Kirkland "The Gifted One" Laing Highlights

[Junior G]

The greatest boxer who was never a World Champion atleast in my opinion...
He's best known for beating Roberto Duran.
He was the first boxer I saw that kept his hands by his waist all the time (roy jones like)
****y, Joking, Talented best describe Laing.....oh and the dreads

2 Time British Welterweight Champion
EBU Welterweight Champion

You can google him, i'm not going to talk about his faults....sad stuff.

[sonnyboyx2]

yes he was a good fighter but lacked dedication

[D-MiZe]

It's a shame he's a homeless bum now..

[mickey malone]

Good vid!... Cheers man... The KO of Georgie Collins was spectacular.. Collins was unbeaten with a string of KO's & supposed to be the next thing.. Laing totally exposed him..

I'd say he has to be one of the ****iest of all time.. Absolutely brilliant to watch though.. Not even Jones holds his arms that low.. In fact Laing never had a stance.. It was like he was fighting & waiting for a bus at the same time... Almost Charlie Chaplin style..

Laing would have been an ATG had it not been for his love of whiskey & ganja.. He simply had the wrong style to burn the candle at both ends, & wouldn't turn up to training for months on end.. After beating Duran, he picked up a nice pay check & disappeared for several months.. You'd be forgiven for saying, he'd scarpered to the Ba***** or something, but Laing would normally shack up with a bird somewhere in London, & go partying with ordinary people & not get recognized.. Many years ago, not long after Duran, me & mate shared a spliff with him while waiting for a cab outside some club in Snaresbrook, NE London.. I couldn't understand a word the bloke said lol..
Out & out Rasta 4 sure.. Very likable though...

There are too many ex champs to mention who had similar life styles, but the difference being, they had excellent defenses.. The word defense, simply didn't fit within the Laing vocabluary & he was solely reliant on reflexes.. He wasn't supposed to get KO'd by Colin Jones twice, who went on to thrice challenge for the world title against McCrory (twice, with 1 being a draw) & Curry respectively.. I'd much rather have seen a fit Laing fight those 2.. He had the ability to beat both & the moniker, 'Gifted One' was an understatement..

Does anyone know of his current well being?... I don't live in the UK anymore, but was aware he'd fallen from a balcony & suffered multiple injuries.. I hope he's now OK..

[D-MiZe]

Good vid!... Cheers man... The KO of Georgie Collins was spectacular.. Collins was unbeaten with a string of KO's & supposed to be the next thing.. Laing totally exposed him..

I'd say he has to be one of the ****iest of all time.. Absolutely brilliant to watch though.. Not even Jones holds his arms that low.. In fact Laing never had a stance.. It was like he was fighting & waiting for a bus at the same time... Almost Charlie Chaplin style..

Laing would have been an ATG had it not been for his love of whiskey & ganja.. He simply had the wrong style to burn the candle at both ends, & wouldn't turn up to training for months on end.. After beating Duran, he picked up a nice pay check & disappeared for several months.. You'd be forgiven for saying, he'd scarpered to the Ba***** or something, but Laing would normally shack up with a bird somewhere in London, & go partying with ordinary people & not get recognized.. Many years ago, not long after Duran, me & mate shared a spliff with him while waiting for a cab outside some club in Snaresbrook, NE London.. I couldn't understand a word the bloke said lol..
Out & out Rasta 4 sure.. Very likable though...

There are too many ex champs to mention who had similar life styles, but the difference being, they had excellent defenses.. The word defense, simply didn't fit within the Laing vocabluary & he was solely reliant on reflexes.. He wasn't supposed to get KO'd by Colin Jones twice, who went on to thrice challenge for the world title against McCrory (twice, with 1 being a draw) & Curry respectively.. I'd much rather have seen a fit Laing fight those 2.. He had the ability to beat both & the moniker, 'Gifted One' was an understatement..

Does anyone know of his current well being?... I don't live in the UK anymore, but was aware he'd fallen from a balcony & suffered multiple injuries.. I hope he's now OK..

If you haven't already seen it.

[mickey malone]

No I hadn't seen it.. Thanks, very interesting & no surprises really.. Apart from the beard, he hasn't changed much..