Happy birthday Nigel Benn

[deadpan]

51 today. My favourite fighter to watch. Anyone think he couldn't have seen off Saunders and Eubank Jr in the same night at a similar stage on his career?

[littlepug]

He would've given the current crop of middles fits

[SteveDow]

Benn v GGG at middleweight would have been a barnburner while it lasted!

[milpool]

Benn v GGG at middleweight would have been a barnburner while it lasted!

Oof! Now that's a fight that would have me literally soiling myself with excitement!

The fact that Benn's 51 today is making me feel very old...

[rossij8]

Benn v GGG at middleweight would have been a barnburner while it lasted!

One of the best fights of all time

[bigjack]

Benn v GGG at middleweight would have been a barnburner while it lasted!

One of the best fights of all time

Throw Tommy Hearns into the mix, light the blue touch paper then stand well back.

[danamba7]

Benn v GGG at middleweight would have been a barnburner while it lasted!

Great fantasy fight. I would back the Benn that beat McClellan even against GGG.

[Rexob]

Happy birthday "The Dark Destroyer"

[stevedoc]

I was sitting in a cafe reading the boxing news 25 years ago it was about Michael Nunn and I hear a voice ask if it's alright if he sits on my table I say yeah and look up and it's Nigel benn ,I go to say isn't it ironic that I'm reading the boxing news about Nunn and you walk in and instead mumble some gibberish, benn the looks at me like a nutter and moves to another table ,I was about 20 and he was reigning champ....

[Syntax Error]

51 today. My favourite fighter to watch. Anyone think he couldn't have seen off Saunders and Eubank Jr in the same night at a similar stage on his career?

He certainly would have done.

Those two haven't got near to Benn's level yet.

PS: Happy birthday to the Dark Destroyer.

[Rexob]

I was sitting in a cafe reading the boxing news 25 years ago it was about Michael Nunn and I hear a voice ask if it's alright if he sits on my table I say yeah and look up and it's Nigel benn ,I go to say isn't it ironic that I'm reading the boxing news about Nunn and you walk in and instead mumble some gibberish, benn the looks at me like a nutter and moves to another table ,I was about 20 and he was reigning champ....

You sure it was Benn

[stevedoc]

I was sitting in a cafe reading the boxing news 25 years ago it was about Michael Nunn and I hear a voice ask if it's alright if he sits on my table I say yeah and look up and it's Nigel benn ,I go to say isn't it ironic that I'm reading the boxing news about Nunn and you walk in and instead mumble some gibberish, benn the looks at me like a nutter and moves to another table ,I was about 20 and he was reigning champ....

You sure it was Benn

Yeah only lived about 2 miles away at the time and I now know the owner who has a signed picture of benn up in the cafe.......felt a bit gutted at the time as I had his poster on my wall

[Bodyshot3]

My favourite fighter and without a shadow of a doubt.....so happy birthday champ.

Watching Benn really go straight at someone and absolutely loaded with bad intentions, and especially when he was not fancied for the job or coming back from a defeat, was always spine-tingling stuff.

The DeWitt and Barkley fights are two of my favourite contests....Benn 'unleashed' stateside was a short but explosive part of his career. The way he took it right to Barkley in Vegas was epic and later down the line I loved the way he went over to Italy and just put the hammer down on Galvano...no need for the judges that night or any room for a hometown robbery, Benn rode into town and beat the guy into the canvas. Great, great nights.

He had his faults - sometimes he failed to pace himself and could lose his head and completely forget about defence - and Eubank and Watson exploited those shortcomings. But give me Benn, pumped-up and ready to throw bombs, over Eubank any day. Eubank fiddled and bored us rigid against Dan Sherry....Nigel almost landed Sherry in Row Z!!

[littlepug]

Liked the way he was smart enough to become more of a thinking fighter later in his career, not sure he would've beaten Wharton in his earlier years but it would've been a cracker

[rd350lc]

One of the best to come from these shores , really dangerous when he got hurt himself and never knew when he was beat , the fight against Mccllelan was one of the most brutal iv'e ever seen and I think he gave so much to british boxing

[deadpan]

'They only brought him over here to beat me up.....'

[littlepug]

And in most peoples opinion Benn isn't even the best or second best middle/supermiddle from these shores, just shows how much depth we've always had in those divisions.

[rd350lc]

'They only brought him over here to beat me up.....'

"you made a believer out of me" and " Mike Mcallum is in a bad way over there" came just before that if I remember right

[littlepug]

Mike McCallum ?

[rd350lc]

yep , Gary Newbons finest hour, called Mcclellan Mccallum

[littlepug]

yep , Gary Newbons finest hour

Bloody hell never noticed that before !

[deadpan]

Newbon always knew squat diddly about boxing. They might as well have employed Gary Numan.

[rd350lc]

apparently Mcclelland beat Roy Jones jr as an amateur really summing up how good Nigel Benn was

[littlepug]

Newbon always knew squat diddly about boxing. They might as well have employed Gary Numan.

He was a terrible interviewer but I think he was a genuine fan of the sport and I liked his fight night series, what night did that show go out ? my heads telling me Tuesday night but that doesn't sound right

[banjo]

yep , Gary Newbons finest hour, called Mcclellan Mccallum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvbTGAtPEZc