Dont know if this has been posted before but it's a great article mad how he ended up.
Kirkland Laing was called "The Gifted One", a genius within the confines of the boxing ring.
He was an enigmatic individual who never did things the conventional way, and maybe that was his problem - life and boxing came too easily to a man who seemed to have a glorious future ahead of him.
The Londoner won the British welterweight title twice, in 1979 and again in 1987, before going on to win the European belt in 1990.
But it was for a fight of an altogether tougher nature for which Laing will go down in history - when he beat the great Roberto Duran in a fight that Ring ****zine called the Upset of the Year in 1982.
KIRKLAND LAING FACTFILE
Kirkland Laing
Born: 20/6/1954
Division: Welterweight
Record: W43 L12 D1
Laing dealt with Duran in 10 rounds, but it was the Panamanian who would have the last laugh.
After that fight Laing had the world at his feet, he could and should have been a boxing superstar.
Instead, he simply disappeared for over a year until the money from the Duran fight ran out and he had to fight again.
While Duran went on to earn millions and a place in boxing's hall of fame, Laing vanished - his skill and success fading memories.
As a result, he will be remembered for what might have been. If he had had the discipline to go with his talent then who knows what he could have achieved?
We went looking for Laing to find out what had happened to him. Our reporter Steve Bunce had heard tales of drugs and alcohol, that Laing was in a bad state.
Our search took us to Hackney, and for three days a BBC crew looking vaguely like undercover policemen trawled the area.
Laing's council flat was deserted, and all we had to rely on were the vague tales of old men clutching their cans of extra-strong lager.
But rumours had filtered through the Hackney underground, and one night Bunce got a call - Laing had agreed to meet us in his local park the next morning.
We waited for hours, but eventually a hunched figure, wearing a full-length black coat and sporting a generous beard appeared in the distance.
The older you get the harder it gets - that's what I know about life
Kirkland Laing
Laing needed a beer to get him going, but once he started all the memories came flooding out, and this dishevelled and broken man started to sound like the champion he once was.
At 24 he was British champion, and three years later came his fight with Duran.
But it all came too soon, and he admits he was not "mature" enough to cope. His winnings were spent on partying and women - often the night before a fight.
In the ring, Laing was so talented he felt he could face anyone in any condition and emerge victorious; outside it his generosity to people he met was ruthlessly exposed.
Nine years after his last appearance in the ring - when he was knocked out by Glenn Catley in five rounds - he lives in a world of drink and drugs on a shabby estate in Hackney, living day by day.
Our interview put a spark back in his eye as he suddenly remembered what he had achieved - and what he had lost.
"I sometimes wonder," he said, "imagine if I had been sensible and disciplined. Sometimes I think about that."
Kirkland Laing was called "The Gifted One", a genius within the confines of the boxing ring.
He was an enigmatic individual who never did things the conventional way, and maybe that was his problem - life and boxing came too easily to a man who seemed to have a glorious future ahead of him.
The Londoner won the British welterweight title twice, in 1979 and again in 1987, before going on to win the European belt in 1990.
But it was for a fight of an altogether tougher nature for which Laing will go down in history - when he beat the great Roberto Duran in a fight that Ring ****zine called the Upset of the Year in 1982.
KIRKLAND LAING FACTFILE
Kirkland Laing
Born: 20/6/1954
Division: Welterweight
Record: W43 L12 D1
Laing dealt with Duran in 10 rounds, but it was the Panamanian who would have the last laugh.
After that fight Laing had the world at his feet, he could and should have been a boxing superstar.
Instead, he simply disappeared for over a year until the money from the Duran fight ran out and he had to fight again.
While Duran went on to earn millions and a place in boxing's hall of fame, Laing vanished - his skill and success fading memories.
As a result, he will be remembered for what might have been. If he had had the discipline to go with his talent then who knows what he could have achieved?
We went looking for Laing to find out what had happened to him. Our reporter Steve Bunce had heard tales of drugs and alcohol, that Laing was in a bad state.
Our search took us to Hackney, and for three days a BBC crew looking vaguely like undercover policemen trawled the area.
Laing's council flat was deserted, and all we had to rely on were the vague tales of old men clutching their cans of extra-strong lager.
But rumours had filtered through the Hackney underground, and one night Bunce got a call - Laing had agreed to meet us in his local park the next morning.
We waited for hours, but eventually a hunched figure, wearing a full-length black coat and sporting a generous beard appeared in the distance.
The older you get the harder it gets - that's what I know about life
Kirkland Laing
Laing needed a beer to get him going, but once he started all the memories came flooding out, and this dishevelled and broken man started to sound like the champion he once was.
At 24 he was British champion, and three years later came his fight with Duran.
But it all came too soon, and he admits he was not "mature" enough to cope. His winnings were spent on partying and women - often the night before a fight.
In the ring, Laing was so talented he felt he could face anyone in any condition and emerge victorious; outside it his generosity to people he met was ruthlessly exposed.
Nine years after his last appearance in the ring - when he was knocked out by Glenn Catley in five rounds - he lives in a world of drink and drugs on a shabby estate in Hackney, living day by day.
Our interview put a spark back in his eye as he suddenly remembered what he had achieved - and what he had lost.
"I sometimes wonder," he said, "imagine if I had been sensible and disciplined. Sometimes I think about that."
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