Nigel Benn 91st On 100 Greatest Punchers?

i guess d compilers of d list even let themselves 2 get swayed by d Benn hype .
I think that Benn , Jackson and Mugabi r grossly overr8ed as punchers . who were their top stoppage victims that mattered when they stopped them ?


Evan Fields >>>> Nigel Benn as a puncher .
I also think that Eubanks & McCallum >>>> Nigel Benn as punchers .

 

The perfectly-timed walk-in short counter overarm right that dropped Malinga heavily seems to have escaped your attention.

 

I'm well aware that Benn dropped Malinga in their second fight thanks, but Malinga wasn't hurt (unlike when Eubank and Jones dropped him) and he bounced stright up and returned to what he had been doing before hand, giving (the past prime) Benn a comprehensive boxing lesson, which he had done to a prime Benn in their first fight to a lesser extent.

 

To be fair he did fight a few other skilled boxers Watson, Malinga, Sanderline Williams, etc but your right he didn't stop them and his record isn't great against them either, 3-2-1, including Eubank.

 

Very difficult to score the Williams and Malinga fights for him also.

 

He proved his power by being the only man to KO Robbie Sims (and Gerald for that matter), and nearly took Iran off his feet in 2-3 seconds.

 

u really xpose your bias by giving him any credit 4 his "KO" over "Gerald" .

 

:rofl

Pretty much summarizes Nigel Benn. One of his best performances was against a disinterested, unmotivated, horribly ill prepared, brain damaged fighter who aquired a aneurysm during the fight yet was still beating Benn by a wide margin on the cards when he had to stop due to his brain injuries.

 

1. Julian Jackson
2. George Foreman
3. Thomas Hearns
4. Naseem Hamed
5. Ray Robinson
6. Archie Moore
7. Joe Louis
8. Jimmy Wilde
9. Earnie Shavers
10. Stanley Ketchel

Honourables to Rockabye Rubes, Bob Foster, Ike Williams, Rocky Marciano

Approximately.

 

Can't remember Benn using his jab in Eubank II.

 

My impression was that McClellan was in pretty good shape for the fight (obviously, I'm talking about in terms of gym work here, and not including the weakness possibly lurking in the membranes of his brain that no one knew about.)

I think it is wrong to denigrate Nigel's performance in this brutal fight as "meaningless." We all know of the tragic ending, but there is no question that both Nigel and Gerald fought like gladiators, with rare courage and a terrible intensity, seldom seen in a boxing match. Both were practically prepared to die in there to win. I do not choose the term "gladiators" to describe them lightly.

Nigel, through sheer guts and heart refused to yield before a withering assault that would have finished the vast majority of fighters. Very few men could have climbed back into the ring to win like that. Benn was determined to win at all costs, and put everything on the line to do so. That's part of his legend and part of what makes him a great warrior.

I would summarise McClellan's problems (again, aside from a possible pre-existing injury in his brain that no one knew of) not as you do, when you say he was "disinterested, unmotivated, horribly ill prepared". He was very much interested and motivated to win; unfortunately, he took Nigel too lightly.

I would say McClellan's main problems, going into the Benn fight were arrogance, having fallen in love with his own power; his severing of his ties with his trainer, Emmanuel Steward, to reduce costs, which left him with terrible and unprofessional corner (i.e., Stan Johnson). Steward probably would have stopped the fight earlier and saved Gerald from the worst of his catastrophic injuries.

McClellan believed he couldn't lose against Benn. He had twice KO'd the feared puncher Julian Jackson, and didn't see how a lesser slugger like Benn could possibly beat him. He was already looking past Benn and thinking of a mega-fight with Roy Jones Jr that would make him very rich indeed.

And McClellan wasn't alone in his assessment. Benn was a huge underdog, and few gave him a chance of winning. But my main point is that whatever the politics and accusations are, both fighters deserve respect from fight fans for the unquestionable courage and warrior's spirit that they displayed in that terrible and tragic fight.

 

watch d 1st rd of McClellan vs Benn , count how many times d referee stepped in between them and stalled d fight 2 save Benn . Then tell me how much u got 2 .

 

Yep, I agree the ref was a bad choice for such a massive fight, he couldn't speak English, his behaviour, as you say was erratic, and he should have spotted something wrong with Gerald and stopped the fight earlier, IMO. (Mind you, it is easy for me to say that with hindsight, and perhaps I am being harsh on the ref in this particular accusation against him).

However, that doesn't make anything I wrote in my previous post any less true. Both Nigel and Gerald we absolute warriors in the ring that night. Talk about poor refereeing, McClellan's poor corner, etc etc should not take away from the courage and incredible fighting spirit both men displayed. Both went through hell. Both gave every ounce of themselves, almost to the death.

I've also defended McClellan on ESB (or at least asked for an end to the hatred against him and his family).

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=365179&highlight=mcclellan&page=5

(Post #74 and debate throughout the rest of the thread)

 

I'm pretty sure the list is "greatest punchers" not "hardest punchers" (at least I think it is)

And although Benn hit like a truck he was a wide, sloppy swinger with power and speed.

The no 1. and 2. are Langford and Louis - I completely agree with that.

And as for Joe Walcott being higher - he deserves a top place. The Barbados Demon was a wicked puncher, a 5'1" lightweight who knocked out heavyweights with a single right hand.

 

I have seen most of Geralds fights but i didnt watch that one until about a year ago. I didnt watch it at the time cuz i was quite young in 95. When i did watch it i was slightly underwhelmed as everyone talked about what a war it was.

Before i address your post lets establish something..considering that fight a win for Benn is ludacris. The two "knockdowns" in the last round was Gerald voluntarily taking a knee because he recognized that something was horribly wrong, Benn didn't even land punches when he took both knees aside from a glancing punch at best on the 2nd one. He took the ten count walked back to his corner and collapsed from his brain injuries.

At the time he recognized that he couldn't continue cuz of how ****ed up he was Gerald had won almost every round and had two 10-8 rounds. He was ahead by a wide margin on the scorecards. A severely handicapped Gerald clowned a peak version of Benn. Period.

Yellow - When i describe Gerald as disinterested and unmotivated im talking about his performance and behaviour in the ring. In spots he would put forth effort and brutalize Benn but the majority of the time he looked like he was in a sparring session with his little brother and bored. Just backpeddling, pulling out of range when Benn would swing wildly or parrying his punches as if his little sister was trying to punch him and it was an annoyance, just generally wasting time. I wouldn't say he underestimated Benn considering he was winning the fight easily yet only putting forth a half assed effort alot of the time while fighting with a brain injury.

Green - He couldn't lose to Benn and he didn't. As i stated he was wide ahead on the cards and as Frankenfrank mentioned the only reason it went as long as it did is because of the horribly bias ref who would make Gerald wait an absurdly long time after he would hurt Benn before he would re-start the action, gave the long count, and ignored all the blatant Benn fouling.

For the record Benn did not deserve a 20 count like some people claim as he was still on the canvas ala Casamayor vs Katsidis. You need to actually fall out of the ring like Maskaev/Rahman I or Liakhovich/Briggs to recieve a 20 count. Falling through the ropes while still on the canvas is a regular 10 count.

Imagine Charlie Zelenoff fighting in the Special Olympics putting forth every drop of skill and effort he could muster and "going to war" against a mentally challenged boxer and still losing by a wide margin. Then having people commend Charlie on what heart and effort he showed. It doesn't deserve admiration, it would be ****ing pathetic. Well Nigel Benn is Charlie, getting his ass kicked by a Mcclellan who barely looked like he was trying at times and who was fighting with a brain injury so severe that it would have killed him had the doctors and medical staff ringside not responded as competently and quickly as they did.

That's my opinion on the fight and Nigel Benn.