Nigel Benn - A reality check!!!

In no way is this meant as detrimental to the dark destroyer.......I have great respect for this guy.

Loved to watch Benn fight. Gave value for money and is one of the best supermiddleweights of all time.....

However history is being very kind to him and just a few things to ponder..

1. The supermiddleweight division is a relatively new division..and not a blue riband one..

2. Lost to Watson and Eubank in his pomp......The two best Brits around...

3. His greatest win was a belter against Mclellan but Mclellan like Mugabi had been fed stiffs...The fact they picked on Benn probably shows how he was considered across the pond.

4. Lost badly to Collins twice........Second time he quit!! which seems to be forgiven all to easily..given the ferocity of abuse other fighters get on here for doing it!!

5. Barkley was his other best win and he was no more than a lucky clubfighter.....He'd struggled with a 38 year old Duran and had his butt kicked off Jorge amparo on cable.....Dewitt well he was another journeyman really..

Benn had heart, skill and great dedication and deserves plaudits for a quality career........but I've noticed it's very easy to accentuate the positive and forget the negative with this guy.........

He could never be above Eubank for me... who's wins against Benn and Watson twice alone are enough to put him higher....

A great supermiddle for sure but like I said Supermiddle is still in it's infancy....but good luck to him!!

The loss against Sugarboy Malinga was pretty detrimental to his legacy.

First Watson fight he was more bothered about his haircut than the fight and paid. Young, brash, lesson learnt. No shame in Eubank 1 or 2, lost one and drew one against a top tier fighter. For the Collins fight he was passed it but even a passed it fighter should have beaten the South African.

I left Malinga out because he had beaten him before and every fighter can have a bad night...

As I say it's not a hatchet piece but my appraisal of a very good fighter..

Not sure Collins didn't have his number....

Much of what you say is true, Truss, but who exactly needs the reality check? As far as I can see, most people are pretty fair and on the money when it comes to weighing up Benn and his career; very good fighter but not without notable vulnerabilities, who basically won and lost in equal measure when he faced the best on offer.

Severe-mma might be talking of him besting Jones, Toney, Eubank, Hopkins etc all in the same Super Six tournament had they done it twenty years back or so, but I can assure you he's very much in the minority!

He's generally remembered by the serious fans as a great value for money fighter, one of the best Brits of his era but not of all eras, which is pretty much exactly what his talents and achievements merit. Perhaps gets a few extra browny points for his big personality, charisma and the fact that he loved a tear up rather than a chess match, but I don't think his standing is particularly overinflated.

He's generally remembered above Eubank.....

I don't agree. I would certainly rate him above Eubank and Watson. He was green when he lost to Watson and split his fights 1-1 with Eubank in reality. Of course neither of them (Eubank or Benn) would have had any chance at all against Jones, Toney or Hopkins.

Barkley had run Nunn extremely close prior to the fight with Benn and would go on to outpoint Hearns - the only person to actually decision Hearns in his whole career. Barkley was in fine form and nobody before or since destroyed him the way Benn did.

The McClellan win was big. He was highly rated and had quick KO wins over Jacskson (x2) and Mugabi.

He was finished by the Collins fights and subsequently retired.

Add to that the Benn's list of wins against good quality B-level opposition I think you have the best of the British 90's middles / super middles.

Eubank is the terribly overrated fighter. More often than not he looked lazy and clumsy. All those defences - trouble is he only won about half of them. So many dodgy close fights - Sherry, Watson I, Malinga, Thornton, Close, Benn II, Rocchigiani, Close II, Amaral, Schommer. What's his biggest win? Benn?

All this green garbage....Hoppo was green when he lost to Jones jr!!....etc etc...

That's right he gives Jones a lesson at any other time.....

The Eubank that beat Benn do anything more than watson did??......

Barkley didn't run Nunn close at all....Have you seen the fight??? Didn't land anything of significance.

I saw Barkley growing up Mate......Saw him against Sims, Amparo and Kalambay...and struggled with an ancient Duran..

Never more than ordinary ..lost .9-0 to Toney...

Eubanks wins against Watson and Benn put him above..

Don't make Barkley into something he's not..

Well I think Benn was very green when he faced Watson. Punched himself out and then tripped over a jab. The Benn that beat DeWitt would have outpointed Watson. The first Eubank fight was completely different and Eubank did far more than Watson did.

I also saw Barkley growing up: and Hearns. Who he beat twice and those wins sandwiched the KOby1 to Benn. It's a big win and Barkley was a tough guy. Have you seen the fight?

The whole Eubank, Benn Watson merry-go-round was exposed by McCallum when he outclassed Watson so comprehensively. Benn has quality wins outside their triangle and that puts him class apart.

But If Liston had beaten Ali...he would have been green!!

Eubank to beat Benn in the first fight was the first bet i ever made. i was quite young at the time but i couldnt understand how my dad and all his friends were so sure Benn was better just because they liked him so much. he was very exciting and truly knew how to manipulate the viewers into thinking they should cheer for him. i think hatton learned a lot from Benn to be honest. but he was always vulnerable due to his arrogance. he regularly punched himself out and had slightly limited skills to fall back on once his power started to erode half way through a fight. but even to this day, he has die hard fans who think they should cheer him on and make him out to be the best, even now Benn is playing the humble card.

Very similar to Benn was Hatton...Lance.

Both had a huge following and their fans still let their heart rule there heads..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:But If Liston had beaten Ali...he would have been green!!

Only if he'd gone on to become a great heavyweight. Otherwise he'd just not have been as good.

Lance wrote:... he regularly punched himself out and had slightly limited skills to fall back on once his power started to erode half way through a fight. ...

Not a criticism it's easy to level against Eubank as he often barely threw a punch.

Certainly did a number on Benn and Watson without throwing any..

Eubank was an under achiever. he probably lost a few of the fights he was credited as winning, simply because he was lazy. but when his back was to the wall and he felt he had a point to prove, Eubank was a far superior fighter. if he'd had the same hunger for the second Benn fight that he did for the first, i think he would have stoped him again. unfortunately we never saw that same hunger from Eubank again until the Thompson fight first time around.

Agreed......Loved to have seen Eubank-Mccallum..

fearlessBamber wrote:

Lance wrote:... he regularly punched himself out and had slightly limited skills to fall back on once his power started to erode half way through a fight. ...

Not a criticism it's easy to level against Eubank as he often barely threw a punch.

Eubanks conditioning was very poor at times, and i think it certainly limited his achievements. but he had better skills to fall back on. thats why he was never stopped until his last fight on a cut

I don't think Eubank was that skilful. He had a first class chin and heart and an impressive presence in the ring. This allowed him to pose his way through rounds and fights and still get the nod. He 'acted' skilful and composed whilst getting out boxed by likes of Close and Sherry.

Eubank McCallum would have been a lopsided UD for the Body Snatcher. His jab alone could win him that fight.

fearlessBamber wrote:Well I think Benn was very green when he faced Watson. Punched himself out and then tripped over a jab. The Benn that beat DeWitt would have outpointed Watson. The first Eubank fight was completely different and Eubank did far more than Watson did.

I also saw Barkley growing up: and Hearns. Who he beat twice and those wins sandwiched the KOby1 to Benn. It's a big win and Barkley was a tough guy. Have you seen the fight?

The whole Eubank, Benn Watson merry-go-round was exposed by McCallum when he outclassed Watson so comprehensively. Benn has quality wins outside their triangle and that puts him class apart.

Never in a million years would Benn beat Watson. Watson was simply a better boxer. The only advantage Benn had was single power punches.

The problem with Eubank was that he looked awful fighting guys who did not come forward. Benn was made for him in every way. Take away the Watson injury and Eubank would have knocked out Benn in the rematch.

azania wrote:Never in a million years would Benn beat Watson. Watson was simply a better boxer. The only advantage Benn had was single power punches.

The only name fighter Watson ever beat was the ultra green Benn. He did this by covering up whilst Benn basically punched himself out on purpose. Watson's record is sparse for obvious reasons and rating him highly is highly speculative.

Never saw Watson display any really impressive boxing ability. He was extremely brave and had a good engine and chin. McCallum showed him his level.

Lets not forget that Watson was also green.

You must have missed the Eubank fights when he was arguably robbed of victory in the first fight and were it not for that Hail Mary punch he would have defeated Eubank again.

You have ot question the ref who didn't give the standing 8. Had he done that, the bell would have gone and who knows what would have happened.

Not saying that he should be rated higher than Benn, but he was the better fighter.

I agree he won the first Eubank fight, but getting robbed against Eubank does not put him in great company!

fearlessBamber wrote:I agree he won the first Eubank fight, but getting robbed against Eubank does not put him in great company!

Didn't say he was great. My point was that he was the better boxer between him and Benn.I was at the MacCullum fight and never in a million years would Watson beat MM. Watson entered that fight rusty and with a disruptive camp culminating with a broken nose. If he had perfect prep, MM would still would have beaten him. Styles etc.

Well I can't see Watson as a better boxer than Benn. When he cupped his hands around his face he was not in a position to counter, his jab lacked snap and he seemed to rely on throwing counter rights hooks whilst trundling forwards. He had a repetitive style and lacked versatility.

fearlessBamber wrote:Well I can't see Watson as a better boxer than Benn. When he cupped his hands around his face he was not in a position to counter, his jab lacked snap and he seemed to rely on throwing counter rights hooks whilst trundling forwards. He had a repetitive style and lacked versatility.

Fair enough. Watch the Benn fight again and how he controlled it with his left for the first 4 rounds before opening up and being mindful of Benn's wild swings. As for repetitive, watch his fight with Don Lee and the Eubank fights.

I've always been a big fan of Benn but can see his limitations.

However I'm going to have to watch Eubank v Benn II as I haven't seen it for years. I'd always had it as a Benn win. Maybe it was a bit of young bias.

spencerclarke wrote:I've always been a big fan of Benn but can see his limitations.

However I'm going to have to watch Eubank v Benn II as I haven't seen it for years. I'd always had it as a Benn win. Maybe it was a bit of young bias.

I had it a Benn win even with the dubious point deduction. Eubank got away with his fair share of dodgy decisions. Not least Dan Sherry who for some reason was allowed to outbox him and after Eubank got 2 points deducted, he should have lost.