Large portions of McLean's career cannot be verified, since his fights were unsanctioned by the boxing authorities. He was known to have lost several fights, although he always maintained that he had never lost a fight "on the cobbles" or outside the ring. In unlicensed matches, he was twice stopped by Cliff Field, and twice beaten by Johnny "Big Bad" Waldron. McLean also lost via KO to George "Pappy" Langley and on points to Kevin Paddock. In his autobiography, McLean claimed to have competed in almost 4,000 fights over three decades, and said he won the large majority of these.