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Steve Collins Vs Nigel Benn III Coming Soon?

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

The universe seems to like things in bunches of threes. Boxing fans too adore the trilogies that litter the history of our sport.

This has been much in the minds of boxing fans in the UK and we are wondering whether the British Boxing Board of Control like them just as much.

Nigel “The Dark Destroyer” Benn and Steve Collins have, according to both, signed a deal to fight each other this year. The previous two fights, from 1996, ended with wins for Collins so for him there is little to prove. Collins is chasing the money – a reputed 7 figure sum for each. Benn on the other hand claims he needs “closure.” Having chased Chris Eubank, SR. for some considerable time – another fighter with whom Benn had 2 fights and lost one, drew the other – to put it all on the line just one more time, Benn decided to ask his former Irish foe if he fancied it and what do you know – he certainly did!

Both Benn and Collins have sons in the professional ring and both seem less than enthusiastic about the whole circus. The reason? Collins and Benn are both in their 50’s and spent the last few decades helping boxers rather than being in a ring with anyone.

I suppose it could be argued that they both recognize that they belong in a ring with other 50-year-old guys and not up against a crop of up and coming young talent who are likely to knock them out and add their scalp to their growing reputation.

Nevertheless, Father Time is relentless so the one issue they are both facing is who will sanction the fight, given their age and inactivity?

According to legendary boxing commentator, Steve Bunce, it is unlikely to be the British Boxing Board of Control (BBB of C). The BBB of C, thinks Bunce, will look dimly at the whole thing. I agree but, increasingly, they are not the only sanctioning body in town.

When both Derrick Chisora and David Haye fell foul of the BBB of C, and were refused a licence to fight, they went to Luxembourg. The sanctioning body there had no difficulty in granting them the necessary paperwork to get it on.

The Maltese Boxing Board of Commission, which is affiliated to the British and Irish Boxing Association (BIBA), also regularly promote on UK soil. BIBA are making bigger and bigger waves recently in the UK and they have more stringent, according to them, medical checks that could be used here to highlight how important those checks are if they get involved in this.

There are certainly plenty of options if the principal boxing body in the UK says no to both boxers.

Their biggest issue, both the sanctioning bodies and the bodies of both Benn and Collins, will probably be the inactivity of both. Both are supremely fit – for men of their age.

There is little doubt that Father Time causes issues as we saw in Germany recently with the super middleweight title fight where Paul Smith tried his best to beat Tyron Zuege and fell some way short of beating a younger and fitter warrior. The defense of both fighters is that they are in supreme condition, with Benn, in particular, announcing he has never been fitter! You have to wonder how unfit he was before though his absolute honesty as a former smoker and user of recreational drugs tells us something.

heir next issue, apparently is who will promote the fight?

This is perhaps a bit of a moot point. If Matchroom or Queensberry under Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, who are the big two in the UK, won’t, somebody will. Of course, it does not really fit within either stable comfortably and neither boxer has their own promotion company but there will be enough interest out there in the fight to generate publicity.

The UK loves a bit of nostalgia and this is right up our street. The glory days when Michael Watson, Chris Eubank, SR. and the beginning of Joe Calzaghe, along with Collins and Benn, meant we dominated this scene is wrapped in misty eyed mysticism about the like of which Ronnie James Dio used to sing. We love the past because it is preserved in our memories though challenged by our present. If this happens those of us of a certain age can then tell the young ones that see there, there’s a couple of REAL boxers.

Of course, if these “real” boxers can get in the ring, get it sanctioned, have a promoter, sell the tickets and make weight we have a fight. The circus around Mayweather/McGregor has proven that there are diverse strands of “real” boxing. Whilst the money being generated and the hype and fascination around that event is a million miles, and dollars, away from what a Benn/Collins scrap will do the parallels are there to be made.

If boxing is to regenerate and develop it needs new ideas and new opportunities for the boxers to become more than just guys who every few months get in a ring and try to knock the other guy out over 36 minutes. We need some razzamatazz and some circus to go along with it.

therwise it will end up pure and purely for the purists. There will cease to be ordinary boxing fans as somewhere else shall become the shiny new things. At least this shiny new thing is a repolished old thing which makes us old guys reminisce, fall out, re-debate the wars of the past and make us feel this sport might just still be ours after all.

Will it happen? Likely to. Am I glad it is happening? I have reservations but hey ho, if people want to lace up gloves and medics can give them the go ahead – why not?

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