St Giles' memorial for boxing great Ken Buchanan

Boxer Ken Buchanan pictured in 1965.

A memorial service will be held in honour of Scottish boxing great Ken Buchanan at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Buchanan, who became the undisputed world lightweight champion in 1971, died earlier this month, aged 77.

The service will be held at St Giles’ on Tuesday April 25, at noon.

The funeral procession will pass the former site of the Sparta Boxing Club in McDonald Road, where he trained, and the Ken Buchanan statue at the top of Leith Walk, just as the sportsman requested.

Buchanan was widely considered the country’s greatest boxer with his career spanning 17 years.

He was made an MBE in 1972 and was inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the Scottish Sport Hall of Fame, with his statue unveiled in his home city of Edinburgh last summer.

Buchanan’s son revealed last year that he was suffering from dementia and living in a care home.