Courtesy of Sundayherald.com
This article is nearly 2 years old, I just wondered if anybody knows anything about Laing’s progress since
his accident. Did anybody see the documentary with Steve Bunce (also 2 years ago), where he tracked down Laing, living part-time on the streets as a down and out. This guy could’ve/should’ve been a multi milionaiire – such a shame
Boxing: As the maverick fighter lies in hospital in a serious condition, Steve Bunce takes a look back at the life and career
KIRKLAND LAING was arguably the best British fighter never to have won a world title. On Tuesday he fell from a balcony near his council flat in Hackney and was rushed to hospital. He was in and out of surgery and in a critical, but stable condition. There was even a rumour that he had died late on Friday night, but he regained consciousness although he is still very sick.
Laing was quite brilliant in the ring and quite mad away from it. His idea of training hard was not smoking a 12-inch joint on the day of the fight, but forcing himself to have a midnight curfew the night before. He redefined the boundaries of maverick fighter again and again during a career that started in 1975 and ended in 1994. He won and lost the British and European titles and took part in some of the most memorable recent fights.
However, it was one night in Detroit in 1982 when Laing, whose nickname was the Gifted One, came face to face with ring legend Roberto Duran. At the time Duran was one of the sport's biggest names but Laing was not bothered by reputation.
The fight lasted 10 rounds and when it was over Laing was a clear winner and Duran was a bewildered and bruised loser. It should have been the start of Laing's illustrious career, the start of his money days but instead of taking advantage of his good fortune, dear old Kirkland just vanished.
During the 13 months that Laing remained at large Duran went on to win the World Boxing Association Light Middleweight title from Davey Moore in front of 19,000 people at Madison Square Gardens and then lasted 15 rounds with Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas. Duran's legacy was guaranteed from the two fights and his bank account increased by something like $6 million.
Laing just shrugged when I reminded him of this six weeks ago. Since Laing walked away from boxing he has been in and out of trouble. When I saw him he was still drinking, but he was also still smiling and still dreaming. In other words, he was still being the Kirkland Laing that so many people knew from his fighting days.
