Remembering Nigel Benn

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

He was a warrior. He was everything you wanted to be and a touch lionhearted more. He was ferocious and uncompromising and when he fought, brute and brutal were his watch words.

It led to excitement, explosion, loss and controversy but it was never dull. It put you in one side of a two sided contest because if you backed him, you were anti peacock, anti-preening dandy and for the raw energy that he brought to rings, tables and the action.
Nigel Benn, 42-5-1, 35 KO’s, was that man and now more than 20 years on from his best fights he is ready to go to war once again.

Oh, Nigel how we wish it were to turn the clock back.

Last year he admitted that he had been pursuing the opportunity to put the defeats to Chris Eubank,SR. 45-5-2, 23 KO’s, behind him in a trilogy fight that was chased, harried and lost as Eubank simply refused to get serious about it. Benn then went after Steve Collins, 36-3, 21 KO’s, who beat him in his final fight 21 years ago; Collins agreed.

We are all waiting news as to whether it will become a reality but it has brought sharply into focus just how wonderful those halcyon middleweight and super middleweight days were in the 1990s.

Benn was my hero and not just because he was the WBO middleweight and WBC super middleweight champions. He was our hero because everything mattered to him and his losses to Collins (twice) and to Eubank, SR. (one loss, one draw) clearly still rattle him.

It shouldn’t.

Nigel Benn gave us some of the most fantastic nights of our boxing lives.

Who can forget his winning of the WBO middleweight title against Doug DeWitt when there were five knockdowns in eight rounds; only one of them was Benn. Then his defence against Iran Barkley which never got out the first round and had yet another three knockdowns!
It was then time for Benn to meet Chris Eubank, SR.

18th November 1990, in Birmingham, England, it was a titanic battle that ended in the 9th with the referee stopping the fight. Benn was defeated and lost his precious first world belt.

It was a tough one to take but then came a move up in weight and the chasing of his second world title. Dispatching no less than Marvin Hagler’s half brother in 7 rounds led to a disputed decision win over Thulani Malinga and then a one round knockout of Dan Sherry.
The Benn train was back on track and delivering the type of excitement we all loved.

10th October 1992, in Italy, Benn was to march in and take the WBC super middleweight title after his opponent Mauro Galvano was unable, due to a cut, to continue. It was a 4th round TKO but one that the Italians disputed – hotly! (Is there ever any other kind of Italian dispute?)
We all wanted to see one fight though and on the 9th October 1993, we got it.

Eubank came into the ring with a belt, Benn came into the ring with a belt. Don King came into the ring with an agreement to manage the winner and the loser. Eubank left with his belt, Benn left with his belt and the draw left Don King with not 1 but 2 useless contracts!

Benn took his next fight in the types of trenches for which he was famous as he fought the hard hitting Gerald McClellan and stopped him in the 10th round. It was another piece of brutality in a career that was, by now, becoming known for how hard it had become more than how accomplished and sleek he looked; but we loved him for it.

There was a little less love for his career as McClellan ended up with a blood clot on his brain as a result of the fight and became blind and dependent upon a wheelchair. Benn has always been involved in helping his old adversary and it does his Christian faith some credit that he has organized events to support McClellan and his family with the medical bills.

He defended his title a couple of times successfully after that but then, in an entirely non Nigel Benn outing lost his belt to that man Thulani Malinga. His two fights with Steve Collins, both of which he lost, were the ending of a career that was more white knuckle than white knight but which had us wanting the ride to keep going and going and going.

Now though, it is way past the time we should have come off that train ride. Now Nigel has a son, Conor Benn, Chris Eubank Sr has his son, Chris Eubank Jr and Steve Collins has his own son, Steve Collins Jr, it is clear to see that, as all three sons are professional boxers just who should be the Benn, Eubank, SR., Collins boxers of the 21st century and who should have their feet firmly up in the chair and snoring away reminiscing about the good old days; at least that is my opinion…

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