ABS is saddened to announce the passing of Edinburgh Boxer Malcolm Mckenzie, on Sunday 06 May 2012, at the age of 68.
McKenzie, who boxed at lightweight, was born into a boxing family; his dad was an amateur, while his younger cousin, Tom Imrie, claimed gold in the light-middleweight division at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
Such was the explosive nature of McKenzie’s power, he set a record in 1959 that remains un-equalled when he won two bouts that lasted a total of 50 seconds and gave him the junior eastern bantamweight title.
When his coach left Leith Victoria to join the new Granton based Buccleuch club, McKenzie followed and soon became embroiled in a rivalry that would go down in boxing history.
He and southpaw Dick McTaggart – a 1956 Olympic gold medallist – became household names in an era where amateur boxing featured regularly on TV.
McKenzie and McTaggart clashed a number of times, with the Leith boxer once coming within a second of knocking out his opponent, who was recognised as Scotland’s greatest amateur.
Our thoughts go out to all friends and family.
