Lawson was born in England but had a Scottish father.[2] He began boxing at the Newco Repton Amateur Boxing Club but later moved North[3] to become a member of the St Francis Amateur Boxing Club in Dundee, although he also retained his connection with Newco Repton.[4]
Lawson a postman by profession, was primarily based in London[5] and in 1986 he reached the final of the prestigious ABA Championships but lost out to Jim Moran.[2] Lawson represented the Scottish team[6] at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he competed in the light-heavyweight division.[7] He won a bronze medal after beating Gerald Storey of Northern Ireland and Byron Pullen of Wales before a semi-final defeat by rival Jim Moran of England.[8][9]
In 1987 Lawson reached the final of the ABA Championships at Wembley for the second year running but was defeated again, this time by fellow Londoner John Beckles.[2] In May 1988 he finally won the ABA title to fulfill his ambition in front of a BBC television audience.[10][11]
In March 1989 Lawson lost the Scottish ABA final to Andrew Caulfield.[12]
