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Ken Buchanan (born June 28, 1945) is a former
world Boxing|boxing champion. Many consider
Buchanan to be the best boxer ever to come out of
Scotland.

Buchanan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He
started boxing professionally on September 20,
1965, beating Brian Tonks by a knockout in two
rounds in London. He spent much of the early parts
of his career fighting undistinguished opponents
in England. His Scottish debut came in his 17th
fight, when he outpointed John McMillan
(boxer)|John McMillan over 10 rounds on January
23, 1967. Prior to that, he had also beaten Ivan
Whiter by a decision in 8 rounds.

Buchanan ran his winning streak to 23 consecutive
bouts before challenging Maurice Cullen on
February 19,1968 for the British Lightweight title
in London. He knocked Cullen out in round 11 and
became a world classified Lightweight challenger.

He continued his way up the world Lightweight
rankings by defeating Leonard Tavarez, Angel
Robinson Garcia and Whiter (in a rematch) among
others, but on January 29, 1970, he found his
first stone on the boxing road when he challenged
future world Jr. Welterweight champion Miguel
Velazquez in Madrid, Spain|Madrid, for the
European Lightweight title. Buchanan lost a 15
round decision to Velazquez, but nevertheless, he
continued his ascent towards the number one spot
in the rankings by beating Tavarez in a rematch,
Chris Fernandez and Brian Hudson, the latter of
whom was beaten by a knockout in five in a defense
of the British Lightweight title.

On September of that year, Buchanan travelled to
Puerto Rico, where he would meet Ismael Laguna,
the world Lightweight champion, on September 26.
Many experts thought that San Juan, Puerto
Rico|San Juan's warm weather would affect
Buchanan, but he upset those who thought that way
and beat Laguna by a 15 round decision to become
world's Lightweight champion.
At that time, the World Boxing Association|WBA and
the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC), were
in the middle of a feud, and Buchanan was not
allowed to fight in the United Kingdom. He had to
resort to fighting overseas for a short period of
time.

He finished 1970 beating Donato Panuato by a 10
round decision in a non-title bout, and then he
began 1971 by going to Los Angeles, California|Los
Angeles, where he retained his title with a 15
round decision over Ruben Navarro. After that, he
was allowed to fight in the United Kingdom again,
and he returned there to beat former world
champion Carlos Morocho Hernandez by a knockout in
eight.

Then, he flew to New York to meet Laguna again,
this time defending his world title. Buchanan
retained the title with another decision over
Laguna, and then he had a couple of non-title
affairs, one in London and one in South Africa.
The South African fight against Andries Steyn in
Johannesburg was a mismatch with his opponent's
corner throwing in the towel in the third round.  

He was stripped of the World Boxing Council|WBC
title for failing to defend against Pedro
Carrasco, but he remained the WBA world
Lightweight champion. His next defense came on
June 26, 1972, against then undefeated Roberto
Duran at the Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New
York. This bout proved to be one of the most
controversial in boxing history. During an
exchange to end round 13, Duran landed a blow to
the mid-section that might have struck Buchanan in
an illegal area of the body. Buchanan has always
claimed that the blow was low, and replays, which
have been shown countless times on TV, are
inconclusive. Referee John LoBianco said, however,
that he thought the blow was legal, and therefore,
the bout, and the world championship, were given
to Duran by a technical knockout in 13 rounds.
Buchanan required hospitalization and surgery
after the bout.

In his next fight, Buchanan beat former 3 time
world champion Carlos Ortiz by a knockout in six,
also at the MSG, and he finished 1972 with a win
over Chang Kil Lee.

In 1973, Buchanan started out by beating future
world Lightweight champion Jim Watt by a decision
in 15, to regain the British lightweight title.
Soon, he embarked on another international tour
that included more fights in the United States,
several fights in Denmark, and one fight in
Canada. He won each of those fights, leading
towards a challenge of European Lightweight
champion Antonio Puddu in Italy, and Buchanan
added the European Lightweight championship belt
to his shelf by defeating Puddu by a decision in
15 rounds. He retained the title by beating
Tavarez for the third time, this time by a
knockout in 14 at Paris, and then he travelled to
Japan to fight for the world title again. This
time, however, he was defeated by a decision in 15
rounds by the WBC's world champion, Ishimatsu
'Guts' Suzuki.

Buchanan re-grouped once again, and won in a
defense of the European Lightweight title against
Giancarlo Usai by a knockout in 12. But he retired
from 1976 to 1978, leaving the European
Lightweight title vacant.

When he returned to professional boxing in 1978,
he won two straight bouts, but everything else
started going backwards for him. Challenging
Charlie Nash in Copenhagen, Denmark|Copenhagen, he
lost by a decision in twelve. In 1980, he won two
bouts in a row, but after that, he lost five bouts
in a row, finally retiring for good after losing
to George Feeney by a decision in eight on January
25 of 1982.

He retired with a record of 61 wins and 8 losses
in 69 professional bouts, with 27 wins by
knockout.

In 2000, he was elected to the International
Boxing Hall Of Fame.