'Britain's hardest man was an animal – he turned his head into terrifying weapon'
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A former friend of ‘Britain’s hardest man’ gave a chilling insight into his brutal nature. Lenny McLean was an infamous underground bare knuckle boxer, bouncer and debt collector whose deadpan stare struck fear into rivals. One man who knew him well was one-time heavyweight boxing champion Nosher Powell who was also a stuntman in the first Superman film.
Nosher once called on Lenny – who was 6ft 3in and weighed 20-stone – for a favour after getting into bother with a scrap metal dealer and his enforcers. And writing in his book (Nosher) about why he wanted Lenny in his corner, he said: “As a boxer, he wasn’t all that clever but in the street that was different.
“He only had to get his hands on you and a nut would go in, bang, elbows, biting, anything. He used that big domed head of his as a battering ram to smash people senseless. He was an absolute animal.”. Nosher added that Lenny’s favourite saying was “we will get it sorted” and he described his pal as a “big dangerous b*****d”.
He needed Lenny’s help two years after a scrap metal dealer called Dave entered his pub. Dave was a regular and at the time Nosher was earning big money. He asked the landlord for a loan of £2,000 because he had a good deal on but was currently short.
Nosher wrote in his book: “Without another word, I went to the office, opened the safe, and pulled out two grand. His eyes were positively watering with gratitude and I didn’t even ask for a receipt because with some people you don’t need one.”.
