“The Dark Destroyer”: Part One.

Chris Eubank calls him the most terrifying man he has ever met, Steve Collins claims no one hit him harder, before or since; only seven of his forty-two ring victims survived his fury and made it to the final bell, though whether in one piece or not is another story. I’m talking about Nigel Benn, a.k.a. “The Dark Destroyer.” At his meanest, he almost seemed

like pure, uncontrollable aggression in human form, gnarling and foaming at the mouth, ready to destroy any man or beast put in front of him. Benn, giving new meaning to the phrase punching with “bad intentions,” burst onto the scene in 1987 and with only one of his first twenty-two opponents making it past the fourth round you could say he made something of an impression. The public loved him; he was charismatic but also had a mean streak, which along with his all action style made him an instant hit with the fans.

In the early going he was crude, astonishingly reckless at times and as is often the case with punchers, he showed he could be hurt himself, a perceived vulnerability that funnily enough made him even more exciting, you just didn’t know what to expect. Against Anthony Logan, a decent journeyman type, he was floored in the first and on the receiving end of a hurtful twenty-two punch flurry in the second. Benn, as he would go on to demonstrate throughout his career, was at his most dangerous when he was hurt. Reminiscent of a wounded tiger he lashed out ferociously, pinned against the ropes and on the verge of being stopped, he winged an earth shattering left hook that caught the on rushing Logan flush and sent him into a state of unconsciousness.

Benn’s ever growing popularity soared through the roof after this dramatic victory, his kill or be killed attitude had made him a household name. He was now the commonwealth middleweight champion and set to face the toughest opponent of his career thus far, Michael Watson.

Watson was a brilliantly schooled fighter; with a 21-1-1 record, he was undoubtedly one of the top middleweights in Europe, but that’s not to say he enjoyed the same kind of celebrity status as Benn, in fact he was a virtual unknown as far as the general public were concerned. Despite being a superb technician, Watson had never garnered much attention because he was unable to capture the casual fans imagination by scoring the Tyson-esque highlight reel knockouts that Benn was producing. The stage was set though for the two to meet. Watson as I said was a strong, capable fighter who was expected to test Benn but ultimately wilt under the young lions vicious assaults.

His copy of the script presumably got lost in the post. Benn came out like a caged animal while Watson was content to cover up and take the incoming bombs on his arms and gloves, cleverly waiting for openings to fire his sharp, accurate counters. After throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Watson and not budging him, a dejected and exhausted Benn was dropped for the full count in round six. It was a shocking defeat. Benn fell into Watson’s trap, he punched himself out then got taken out; on the night, he was outsmarted, outmaneuvered and outfought by a superior pugilist.

It was now time to reevaluate his career and make a fresh start. Nigel Benn headed to America.

After knocking out his first twenty-two opponents, Benn surprisingly had to settle for points wins in two of his next three fights, against Jorge Amparo and Sanderline Williams. With his stamina in serious question after the Watson disaster and his confidence perhaps somewhat dented, I’m sure getting those rounds under his belt did him the world of good as he headed into a clash with the well known and durable WBO middleweight champion Doug DeWitt. Benn had to climb off the canvas in the second but came back impressively to stop the American in eight exciting rounds, seemingly rediscovering his formidable power to capture his first world title.

Benn was now set to lock horns with Iran Barkley, the man who a couple of years earlier shocked the world when he wiped out the great Tommy Hearns in three rounds. It was a dream match-up, neither man knew how to take a backward step and they could both crack. The fight had explosive written all over it and it didn’t disappoint. Although it was all over in less than a round, the action was so fierce and intense it will always be remembered as an all time great slugfest. Benn prevailed; the referee stopped the fight after he floored Barkley three times in the opening minutes, it was a great victory and without a doubt the highpoint of his young career.

His move to America had been an overwhelming success, Benn had turned his career around but there was still the matter of some unfinished business back home that needed to taken care of, it went by the name of Chris Eubank.

Make sure to revisit us soon for the second part of the Nigel Benn story, only at SaddoBoxing.com