Street fighting and glove fighting are two completely different things, after all. Also his book sounds like shit, the usual "I was the small one getting bullied then one day i chinned them all" shit. McLean was declared the winner and he shouted out into the crowd of cockney punters, "I'm the Guv'nor!" "He was a terrible bully, Lenny. In the old days, barehanded or gloved up, working class Englishmen settled their differences with their fists. Required fields are marked *. Jamie McClean recounts a story in The Guvnor where Lenny, hammered after a day at the pub, fought a man named Jimmy Briggs over a dispute with a girl. During the 1980s McLeans career as an unlicensed professional boxer flourished. Lenny eventually fell into acting after being asked to mind the cast of EastEnders. Sadly, well never know the truth though as only Lenny himself would truly know. Guys that have a hard upbringing, face almost unbelievable odds throughout their lives, always fighting back. the guv nor facebook. Lenny McLean was one of the deadliest bareknuckle What is a front kick, and why the heck do I need one? the guv nor by lenny mclean used very good. For the size of the man, Cliff had hand speed like a middleweight; nobody on the unlicensed scene could have lasted with Cliff. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. The Guv'nor, a documentary about McLean's life, as seen through the eyes of his son Jamie, was released in 2016. Humphries died later that night and was found to have a broken jaw and severe neck injuries. Lenny MacLean Height 6 3 (1.91 m) Born April 9, 1949 London, England, UK Died July 28, 1998 England, UK (lung and brain cancer) Children Jamie McLean Parents Leonard McLean Sr. When I was seven, he broke all my ribs. Lenny grew up in the London neighbourhood in the 1950s when it was one of the most deprived areas of the city. This time round, in September 1978, it was Shaw. One of the assailants, Barry Dalton, a former bare-knuckle fighter who ran protection rackets across London, had a falling out with McLean and confronted him with a shotgun at his home while his children were in the house. The venue for the third and final straightener was the Rainbow Theatre in North London. The years of abuse by his stepfather, the countless bar brawls, the drinking, the redemption, the training, all culminated in a fury from McLeanthat Shaw was powerless to stop. Making his ring entrance to Daddy Cool by Darts was Lenny McLean, the minted champ of the outlaw ring. . 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. Jimmy decided to pay a visit to Irwin. Despite clocking Adams with the very first punch of the match, Shaw pulled him up to knock him out (again) and stomp on his head. stories about famous people. Born in Hoxton, right in the middle of the east-end, Lenny had a good upbringing until his father died when he was young. [citation needed]. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Relatives Raymond (Sibling) Did you know Edit Trivia Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) was dedicated to Lenny McLean, who played Barry the Baptist in the film. Although a lot of stories are probably exaggerated, there are also some real warriors and characters that have come from the bare knuckle community. Thankfully, there is footage of McLean around and you can tell that he has good fundamental boxing skills. I thought they fought 3 times, Shaw winning the first but it wasn't recorded then McClean won the next 2 by ko, ive those 2 on dvd, u can pick them up for about a fiver on ebay the ones i got have loads of fights and the qualitys not bad either 08-18-2006 10:16 PM #6 Tito BHB Fast, accurate and mortar-like, McLean's boxing was more like millinga form of all-out fist fighting popular in the British Army. Like Shaw in his fight with Don Adams in 1975, McLean picked Bradshaw up and whupped him with a series of pub style blows before using him as a doormat. As you can imagine, this was a man surrounded by violence and boxing. The second bout in April 1978 was held once again at "Cinatra's Nightclub" (with a C not an S) a classless and gaudy venue in Croydon, South London with a 2000 seat capacity. In his autobiography, McLean claimed to have competed in almost 4,000 fights over three decades, and said he won the large majority of these. Among his victims was the self-proclaimed "Guv'nor", Lenny McLean, who was knocked out twice by Field.In a 1982 bankruptcy case, McLean described Field by saying "He [Field] looked as . Forty-one year old Shaw, the smaller of this gruesome twosome, was supposed to be the better boxer. I signed it 'To the REAL Guv'nor!' In 1992, McLean was working as the head doorman at the Hippodrome in London's Leicester Square, when he ejected a man named Gary Humphries, who suffered from serious mental health problems and was reportedly on drugs, streaking through the nightclub, urinating on the floor and harassing women. Lenny along the way would take on Irish bare-knuckle Heavyweight Sean Mcafferty, stopping him in the first round. During his lifetime Lenny became a cult-like figure and received invitations to get involved in acting. Not this fight. He was the absolute King Of The Cobbles. He had dear, powerful friends, but he also had terrible enemies. He would have the occasional bare-knuckle fight but after that Lenny Mclean would put his name to other things, such as Pub minding, debt collecting (even teaming up with Dave Courtney on a few jobs), minder to the stars, etc. His most famous bout was against George 'Pappy' Langley. ease you to see guide Stay In The Fight The Story Of The World Champion as you such as. The plan fell into hiatus on McLean's death. While shot in the leg, he chased down the motorcycle-ridingassailants nearly catching them. Within a few days, McLeanwas arrested for murder. After doing a few BT commercials, he landed the role as Eddie Davies in ITVs Customs drama The Knock. Get the news you want straight to your inbox. So much so that he has two bullet wounds in his back, and has been stabbed repeatedlyalways from behind. McLean was featured prominently in a television documentary on nightclub security staff, titled Bounce: Behind The Velvet Rope. If this was any other fight, McLean would have been DQ'd and possibly banned for life. Dont know who to believe out of McLean and Shaw, im more swayed towards McLean as Shaw reckons he drank a bottle of Vodka before his fight (why?). That wasn't the end of it. His record was 9 wins, 8 knockouts and 2 losses via Lenny McLean. In their final bout, McLean ended the feud with a brutal first-round knockout at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, London in September 1978. McLean beat Shaw in a rematch with a dramatic first-round knockout in which Shaw was physically knocked out of the ring. Lenny The Guvnor Mclean v Roy Pretty Boy Shaw, This div height required for enabling the sticky sidebar, Copyright at 2023. would look great framed / displayed. Manchester Evening News Sport: All the latest news on Manchester City, Manchester United, Greater Manchester non-league football, rugby union, boxing, cricket, ice hockey, basketball, speedway and . He wrote: "A week before the off, Sykes went into a club in Wakefield where he lives, got well p***** and had a ruck with four doormen. By the age of 10, Lenny had his jaw broken twice and many broken bones. In unlicensed matches, he was twice stopped by Cliff Field, who himself had been beaten by Pearce's brother 'Bimbo Pearce' and twice beaten by Johnny "Big Bad" Waldron. And by thatI mean tough in a classic sense. a4 certificate sized. At this point of the Round 1 demolition job on Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, a man who had entered the ring some fifty seconds earlier as the odds-on favorite to win, the Referee stepped in. However, McLean was by far the bigger man and also much younger than Shaw. Headbutts. [5] Irwin was a violent alcoholic, who physically abused Lenny and his brothers for many years. When you look at this objectively, it seems very unlikely that this was possible. He also was offered a fight with professional boxer David "Bomber" Pearce, the hard-hitting British heavyweight champion from Newport. In some ways, comparing pro boxing to bare knuckle boxing is useless because theyre both quite different. Lennie McLean got wind of it and took umbrage. This tradition of unregulated fights dates back hundreds of years and as a result, some of the records are patchy. The actress is walking away after 14 years at the heart of River City following a dramatic showdown with gangster Lenny Murdoch. In July 2018, McLean's daughter Kelly released the book My Dad: The Guv'nor with ghostwriter Lee Wortley.[12]. Joined: Dec 4, 2013 . The things that one has to experience in order to gain a widereputation of being tough are vast, almost unattainable these days. The guvnor Lenny Mclean, Bare-knuckle boxer, and Doorman from Down South. Simple and effective. In passing conversation its rare that a man is described as tough anymore. In short, McLean did lose a few fights and theres been a few names documented too. Yes, McLean may have been the "King of the Cobbles" but the nightclub doorman was an unlicensed boxer with a so-so record. gets destroyed by any half decent pro fighter (boxer or mma). Not one to play the mug, Shaw took the opportunity to open up to the midsection of McLean with rib busting shots. I shall tell you something, I would never have fought Cliff, mainly because he was just too big but he didn't move like a heavyweight but he certainly punched like one. Humphries died later that night and was found to have a broken jawbone and severe neck injuries". He was also asked to be the fixer, or bodyguard, of the cast of EastEnders. Lenny Mclean, the greatest bare-knuckle street fighter of them all. He bashed me right about until I was 12, McClean explained. tuco1808, Jan 18, 2015 #15. He would then work some of Londons toughest clubs. Not this night. He was born on April 9, 1949 and his birthplace is London, Hoxton, England. Maybe alot of us have been in a brawl or two. Unlicensed boxing matches became a favorite pastime in 1970s London, and by the time he finished his tour, McClean had somewhere north of 2,000 fights (some say 4,000)under his belt, bothin and out of the ring. Leonard John McLean (9 April 1949 28 July 1998) was an English unlicensed boxer, bouncer, bodyguard, businessman and actor. Of course, theres still not much to go on other than that he could box and looked like a standard heavyweight boxer. He picked up a nice little wage and two broken hands as well. This new-found fame launched an acting career for the bare-knuckle pugilist, whichnearly always typecast him in the role of enforcer and street tough, an identity he relished. Someone came in and started acting up, throwing his weight around and starting fights. 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