Benn in the Hall?

His next fight with limited Jorge Amparo was his first abroad and the first to go the distance. After two more wins, he got his initial opportunity at a world championship and made the most of it. He duked it out for the WBO World Middleweight champion with Doug Dewitt. Benn captured the crown by knocking out the resilient and granite-chin DeWitt (who had lasted 12 rounds against Thomas Hearns) in the 8th round. His first defense came against former world champion Iran "The Blade" Barkley and after being badly rocked himself, he knocked out Barkley in round one in a furious and savage shoot-out which was Benn's trademark. Eventually, however, he lost the world title when he was knocked out in round nine by countryman, the flamboyant Chris Eubank.

In 1991, he ko'd the vastly underrated Robbie Sims and half-brother of Marvin Hagler. Sims had beaten Roberto Duran and many other top level fighters like Tony Chiaverini, Doug Dewitt, and John Collins. Reflective of Benn's power, that loss would be Robbie's only career stoppage defeat. He then embarked on another undefeated streak, this time reaching fifteen. After beating his future conqueror and world champion "Sugar Boy" Malinga by a 10 round decision, he won the WBC's world Super Middleweight title with a knockout in round four over defending world champion Mauro Galvano. After two more wins, he fought a rematch with with Eubank and retained his title with a twelve round draw. Next came tough Henry Wharton (undefeated coming in) and Juan Carlos Gimenez, both of whom he beat by decision.

I am not going to dwell on Benn's next fight (with the great bomber Gerald McClellan), for it has already received voluminous treatment, but I will not ignore it either and in this regard I quote Ian McNeilly who poignantly said, "The fight was one of the best and worst to ever take place. A triumphant and tragic microcosm of boxing." Clearly, it would change Nigel's life forever:....according to his trainer, the tragic results of that fight took away Nigel's fighting spirit.

Quoting McNeilly again, "The story of Gerald McClellan is a painful one, one that fighters, boxing writers and fans seem to find it easy not to discuss............This is because he is a living embodiment of the risks fighters take every time they step through the ropes, a reminder of the dangers that are ignored at peril. To dwell on cases like Gerald McClellan would destroy the sport. To ignore him is to debase ourselves." Hopefully, no serious boxing fan would ever ignore Gerald MeClellan.

The "Black Destroyer" would go on to beat future world champion Vincenzo Niardiello and game Danny Perez before losing to "Sugar Boy" Malinga the second time around by a 12 round decision. In so doing, he also would lose his WBC world title. Then, he was given a another chance at a world title.....this time the WBO's world title, but he lost to Steve Collins by 4th round knockout in Manchester (a fight in which controversy arose as to an injury to Benn's ankle)....and after losing the rematch, it was clear Nigel had come to the end of his glorious career. As writer Jack Dunne once said, ".....he lost to Steve Collins, twice by way of TKO, guess what? It was just Nigel's time, NOBODY fights forever. Father Time is STILL the undefeated, undisputed champion of the fight game, all times, all divisions."

Some say that Nigel Benn is mostly a "forgotten warrior" perhaps because he will forever be linked to Gerald McClellan and it is admittedly painful to think of him without remembering their tragic fight, one of the most brutal slugfests of all time. But if so, that is manifestly unfair. Any assessment of Benn must be based on his entertaining style and accomplishments in the ring. Again, to quote McNeilly, "...the many who watched saw a man [Benn] reach down into his inner being and summon something to destroy a force [McClellan] supposedly greater than himself [Gerald was a 4-1 favorite]. And as we looked on, amazed and enthralled, we cheered as life slipped away from a fellow man slumped, defeated, in his corner."

Whether he gets into the International Boxing Hall of Fame remains to be seen, but if he fails, it will not be because of his lack of providing incredible excitement and indelible memories for boxing fans throughout the world. Nigel Benn was an eccentric, a one of a kind and will not soon be forgotten by boxing aficionados.
He now lives with his family on the Spanish island of Mallorca where he became a Born-again Christian and, later on, an ordained pastor.

Well there it is. In recent weeks, I have done pieces on such Hall prospects as Vinny Paz, Hector Camacho, Riddick Bowe, Virgil Hill and Ray Mancini. In retrospect, I cannot help but feel Nigel Benn stacks up pretty darn well. After all, he was a two-time world champion who fought the best of UK competition at a time when that competition was keen and perhaps the best in the world, he beat two great American fighters, he always gave the crowd its money worth, and he finished with a great ko percentage.

As for those who say, "if you have to wonder about it, then he doesn't belong," I say baloney.....because I'll show you any number of fighters in the Hall where I would have had to "wonder about it."

What do you think?

"The British press hate a winner who's British. They don't like any British man to have balls as big as a cow's like I have.” Nigel Benn