Statue bid for Scots boxing legend Benny Lynch

A NEW portrait of boxing legend Benny Lynch has been unveiled in Glasgow to help raise money for a statue of the sporting hero.

The painting was unveiled by former world champion Jim Watt, who described Lynch as “an inspiration”.

Lynch became Scotland’s first ever world champion boxer in 1935, but he died 11 years later, aged just 33.

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Campaign group Remembering Benny Lynch is trying to raise £100,000 for a bronze statue of the boxer in his home city.

Watt, 69, who won the WBC lightweight title in 1979, said: “Benny Lynch was our first world champion, and inspired other Scots who followed.

“A statue in Glasgow is long overdue. “