BoxRec

As I am converting VHS to DVD im obviously watching some good ole British boxing. Ive just converted the Benn v Watson fight and before that fight Benn was knocking anyone in front of him out. There was one fight in the early days that didnt go to plan, (cant remember who it was who gave Benn a test early on) but Benn came through for another stoppage win. But early doors Benn stopped 20 opponents before he met Michael Watson.

I'm sure, as I am a true Benn fan we watch him in those 20 fights and was in awe of our British Mike Tyson. I watched more or less many of those fights and thought that Nigel Benn was the 'Messiah' or 'The Next Big Thing' for British boxing and those who promoted him must have been thinking that the bank account was going to be unlimited. However, was Nigel Benn a bloody good fighter or a bully? 20 fights and not a blemish (was it Logan who tested Benn?) or was that 20 fights that a mediocra raw puncher was taking out bums, or 'Mexican Road Sweepers?' as the media put it, and conning the British public in believing that Nigel Benn was better than he really was?

I'm sure in 2015 if this was happening (take Anthony Joshua for example) Benn knocking out these kind of boxers we would be saying Benn needs testing after 5 fights, but he had 20 before he met a decent young boxer who infact had hardly no media coverage at all. Michael Watson was kept under the radar for almost 5 years, Benn was on the tv in his first year as a pro. Watson faced a 'name' in his 8th fight, granted he was beaten on points, but went up the ladder so to speak in the opposition such as Don Lee, Ricky Stackhouse and Franklin Owens who had taken Michael Nunn 9 rounds and Michael Olijade 6. So while Benn was knocking out his opposition in good fashion Michael Watson was under the radar facing guys who had either been world champions at a later date or faced world champions.

This is not about Michael Watson though, in terms of the subject. Benn fought Watson and was a big favourate with the bookies that night at Finsbury Park. He was 'The Daddy'. it was soon clear that Benn was not going to do a number on Watson and in the 6th when Benn was hit in the eye I thought he was looking for a way out, thought about going down and then had second thoughts as the 'Benn Myth' would have been destroyed. I think that was clearly a learning curve for Benn getting beat by the better man. I'm not sure if Benn could have beaten Watson that night as Benn was a puncher, Watson had brains. I'm not sure how a rematch would have gone, Im tending to think Benn would have stayed away from him, no rematch. Watson had brains,, where Benn had bollocks.

Obviously we know the rest, but what do you guys think? Was Benn a bully? Was he a good world champion?

Good post fella

Yes It was Logan who nearly beat him. A lot like Tyson he thrived on intimidating his opponents but Benn could box, I think he genuinely thought he could blast Watson out. Maybe because he fought a lot of stiffs who fell as soon as he landed. He learnt he hard way that no matter how hard you hit you can't knock everyone out. He fought the completely wrong fight against Watson, if he slowed down who knows what would've happened. I think he always struggled against decent boxers but a world class fighter imo.

Fell in love with his power early doors and embraced the bad boy image that came with it, but after Watson he seemed to mature as a fighter and had some good wins until running into Eubank, but Benn rebuilt again becoming more of a thinking fighter and using controlled aggression so he could do 12 if necessary, so he may have started as a bit of a bully but ended up as a seasoned world class boxer IMO

Boxed completely on his back foot against Wharton, because Tibbs didn't want him involved. Great effort though, he won fair and square. Henry got a lot of money as well because they didn't want to come to Yorkshire. Good business, really, not cowardice. Can't call him a bully after what he achieved. Bullies don't get back in after the Gerald tragedy. Think there's more than a bit of truth in the "keeping the wrong company" theory... He's at Henry's gym on Wednesday. I'll call him a bully...

Controversial wrote:Yes It was Logan who nearly beat him. A lot like Tyson he thrived on intimidating his opponents but Benn could box, I think he genuinely thought he could blast Watson out. Maybe because he fought a lot of stiffs who fell as soon as he landed. He learnt he hard way that no matter how hard you hit you can't knock everyone out. He fought the completely wrong fight against Watson, if he slowed down who knows what would've happened. I think he always struggled against decent boxers but a world class fighter imo.

correct. I was watching this a couple of weeks ago funnily enough. I think Nigel's Mum and Dad came along and after that his Mum wouldn't go any more....something like that.


Michael Watson is my favourite fighter, along with Chris Eubank and Ali. Watson's fight against Benn in a tent is my favourite fight!

"There was nothing wrong with that panch!!"
Jim Watt

Most of the time a BIG puncher gets beat the BULLY word starts to flow re-Liston/Foreman/Mugabi/Duran/Tyson..etc.etc.etc
Benn was a fighter that was dodged by some of the biggest names in boxing at the time Leonard/Hearns/Duran were around when these matche's could have been made I'm not saying he would have beaten either one of the HOF i'v mentioned but that's the facts.

How could the bookies get the match up so wrong? If the fight happened tomorrow, based on the records of both fighters to that date I wonder if the odds would be different? TBH I never researched Watson's career record before the fight. I most likely didn't know who he had fought previously. I'm sure if this fight happened tomorrow we would be here with mixed feelings and predictions. Incidentially, for the older guys like myself who saw the action on the night, did anyone think Watson was going to win? I certainly did not.

mimmy123 wrote: Incidentially, for the older guys like myself who saw the action on the night, did anyone think Watson was going to win? I certainly did not.

i predicted a Watson win but that was mostly to be a bit different from everyone else on the schoolyard who were backing Benn. I was jubilant when Watson made me right, though.

mimmy123 wrote:How could the bookies get the match up so wrong? If the fight happened tomorrow, based on the records of both fighters to that date I wonder if the odds would be different? TBH I never researched Watson's career record before the fight. I most likely didn't know who he had fought previously. I'm sure if this fight happened tomorrow we would be here with mixed feelings and predictions. Incidentially, for the older guys like myself who saw the action on the night, did anyone think Watson was going to win? I certainly did not.

Bookies do it on purpose sometimes. They will have made more than if Benn won. We'd have all known it was a good match, but we're a tiny minority. The general public love the highlight reel.

Not a bully. A bully wouldn't even have pulled through the Logan war, let alone the later fights in which he showed he could take plenty of stick as well as dish it out. To me a bully is the kind of fighter who has an aggressive style but then either retires after a first defeat or never gets off the floor to win a fight - at that point there's a sense of "dishes it out but can't take it".

olij999 wrote:Not a bully. A bully wouldn't even have pulled through the Logan war, let alone the later fights in which he showed he could take plenty of stick as well as dish it out. To me a bully is the kind of fighter who has an aggressive style but then either retires after a first defeat or never gets off the floor to win a fight - at that point there's a sense of "dishes it out but can't take it".

Exactly. Nigel had more character than a bully. He was a warrior, not a bully.

The main thing I can say about Benn is the McClellan performance was the best and most inspiring I've ever seen in a boxing ring. Absolute warrior. Shame about the permanent injury though of course.

I love the McClellan fight but Nigel is so lucky not to have been stopped in the first. If he wasn't on home soil its a TKO1.

danamba7 wrote:The main thing I can say about Benn is the McClellan performance was the best and most inspiring I've ever seen in a boxing ring. Absolute warrior. Shame about the permanent injury though of course.

I dont think any British fighter could have done what Benn did that night in terms of coming through that war with a win. I agree with you, it was a very memorable fight and Benn did have bollox!

Benn was very well promoted from the get-go.

I remember seeing him interviewed on the Saint and Greavsie football show one Saturday dinner time and he was only in his first year or so as a pro (for some reason I remember that he was wearing this knitted woolly aran jumper !)

It was perceived like that at the time, that after blowing out all those opponents, Mike went and made him look like a mug, then knocked him out with a jab...but Nige went to the US and got redemption big time with the wild Barkley win, and of course the epic war with the G Man leaves no questions at all: Nigel Benn was the real McCoy.

Benn came back stronger and a better boxer after the Watson fight so I wouldn't say he was a bully, warrior is definitely the right word

Benn proved himself without doubt in the McClellan Fight what kind of fighter he really was deep down! A true British fighting warrior !

I don't think Nigel was a bully as he came through...but he had a unique attitude that was marketable, different and exciting. He was not going to be the 'humble' British prospect but rather a confident guy who was determined to go for it inside and outside the ring.

Personally, I don't think was a front entirely constructed for PR purposes....Nigel had a notably tough upbringing, had seen more than his fair share of genuinely nasty situations as a serving soldier and he approached boxing with a ruthless, unsentimental mindset. We are talking about someone who had seen alot of life before he turned professional and that influenced the way he fought and conducted himself. He was a 'dog eat dog' fighter as he emerged and was not afraid to express that fact very bluntly indeed.

Ambrose Mendy magnified exaggerated things - not always in a good, measured way - and in the lead-in to the Watson fight I think that Nigel got carried away by the acclaim he was getting and was not universally popular. That was a low point in and outside of the ring.

I suppose what happened post-Watson and and Eubank 1 was a fighter who matured technically and mentally. The same drive, desire and attitude was there but it was tempered by more tactical nous and a more wise approach to publicity. Somebody mentioned the Wharton fight, which I think was a very good example of Benn remaining focussed but in control of the fight itself and all the build-up that went with it.

aggressive and intense - not a bully

I used to train with a bloke who went to school with Nigel Benn (Loxford School) and he said Benn was a right p_k when he was younger.

Of all the big-time British boxers over the last 20 years or so, I'd say Naz showed the clearest signs of being a bully. All went great whilst he was ko'ing lower level fighters, but he became less happy when he couldn't ko everybody as the fights got tougher & tougher at world level. Then effectively retired as soon as he lost for the first time (granted he did have one more hugely disappointing fight which showed he'd completely lost his self-belief). Obviously I know all the stories about him not training & relying on his power etc, but the way his career panned out pretty much defines him as a bully imo.

Eddy wrote:I used to train with a bloke who went to school with Nigel Benn (Loxford School) and he said Benn was a right p_k when he was younger.

Isn't everyone?

What would the outcome have been in fight between Nigel Benn and Marvin Hagler, both of whom campaigned for good periods at middleweight? Prime for prime I'm talking. I get middle and super-middle mixed up quite a bit.
And also, prime Hagler prime Eubank? Would the New Jersey man have had too much for both? I think they're close fights personally.