BoxRec

Terry D wrote:

sg1985 wrote:Do you think the Mcclellan fight took anything out of him? given what happened?

Physically, yes. Mentally, I'd say no as he hit Perez with some vicious shots. Nigel also wanted to KO Nardiello but could not get to the Italian, who was almost KO'd by hiw own boxing boots! Malinga was always a tough fight for Benn and by the time he fought Steve he had given all he had to give.

Terry D wrote:

sg1985 wrote:

Terry D wrote: It was there in Perez. Nardiello was a false test as the Italian spent much of the fight slipping and sliding on the canvas. Benn still had it in him but a lot had been taken. The Malinga fight really finished what had been started in the fight with Gerald.

Pity, he should have had Nardiello and Perez, for the Wembley glory, and then called it a day. Malinga II was a crazy one to take.

He definitely wasn't the same come Malinga but he had a good go at him, hurt him badly when he dropped him, the Benn who fought Collins was almost unrecognisable to a few years earlier. How do you think Collins would have faired with a younger Benn?

The Benn who took on Wharton would have beaten him. The gung-ho Benn may have blown himself out and lost. Unlikely though, Collins was in the right place at the right time. Benn was a better fighter than Steve in my opinion.

Hurting is one thing, a fighter doesn't lose power but he wasn't able to close the show, unlike Roy Jones, who brushed Malinga aside.

Terry D wrote:

sg1985 wrote:

Terry D wrote: It was there in Perez. Nardiello was a false test as the Italian spent much of the fight slipping and sliding on the canvas. Benn still had it in him but a lot had been taken. The Malinga fight really finished what had been started in the fight with Gerald.

Pity, he should have had Nardiello and Perez, for the Wembley glory, and then called it a day. Malinga II was a crazy one to take.

He definitely wasn't the same come Malinga but he had a good go at him, hurt him badly when he dropped him, the Benn who fought Collins was almost unrecognisable to a few years earlier. How do you think Collins would have faired with a younger Benn?

The Benn who took on Wharton would have beaten him. The gung-ho Benn may have blown himself out and lost. Unlikely though, Collins was in the right place at the right time. Benn was a better fighter than Steve in my opinion.

Hurting is one thing, a fighter doesn't lose power but he wasn't able to close the show, unlike Roy Jones, who brushed Malinga aside.

Terry D wrote:

mickey1975 wrote: The other day you said Wharton was "top 15".Does the fact Nigel chose to box him change your opinion?Or the fact he hit him with absolutely everything he had,but never even budged him?Henry would quite gladly have gone into the trenches with him...

Erm, nope. Why not box him? Wharton was hard to shift and tough so Benn did the right thing. Ditto Lewis with Tua. The fact Lewis elected to box Tua doesn't suddenly elevate David to the top ten heavyweights of all time. Henry was a very good British fighter with big shots and a solid chin, Benn did the right thing.

Terry D wrote:

Counter-puncher wrote:

coghaugen11 wrote:Just watched Benn-Watson again and it is such a brilliant performance by Watson, and yes his offence is overlooked in this fight - he hits Nigel with every shot in the book. The 2nd round is a nearly flawless display of boxing from Watson: blocking all of Nigel's phenomenal hooks from all angles while placing in lots of jabs, lead right-left hook 1-2's, uppercut-jab 1-2's, angled lefts and angled body punches. Don't think Benn got a punch in in that round of boxing.

Benn was always a gifted impulse fighter and the most natural of power-punchers, his game was mostly about athletic prowess right the way through to the Collins fights really. I think Watson beat Benn near his best, based on this. Sure Nigel could have paced himself better, that's clear. But he was at his peak physically and this showed in the opening round of his fight. Even in round six, the round he fell, he was posing a clear threat still.

You can't really say Benn was at his peak in the Watson fight .

Terry D wrote:

mickey1975 wrote:Who's the Leeds kid?I will know him.The only one who springs to mind is Luke Robinson,but even he has a long way to go.Despite what people say about Henry,he was very well schooled,a decorated amateur,and the UNDEFEATED British,Commonwealth and European champion

Danny Wright. Saw him a few years back, he was lucky to get by Tony Randell and he had a bit of a Wharton-esque look to him. Probably sounds a bit daft now!

Terry D wrote:

Counter-puncher wrote:
from the way i read it, he said 'his game was mostly about athletic prowess' (i mostly agree), that vs Watson he was 'at his peak physically' (again I agree) and in overall boxing terms 'near his best' (that i agree less with.)

Can't agree that he was at his physical peak either. He had more to offer physically a year later versus Chris and even more in the tank during the McClellan fight (out of the ring early, battered and then floored late but comes back strong) than he did in both the Watson fight and the Eubank fight.

He was younger in those fights but in terms of stamina and physical maturity I'd put his physical peak at a later time, and tack it in during the period when he was also at his best as an all-round boxer. Could the Benn who was KO'd by Watson box 12 disciplined rounds with Jimenez and do 12 with Eubank (in the draw)? I'd say no, there was no sign that he could do this back then.

I don't think that original post was one of Cohaugen's best to be honest