle, England KO 4
May 28 Pat Warburton London KO 3
Jun 16 Syd Parker Glasgow KO 9
Sep 16 Pat Palmer Glasgow KO 8
(Retains NBA and British Flyweight Titles)
Nov 16 Phil Milligan Manchester, England KO 7
Dec 10 Eric Jones London KO 2
1937
Jan 19 Small Montana London W 15
(Unifies World Flyweight Title)
Feb 10 Fortunato Ortega Glasgow W 12
Mar 1 Len Hampston Manchester, England LDQ 5
Mar 22 Len Hampston Leeds, England KO 10
Jun 2 Jim Warnock Glasgow L 15
Aug 20 Roy Underwood Glasgow KO 6
Oct 13 Peter Kane Glasgow KO 13
(Retains World and British Flyweight Titles)
Dec 13 Georges Bataille Leicester, England KO 8
1938
Feb 9 Maurice Filhol Glasgow KO 5
Mar 24 Peter Kane Liverpool, England D 15
(Retains World Flyweight Title)
Jun 29 Lose World Flyweight Title After Failing to make weight
Jun 29 Jackie Jurich Paisley, Scotland KO 12
Sep 28 Kayo Morgan Glasgow L 12
Oct 3 Aurel Toma London KO by 3