http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TVgkCN_1aE


After the farce of Haye-Harrison, I felt obliged to make up for English boxing by showing you this.


Had an evening with him last night (dinner, photo's, talk, etc) and what a cool dude. Took time for everyone and was a real gent.



PS: Can someone make the link into the video thumbnail? Cheers!

Great video. What an amazing man. He had such presence, such character, so much heart, a pleasure to watch. It was his war with Eubank that first turned me on to the sport 20 years ago.

Although it obviously ended in tragic circumstances, his win against McClennan really highlighted his blood and guts determination and strength of character. Out of interest how did Benn stack up against the middleweights/super middlewights of his era?

Roll, was that the do in Spalding? I was gonna go to that but had to pull out.

Yeah, Benn back in the day, was a proper fighters fighter. He'd have a go against anybody and really didn't care who he fought or where he fought them. Technically he wasn't the best but he had the heart of a champion. I remember his fight when he was on the way up against Anthony Logan. Completely out on his feet, on the verge of being stopped, Benn swung a left and a right (might have been the other way around), one connected clean and Logan was unconscious.

I used to go to a lot of Benn fights, that whole era was the golden age of British boxing in my life time. Top bloke.

Great fighter, much respect for this man....but I can't help but somewhat hold a grudge against him for what happened to Mclennan (even though it was completely unintentional and alll part of the game) since Mclennan is/was one of my favorite fighters and to see how he is now is so tragic

It was in Burton, Maxy.


It was a good little show and he came across as such a gentleman. Someone asked him about the McCellan fight and he started to answer it but welled up and asked for another question.

I remember as a youngster watching benns first fight with michael watson on abc's wide world of sports.. id never heard of either guy back then but i set the vcr and set back and watched one of the best fights id ever seen... i became a fan of both of them instantly and a fan of british boxing.... made me wonder what kind of fighters where hiding over there that we didnt see over here... then came eubanks and the other guys and i was in awe... this was well before the internet is what it is today... dude was a beast...

Top man JLuv. The atmosphere for that fight with Watson was up there with the best I have ever seen for any fight ever. Amazing. Benn was 22-0 with 22 knockouts. Watson was smart though. He covered up on the ropes brilliantly, taking hard shots on the arms, getting caught occasionally but his plan worked a treat. By the 6th round Benn was completely spent and Watson stopped him. Benn was a sure bet to win that fight but when it became obvious he wasn't going to get Michael out of there the writing was on the wall. Benn did slightly change his reckless style after that defeat but at the end of the day he was always the sort of guy who wanted a tear up. His defeat to Eubank, although not executed in the same fashion, bore the hallmarks of that Watson fight. Eubank, despite being the unfashionable underdog, managed to take huge Benn shots and eventually stopped Nigel in the 9th round, winning me a packet I must add, haha.

My first knowledge of Nigel came about when he posted a full page advert in the British trade paper boxing news around 1987 challenging Rod Douglas to a fight. Douglas was the only man to beat Benn as an amateur and Nigel wanted to set the record straight. They never boxed as pro's with Douglas suffering a life threatening brain injury during his bout with Herol Graham in 1989.

Benn was excellent entertainment. The British Mike Tyson some might say, with his black shorts and his all action coming for the KO style. He proved to have a bigger heart than Mike in the end and was a great representative of English boxing. A proper character. There isn't anyone in England, or anywhere else for that matter, like him at the moment. The McClellan fight was controversial but epic and it defined what Nigel Benn was all about. A tragedy that it ended up the way it did, rather than just being a magnificent fight with no repercussions. Benn was never the same man after that fight either.

Benn was also colorful outside the ring. His association with the notorious Essex Boys (check out Rise of the Foot soldier for their story) adds to the mans personality. He wasn't mentioned in that film but one of them accompanied him into the ring for one of his fights at least.

Back then I regularly went to Eubank and Benn fights. They were polar opposites but I loved them both and we don't make em like that no more!

Watson got ROBBED vs Eubank..

YASSIR HE DID... Watson was the best of those 3 and if he hadnt gotten hurt no telling how his career would have turned out...

How could I have missed this thread??

Nigel Benn was one of my DUDES......I mean...who couldn't like The Dark Destroyer?....he's gotta be right up there with Gatti as one of the best/most entertaining, B grade fighters in Modern Boxing History...

He is appreciated.

it dont matter now but the ref should have stopped mcclellans onslaught in the first or second round... it wasnt and we know the outcome but i wish i knew when the damage ws actually done in that fight... thats the scary thing bout that fight... the longer we keep watching those things are gonna happen again and again... its only matter of time till we see another fighter that doesnt ever get up... part of what makes our sport what it is i suppose...

It's been done to death but McClellan had issues before the Benn fight and if you want to blame anybody for the state of Gerald now you need look no further than Don King.

End of the day it was a terrific battle, a proper war. Benn proved himself that night.

I think his destruction of Barkley, win over McClellan and draw with Eubank (most believe Benn won that one) put him slightly above B level.

Barkley.


Benn said at the dinner show that he knew he had him at the weigh in - he looked scared and as soon as the weigh in was over he wanted to get at him asap. He said he knew he would crumble.

^^ my bad...there should've been a video link in there!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyw_v1sN-58