Kenny Lane

Kenny Lane
Statistics
Real name Kenneth L. Lane
Rated at Lightweight
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Nationality United States
Born (1932-04-09)April 9, 1932
Big Rapids, Michigan
Died August 5, 2008(2008-08-05) (aged 76)
Muskegon, Michigan
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights 100
Wins 82
Wins by KO 19
Losses 16
Draws 2
No contests 0

Kenny Lane was a southpaw boxer. He fought for lightweight and light welterweight titles of the world, once against Joe Brown and twice against Carlos Ortiz.

Early life

Kenny was raised on a farm in Big Rapids, Michigan with his four brothers and sister. According to his family, he regularly fought with his brothers and it is assumed that his southpaw stance was adopted to defend himself against his older brother who later became an Olympic boxer. [1]

Professional boxing career

Lane was known for having a very unorthodox way of fighting. This combined with the fact that he was a southpaw made him an excellent boxer and in 1953 started his professional career.[2]

Quote from Ortiz: "No one was more difficult to figure out than Kenny Lane, the guy was unbelievably clever" [3]

He had a controversial decision loss to Joe Brown for undisputed lightweight championship of the world. He fought the Ortiz rubber match for light welterweight title.

Lane decided at age 50 to round out his professional career to 100 bouts. He dropped to his fighting weight from almost 200 pounds.[4] After beating 3 much younger opponents he lost to the fourth. Kenny decided to retire for the final time, making the even 100 bouts he sought.

Family life

Kenny Lane married his wife Ruth as a teenager in Big Rapids, MI. Kenny and Ruth had four children (Lori, Kenny Jr., Todd, and Melody). They later became grandparents of 14 grandsons and grand daughters (Andy, Ryan, Josh, Keith, Jasmine, Lucas, Cole, Cody, Grady, Olivia, Suzie, Bethany, Emily, and Kyle) as well as 4 great grandchildren (Hailey, Ethan, Elliot and Adelle.

Later years

After retiring Kenny continued teaching boxing in the Muskegon area. Kenny ran the boxing program at the Muskegon Recreation Center at Smith-Ryerson Park in Muskegon Heights. Several times Kenny drove less fortunate members of the program to meetings and matches across Michigan, often on his own dollar.

In 1995, British singer Morrissey released an album called Southpaw Grammar. The cover featured an old photograph of Lane from the April 1963 issue of The Ring magazine. [5]

Lane was admitted into the world boxing hall of fame in 2004. [6]

Later in life Lane became an avid golfer and had a tournament named for him. He died of a heart attack on August 5, 2008 while golfing at The Bent Pine golf course in Whitehall, MI. After Lane's funeral on August 8, services were held for family and friends at Bent Pine Golf course courtesy of the owners. [7]

Professional boxing record

82 Wins (19 knockouts), 16 Losses, 2 Draws

[8]

Result Opponent Type Round, Time Date Location Notes
Loss Dave Guerra Split Decision Unknown 1985-11-02 Grand Rapids, MI Second retirement.
Win Willie Floyd McIntosh KO Unknown 1983-06-18 Muskegon, MI none
Win Paul Lewis KO Unknown 1983-04-16 Muskegon, MI none
Win Bobby Plegge PTS Unknown 1982-07-17 Muskegon, MI Lane comes out of retirement at age 50.
Loss Eddie Perkins Unanimous Decision Unknown 1965-10-25 New Orleans, LA Lane retires.
Loss Carlos Hernandez KO Unknown 1964-10-05 Maracaibo, Venezuela none
Loss Dave Charnley PTS Unknown 1964-06-02 Wembley, London, UK none
Win Stoffel Steyn TKO Unknown 1964-05-09 Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa none
Loss Carlos Ortiz Unanimous Decision Unknown 1964-04-11 San Juan, Puerto Rico WBA and WBC Lightweight titles
Win Johnny Bizzarro Split Decision Unknown 1964-02-19 Erie, PA none
Win Paul Armstead Unanimous Decision Unknown 1963-08-19 Saginaw, MI Michigan lightweight title
Win Vicente Milan Derado Unanimous Decision Unknown 1963-03-02 New York City, NY none
Win Len Matthews TKO Round 9, Unknown 1962-09-15 Philadelphia, PA none
Win Carlos Hernandez Unanimous Decision Unknown 1962-07-14 New York City, NY none
Win Tommy Tibbs Unanimous Decision Unknown 1962-06-11 Boston, MA none
Win Luis Molina Unanimous Decision Unknown 1962-04-14 San Jose, CA none
Loss Garland Randall Unanimous Decision Unknown 1962-01-23 Houston, TX none
Win Aissa Hashas PTS Unknown 1961-10-16 Paris, France none
Win Virgil Akins PTS Unknown 1961-09-22 Annapolis, MD none
Win Garland Randall Unanimous Decision Unknown 1961-08-30 Amarillo, TX none
Win TJ Jones PTS Unknown 1961-08-14 Chicago, IL none
Win Willie Robertson Unanimous Decision Unknown 1961-06-30 Muskegon, MI none
Win Ray Portilla TKO Unknown 1961-06-16 San Antonio, TX none
Draw Curtis Cokes PTS Unknown 1961-06-08 Dallas, TX none
Win Manuel Gonzalez Unanimous Decision Unknown 1961-05-16 Odessa, TX none
Win Garland Randall Unanimous Decision Unknown 1961-05-01 Dallas, TX none
Draw Carlos Hernandez PTS Unknown 1961-02-20 Caracas, Venezuela none
Lose Jose Stable Unanimous Decision Unknown 1961-01-23 New York City, NY none
Win Lahouari Godih MD Unknown 1960-12-06 Philadelphia, PA none
Lose Len Matthews TKO Unknown 1960-10-08 Los Angeles, CA none
Win Sid Adams TKO Unknown 1960-09-27 Philadelphia, PA none
Win Douglas Vaillant Unanimous Decision Unknown 1960-08-16 Miami Beach, FL none
Win Jerry Black Unanimous Decision Unknown 1960-04-25 Philadelphia, PA none
Lose Ralph Dupas Unanimous Decision Unknown 1960-01-13 Mobile, AL none
Win Ray Lancaster KO Unknown 1959-12-29 Minneapolis, MN none
Win Virgil Akins MD Unknown 1959-10-28 Washington DC none
Lose Carlos Ortiz TKO Unknown 1959-06-12 New York City, NY World Light Welterweight Title
Win Johnny Busso TKO Unknown 1959-04-17 Hollywood, CA none
Win Carlos Ortiz MD Unknown 1958-12-31 Miami Beach, FL none
Win Lahouari Godih Split Decision Unknown 1958-11-07 Syracuse, NY none
Win Orlando Zulueta Unanimous Decision Unknown 1958-09-06 Muskegon, MI none
Lose Joe Brown Unanimous Decision Unknown 1958-07-23 Houston, TX World Lightweight Title
Win Davey Dupas KO Unknown 1958-05-26 Dallas, TX none
Win Johnny Gonsalves Unanimous Decision Unknown 1958-01-09 Oakland, CA none
Win Luke Easter TKO Unknown 1957-12-09 San Francisco, CA none
Win Orlando Zulueta Unanimous Decision Unknown 1957-10-30 Chicago, IL none
Win Johnny Gonsalves Unanimous Decision Unknown 1957-08-20 Oakland, CA none
Win Teddy Davis Unanimous Decision Unknown 1957-08-03 Muskegon, MI none
Win Henry Brown KO Unknown 1957-05-22 Detroit, MI none
Win Danny Davis TKO Unknown 1957-04-06 Muskegon, MI none
Win Frankie Ryff TKO Unknown 1957-01-30 Norfolk, VA none
Win Frankie Ryff Unanimous Decision Unknown 1956-11-14 Miami, FL none
Win Ludwig Lightburn Unanimous Decision Unknown 1956-09-19 Miami, FL none
Win Ralph Capone TKO Unknown 1956-08-30 Muskegon, MI none
Win Glen Flanagan Unanimous Decision Unknown 1956-08-02 Minneapolis, MN none
Win Ralph Dupas Split Decision Unknown 1956-07-09 New Orleans, LA none
Win Danny Davis Unanimous Decision Unknown 1956-05-10 Minneapolis, MN none
Win Enrique Esqueda PTS Unknown 1956-03-25 Mexico City, Mexico none
Win Ike Vaughn PTS Unknown 1956-02-25 Lansing, MI none
Win Don Mason Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-12-06 Milwaukee, WI none
Win Kid Centella Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-11-07 New Orleans, LA none
Lose Paddy DeMarco Split Decision Unknown 1955-10-03 New York City, NY none
Win Hocine Khalfi Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-08-16 Miami Beach, FL none
Win Noel Humphreys PTS Unknown 1955-08-03 Mt. Pleasant, MI none
Win Elmer Lakatos TKO Unknown 1955-07-28 Milwaukee, WI none
Win Jimmy Ford Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-07-12 Miami Beach, FL none
Win Richie Howard PTS Unknown 1955-06-28 Nova Scotia, Canada none
Win Larry Boardman Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-06-21 Miami Beach, FL none
Win Eli Leggett Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-06-07 Detroit, MI none
Win Richie Howard PTS Unknown 1955-05-30 Nova Scotia, Canada none
Win Armand Savoie Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-03-29 Grand Rapids, MI none
Lose Ralph Dupas Split Decision Unknown 1955-03-14 New Orleans, LA none
Win Jackie Blair Unanimous Decision Unknown 1955-02-14 New York City, NY none
Win Danny Jo Perez Split Decision Unknown 1954-12-13 New York City, NY none
Win Orlando Zulueta Split Decision Unknown 1954-11-08 New York City, NY none
Win George Collins PTS Unknown 1954-10-04 New York City, NY none
Win John Barnes PTS Unknown 1954-08-12 Muskegon, MI none
Win Elmer Lakatos PTS Unknown 1954-06-22 Detroit, MI none
Win Sammy Rodgers PTS Unknown 1954-05-27 Muskegon, MI none
Lose John Barnes PTS Unknown 1954-03-22 Detroit, MI none
Lose John Barnes TKO Unknown 1954-02-01 Detroit, MI none
Win Jesse Underwood PTS Unknown 1954-01-14 Saginaw, MI none
Win Mike Tourcotte PTS Unknown 1954-01-02 New Orleans, LA none
Win Ronnie Stribling Unanimous Decision Unknown 1953-12-01 Grand Rapids, MI none
Lose Ronnie Stribling KO Unknown 1953-10-20 Lansing, MI none
Win Ken Hohner PTS Unknown 1953-09-29 Grand Rapids, MI none
Win Ralph Cervantes Unanimous Decision Unknown 1953-09-14 Saginaw, MI none
Win Eddie Crawford PTS Unknown 1953-09-10 Detroit, MI none
Win Don Grinton KO Unknown 1953-08-20 Detroit, MI none
Win Dick Holling KO Unknown 1953-08-06 Detroit, MI none
Win Ron McGilvery PTS Unknown 1953-07-23 Detroit, MI none
Win Frank O'Neal KO Unknown 1953-07-16 Detroit, MI none
Win Johnny Valentine PTS Unknown 1953-06-18 Detroit, MI none
Win Benny Uhl PTS Unknown 1953-06-15 Chicago, IL none
Win Milton Scott PTS Unknown 1953-05-23 Chicago, IL none
Win John Walls PTS Unknown 1953-05-11 Chicago, IL none
Win Jimmy DeMura PTS Unknown 1953-04-30 Detroit, MI none
Win Bob Henry KO Unknown 1953-04-20 Chicago, IL none
Win Jimmy DeMura PTS Unknown 1953-04-16 Detroit, MI none
Win Clinton McDade PTS Unknown 1953-04-09 Grand Rapids, MI none

References and notes

  1. ↑ http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Pearce_Lane
  2. ↑ http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:12665
  3. ↑ http://www.mlive.com/boxing/index.ssf/2008/08/former_muskegon_boxer_lane_die.html
  4. ↑ http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3872
  5. ↑ http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?t=66846
  6. ↑ http://cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/lane-k.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/cbzforum/archive/index.php/t-7832.html
  8. ↑ Lane stats at BoxRec.com
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