{"id":80245,"date":"2019-05-14T10:04:44","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T16:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=80245"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:33:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:33:52","slug":"ringside-report-remembers-benny-lynch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=80245","title":{"rendered":"Ringside Report Remembers Benny Lynch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=80245\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=80245\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-80246 size-medium\" style=\"margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Benny-Lynch-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>By Donald \u201cBraveheart\u201d Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Indulge me a little as I take two loves and put them together.<\/p>\n<p>The most obvious is the boxing world where thanks to yet another experience with my father he was a part time lover of all things boxing and became a full time (or at least a little close to it) fan.<\/p>\n<p>The second one is my career in the arts where I have directed, written and now review. I also have a son pursuing his acting career so am constantly on hand to advise, guide and be ignored \u2013 much of a father\u2019s role.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>In the next few months both shall collide as the theatre in Scotland is about to produce an onstage biopic of a man who only lived till he was 33 years old but captured the heart of a nation. A few years ago, I wrote a wee piece on him for Ringside Report and how much he represents the country both in his career and in his lifestyle so dug some of it out here to remind me of the Lynch effect.<\/p>\n<p>Benny Lynch, 88-14-7, 34 KO\u2019s, was more than the working class hero that he is stereotyped as but less of a man that should be lionised than we should allow. He is a cautionary tale but a magical presence in the history of Scottish pugilism and any reflective night of glory for a Scottish boxer \u2013 Josh Taylor and Ricky Burns included \u2013 is not complete without a nod, a mention or a thank you to a man who became Scotland\u2019s first boxing superstar and world champion.<\/p>\n<p>First Lynch the boxer. He is ranked in the top 80 boxers of all time \u2013 number 63 \u2013 by BoxRec. He was a flyweight, born just before the beginning of the First World War in 1913, his life was cut off within one year of the end of the Second World War.<\/p>\n<p>In 1986 he was elected to the Ring\u2019s Hall of Fame before his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998. His career as a boxer included taking the Scottish flyweight title in Glasgow in 1934. Then in Manchester, he took the British, European AND world flyweight titles from Jackie Brown. Lynch dropped Brown no fewer than 15 times before the fight was stopped in the SECOND round!<\/p>\n<p>In 1936, Lynch returned to England, this time to London, to take on Filipino Small Montano to decide who was the greatest wee man of them all. It was therefore a massively important win for Lynch on points. Whilst between the years 1932 and 1936 Lynch had lost 5 times the greatest disasters were not in a ring but first on a set of scales as Lynch lost his world flyweight title by failing to make weight against Jackie Jurich of the USA. Lynch stopped Jurich in the 12th round.<\/p>\n<p>Lynch was now firmly in the end game of his career and his life; he was now in the firm grip of his alcoholism. In 1939 the British Boxing Board of Control piled on more disaster as he removed his licence due to him not passing their fitness test; he was 26 years of age.<br \/>\n7 years later he was dead of malnutrition and respiratory failure.<\/p>\n<p>It is easy to see the drama and where the team bringing the story to the stage have got their inspiration. Combined with their perspiration this could be a classic tale, told very well as the people behind the show are pretty impressive in a Scottish context.<br \/>\nThis is not designed to glorify his name and make him an untouchable hero but to be a poignant and entertaining look at his life, from his childhood in the Gorbals\u2019 slums, to his boxing success and global stardom, and ultimately to his demise and untimely death in 1946. The show aims to tap into the extraordinary life of a Scottish icon; an ultimate rags to riches to rags story.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not the first attempt to bring his life to a live stage though there never has been a highly successful film of his life. They have brought in the highly popular actor Stephen Purdon to play him, the massively successful David Hayman to play his coach and mentor whilst Holly Jack is the wife \u2013 no doubt long suffering \u2013 whilst a very important footballing man though principally an actor and creative, Simon Weir, takes the role of the sage to tell the tale that needs to be told. Directed by another great and now much more than \u201can emerging\u201d director in David Hayman, JR., this promises to be more than the sum of its parts. I hope to combine my love of the sport with my reviewing hat to catch it \u2013 I shall let you know how I get on\u2026<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Welcome To The &quot;Bad&quot; Brad Berkwitt Show\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SI1AfkBrG3I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F80245\" data-token=\"cd3cea8950a65571af5480505cc1a3b4\" data-token-time=\"1775598680\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\">\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Message Comment Name<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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The most obvious is the boxing world where thanks to yet another experience with my father he was a part time lover of all things boxing and became a full time (or at least a little close to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20110],"class_list":["post-80245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-ringside-report-remembers-benny-lynch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80245"}],"version-history":[{"count":-1,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}