[1] Lake made his professional boxing debut in October 1963, stopping Don McCrea in five rounds.
[1] In June 1964, his opponent Lyn James died after collapsing in the sixth round due to a brain injury.
[2] By May 1968 he had built up a record of 19 wins from 23 fights, before two points defeats at the hands of Jimmy Revie, and a third round disqualification for a low blow against South African bantamweight champion Arnold Taylor in Johannesburg.
[1] Managed at the time by Terry Downes, in January 1969, Lake beat British super-featherweight champion Jimmy Anderson in a non-title fight at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, Anderson being disqualified in the sixth round for kidney punching.
He subsequently became a boxing trainer, working with boxers such as Ivor Jones, Colin Dunne, and John Ryder, as well as many amateurs at the Angel ABC in Islington.