Colin Lynes

Colin Lynes, known as “Lyno”, was an English professional boxer born in Whitechapel who did his best work at light-welterweight and later welterweight, boxing orthodox and living in Hornchurch, Essex. He turned professional on the 4th June 1998 and boxed on into November 2017, finishing with 39 wins and 12 losses from 51 fights, 12 of his victories coming by knockout. Over a long domestic career, he gathered serious honours: British and European champion at super-lightweight, and British champion again after moving up to welterweight, while also holding an IBO world title during his peak years.

He made his debut with an opening-round stoppage of Lee Frost in Barking and quickly built momentum, running up an unbeaten record that carried him into title territory. Early hand trouble shaped the fighter he became. He was never sold as a puncher, but he learned to make his work count, to counter cleanly and to break an opponent’s rhythm with timing rather than volume. At his best, he looked composed and economical, happy to let the other man come to him and then tax the mistakes.

After reaching 20–0, he won an IBO intercontinental belt, then suffered a sharp setback when Samuel Malinga stopped him. Lynes responded by putting his career back on track, and in May 2004, he outpointed Daniel Sarmiento to win the IBO world title, later successfully defending it against Juaquin Gallardo. The big domestic test came in October 2005 against Junior Witter, with major belts at stake, and Lynes lost on points over twelve. A stoppage defeat to the unbeaten Lenny Daws followed, and for a spell it looked as if the climb had stalled just as the hard fights arrived.

He kept going and found his way back to the centre of the British scene. In June 2007, he travelled to Scotland and outpointed Barry Morrison to win the British super-lightweight title, then added the European belt when he stopped Young Mutley in the eighth round, a strong finish in a fight that demanded patience as much as nerve. He defended the European title against Juho Tolppola. Still, he lost it on a split decision to Gianluca Branco in Italy, despite flooring Branco early, one of those nights where the early drama does not guarantee the late verdict. He later retired in the ninth against Paul McCloskey in a British title fight, and then lost a close decision in Paris to Souleymane M’Baye, evidence of a fighter prepared to travel and take his chances.

If Lynes had a second act, it was forged in the three-round furnace of Prizefighter, where form is fragile, and a veteran’s calm can be worth more than youth’s ambition. In December 2009, he reached the final, beating David Barnes and again getting past Young Mutley, before losing to Gavin Rees. In April 2010, he challenged the unbeaten Ajose Olusegun. He was stopped after heavy body work, and afterwards spoke of the strain of making weight, a familiar late-career problem for men who have spent years living on the edge of the scales.

The move up to welterweight suited him. In 2011, he reached the semi-final of the welterweight Prizefighter, losing a tight one to Yassine El Maachi, then produced one of his cleanest domestic performances at York Hall, outboxing Lee Purdy over 12 rounds to win the British welterweight title, dropping Purdy and controlling the rhythm with experience and accuracy. He lost the belt the following year, outpointed by Junior Witter, a reminder that the old rivalries can come back around in Britain just as quickly as they begin.

The last years were those of a seasoned professional squeezing the last value out of a long trade. He lost over ten rounds to Bradley Skeete in 2013, then returned in 2017 with a couple of wins before the final fight in Portsmouth, where Michael McKinson stopped him in the sixth on the 25th November 2017. Lynes’ career is best understood as that of a tough, adaptable operator who won meaningful titles at two weights and kept working through the setbacks, with a style shaped by necessity as much as choice, and a reputation built on craft, resilience and the willingness to fight wherever the job took him.