Guv'nor: The Autobiography of Lenny McLean

Born in East London in 1949, Lenny McLean grew up in an area that had been ravaged by the Second World War. Although money was scarce and fighting was commonplace, a camaraderie and deep sense of honour and respect remained.
Lenny McLean was the deadliest bare-knuckle fighter Britain has ever seen. He had powerful friends, but he also had terrible enemies. So much so that he had two bullet wounds in his back—each from a different attack. He has also stabbed repeatedly—always from behind. But Lenny was also a warm, huge-hearted grizzly bear of a man, whose main weakness was an overwhelming desire to put the welfare of his mates ahead of his own well-being. In this extraordinary autobiography he tells how the Mafia flew him to New York to take on their greatest bare-knuckle boxer in a multi-million pound illicit challenge bout. The Mafia’s man lasted less than three minutes. When the IRA fronted up a London gang in a money-laundering scam, Lenny was brought in to intimidate the terrorists. The IRA, not surprisingly, backed off. After deciding to retire from the violent life, Len turned his hand to acting, debuting in the hit series The Knock, following with parts in The Fifth Element and, famously, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. This is a tale of one man’s triumph against almost insurmountable odds, in a battle that Len fought everyday for himself, and to put food on the table for his wife and kids.