Nigel Benn

Nigel Gregory Benn (born 22 January 1964) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1996.

Benn was born in Ilford, East London, on 22 January 1964.

Benn joined the British Army Royal Regiment of Fusiliers at the age of 18.

He was stationed in West Germany for three years, and then in Northern Ireland for eighteen months.

On leaving the army, Benn joined West Ham Amateur Boxing Club.

Benn turned professional in 1987 and began a streak of 22 consecutive knockout wins.

At the regional level, he held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1988 to 1989.

He scored notable wins over Champions Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley, Thulani Malinga, Mauro Galvano and Gerald McClellan.

Nicknamed "The Dark Destroyer" for his formidable punching power, Benn retired with a 83.3% knockout ratio.

During this time, Benn won the vacant Commonwealth middleweight title with a second-round win over Abdul Umaru, at Alexandra Pavilion on 20 April 1988.

His best-known fights include the successful world middleweight title defence against Iran Barkley in 1989; the two all-British world title contests against Chris Eubank in 1990 and 1993 (Nigel Benn vs. Chris Eubank), and the successful—but tragic—defence of his world super-middleweight title against Gerald McClellan in 1995 (Nigel Benn vs. Gerald McClellan).

In the build to his ring walks, Big Ben would often chime before he made his entrance to music.

in May 1989 Benn (22-0, 22 KOs) lost his Commonwealth title against Michael Watson in a heavily anticipated bout at Finsbury Park, London (Nigel Benn vs. Michael Watson).

The fight appeared on national television in the US.

In the sixth round, Watson knocked Benn down with a jab and Benn was counted out as he rose to his feet.

His next fight against Jorge Amparo in Atlantic City, U.S. was his first fight abroad and the first to last the full distance, with Benn winning a 10-round decision.

After two more wins, against Sanderline Williams and Jose Quinones, Benn fought WBO middleweight title holder Doug DeWitt of the US in Atlantic City.

Benn was knocked down in round two, but came back to knock DeWitt down in round three.

Benn scored three knockdowns in round eight to win the title.

He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and the WBC super-middleweight title from 1992 to 1996.

He is considered one of the best Super Middleweights of all time.

His first defence came in August 1990 against former WBC champion Iran Barkley.

Benn won via the three-knockdown rule at the end of the first round.

Benn returned to the UK and met British rival Chris Eubank three months later.

They fought in Birmingham on 18 November 1990.

Benn lost his title to Eubank in the ninth round after the referee stepped in and declared a win for Eubank via Technical knockout.

Beginning in 1991 with a seventh-round KO victory over Robbie Sims(Marvin Hagler's half-brother), Benn went on a winning streak of six fights leading to another world title challenge.

Other noteworthy wins in this period include a disputed decision win against Thulani Malinga and a one-punch KO victory against Dan Sherry.

On 10 October 1992, Benn successfully challenged Mauro Galvano for the WBC super-middleweight title in Palaghiaccio de Marino, Marino, Lazio, Italy.

Galvano was unable to continue in the third due to a severe cut, and—after a controversial dispute at ringside over the official result—Benn was declared the winner by technical decision.

While still a dangerous and damaging puncher, Benn's move to the higher weight limit saw him refine his fight strategy and adopt a more considered approach.

The aggression remained but he relied less on one-punch knockout power and became a more effective, and adaptable fighter.

He defended his title against fellow Britons Nicky Piper and Lou Gent, and a rematch victory over Mauro Galvano, before again Chris Eubank—who was now WBO super-middleweight champion—in a unification bout on 9 October 1993.

The bout ended in a draw, with both fighters retaining their respective titles.

Benn defended his title twice more in 1994 with unanimous decisions against Henry Wharton and Juan Carlos Giminez Ferreyra.

In February 1995, Benn successfully defended his 168 lb title against WBC middleweight champion Gerald McClellan in a highly anticipated bout billed as Sudden Impact.

Going into the fight McClellan had won his last 21 fights—the last 14 of those by knockout; with 13 of those knockouts in the first three Rounds.

McClellan had twice defeated the renowned power-puncher Julian Jackson, with knockouts in Round 5 and Round 1 respectively.

McClellan had never been beyond Round 8 in any of his previous fights, insisting that he rarely needed more than three rounds to defeat his opponents.

Round 1 saw Benn knocked through the ropes as McClellan asserted himself in dominant fashion and looked to be good to his word.