To paraphrase a Paul McCartney family member who, upon the occasion of her rock legend of a father finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, came out with a great and appropriate line – it’s about f*****g time the great Nigel Benn has been elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame!
Nigel Benn Finally Gets His Flowers
As fans may have read, the fighters who will be honoured at Canastota next June are: Benn, Gennady Golovkin, and Antonio Tarver.
Three fine fighters to be sure, but the focus here is on “The Dark Destroyer” finally getting the honour that his at times excellent fighting career so richly deserves. Indeed, as Benn retired way back in 1996, the question is, what took so darn long!
Benn, a world champion at middleweight and at super-middleweight, fought numerous wars in the ring; he scored many savage KO’s, and Benn had a red-hot, fan-friendly style and approach. As Benn put it himself, he loved a good “tear up.” And when we look back on Benn’s ring record, we see that he met and defeated some superb fighters.
Benn, who fought as a pro from January 1987 to November 1996, defeated the following excellent fighters:
The Dark Destroyer’s Legacy
Anthony Logan (this is one of the most incredible short fights ever seen, with Benn tearing victory from the jaws of defeat as he roared back from the brink by way of an astonishing knockout).
Doug DeWitt
Iran Barkley
Robbie Simms
Mauro Galvano
Nicky Piper
Chris Eubank (officially a draw, but most felt Benn had won the fight) was the rematch with Eubank.
Henry Wharton
Gerald McClellan
The savage, never-to-be-forgotten fight with “G-Man” McClellan is arguably Benn’s most famous fight, his career-defining fight. It’s a tragedy what happened to Gerald, of course, yet the sheer heart, desire, bravery, and refusal to quit that big underdog Benn showed on that February night in 1995 proved what a great, great warrior he really was.
Benn absolutely deserves to be a HOF fighter, no doubt about it. For a time, Benn, whether he fought in the UK, in the US, or in Italy, was the most exciting fighter on the planet. Benn was genuine Box-Office gold. And Benn never ducked anybody.
Benn’s final record reads 42-5-1(35,) and the final three losses on his record, against Thulani Malinga and Steve Collins X2, came at a time when Benn’s inner fire had gone out. In his prime, from 1992 to 1995, Benn went 11-0-1, with only the controversial draw with arch-rival Eubank blemishing his record.
Again, Benn deserves his honor. And it’s about f*****g time!
