07 Aug 2021 04:11:34
Hi Ed01. From some of the things I've read from you I'm guessing we are close to each other in age. Do you remember when there was a lot of British boxing on terrestrial telly in the 90s? If so what did you make of the Eubank vs Benn rivalry? From what I remember Benn was a huge puncher and the scarier of the two but Eubank was cocky and a head worker plus also quite skilful without having the power of Benn.

{Ed001's Note - so you are 21 and a little bit too? Good age to be! I have to say, looking back on it, that was a golden age for boxing in the UK as it was huge. Then Sky bought most of it and so barely anyone saw it. They would have been better taking less money short term for the sake of the sport, but it is understandable that they wanted to earn as much as possible in such a short career.

Benn was a monster of a puncher and just loved to brawl. I saw him in a few kick boxing bouts as well, before the BBBC made him stop kick boxing or they would have stripped him of his license. He was capable of becoming a world champion in both sports but there was little money in kick boxing compared to boxing then, so he had little real choice. When he first turned pro, he was just smashing people aside like they were not there, which is why he was able to get a lot of fights in. He would often fight every weekend. I can remember one fight, I think it was when he went for the Commonwealth title, and he fought a Canadian guy and the commentator is talking up how the Canadian had never even been knocked down before and so Benn would have to show something different from the usual. He was still talking about that when the fight started and Benn hit the guy once and took his head off with one punch. Steve Collins says Benn was the hardest puncher he ever faced. He had great heart too.

Eubank was incredibly skilled, with a chin made of granite, the only times he ever really got hurt were due to body shots. Sadly though, he was also a total knob, who made it all so personal by insulting everyone and everything involved in boxing and assuming this air of superiority. It has tainted people's memories of him as he was so hated. He was also very well 'managed' to ensure he got as many easy fights as possible. It was so annoying watching him fight, it is difficult to look back at him fondly, unlike some others who were knobs but at least you could respect him. Eubank humiliated people and his strutting around when he had someone hurt, rather than finishing them off, was horrible to see. It is dangerous to keep hurting someone and then letting them recover, only to then hurt them badly again. And most of those he was doing it to were patsies who were not earning enough they could then walk away from the game. But he even trained that way, he would spar like he fought, strutting around for long periods. It is a shame, because he was clearly so talented, he could have achieved so much more.}

1.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 05:57:38
Brill mate I didn't realise Eubank was nasty. I just took him as a pantomime villain who could back it up. Steve Collins. I forgot about him. Didn't he get wins against both of them? It was a great time, I remember seeing a young Prince personm on normal telly to and even a very late at night Holyfield vs Bowe with the parachute man. But as you say when the big money comes calling who wouldn't take everything they can get for being punched in the face.

{Ed001's Note - Eubank was hated by all, sadly he has still never made things up with a lot of people in the sport. He was extremely disrespectful to a lot of people who deserved better.

Collins beat both, yes. Excellent fighter, who wasted most of his peak chasing a fight with Roy Jones Jr and ducking Joe Calzaghe.

Naseem Hamed? He was an odd fish that lad, dumping a bin liner full of cash on his mother's living room floor, rather than just putting the money in her bank account like most normal people would. Very talented but just lost his hunger once he had enough money, his training levels dipped massively and he would skip it occasionally so he was never going to have a long career. He had the money, that was enough for him.

I had forgotten about the parachute man! Some good times then with a huge audience for boxing as everyone could watch it for free.}

2.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 06:21:46
It was brilliant. Saturday nights ma either gets sent the pub by da or goes to her mates while the men and boys have the telly and let us kids have a can.

{Ed001's Note - it was a bit different in our house, me ma was the one into sport.}

3.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 06:35:29
Also ed. The tragic bout that Benn had with Gerald Mcklennan, Benn was obviously blameless for what happened and I understand if you don't want to give an opinion but in the first few minutes of the first round Gerald had him really hurt and could've finished it but the press and his promoter (you know who) had bigged him up so to me it looked like Gerald backed off just to make a spectacle. I may be wrong but it is like your opinion of Eubanks easy wins, if you get in the ring with someone they must be treated with respect and fear. Otherwise something bad can happen to yourself.

{Ed001's Note - I don't think he backed off because of that, I think it is because he got hurt. Benn was always most dangerous when in trouble. He is like a wounded animal and I think McLennan just got tagged and realised he wasn't going to put Benn away that easily. In fact it was very possible he could have ended up winding himself and getting knocked out himself. Chasing a KO is a very dangerous thing to do against a big puncher particularly. But in any fight, you have to be careful as you are expending huge amounts of energy which can leave you in a lot of trouble later. It is a risk/reward thing and I think McLennan just didn't think the risk was worth it. If he had watched any of Benn's fights before stepping in the ring with him, which you would expect he had done, he would have known that Benn just fought harder the more hurt he is.}

4.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 07:01:01
Cheers Ed. Sorry I work nights and work at home so once the vulture and the chicks fall asleep I have nobody to pester. Nice getting your knowledge man.

{Ed001's Note - no need to say sorry, always nice to have a chat mate. Nothing worse than being stuck on your own working at home these days. The last year or so with the lockdown has been a bloody nightmare. I have taken to going to the shops for bits and pieces every day, just to make sure I see another human being. Only problem is the flat is beginning to disappear under empty plazzy bags now, but you can hardly go in the shop and not buy at least some milk or something can you?}

5.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 07:10:11
Oi just make sure you use them bags or recycle them!

{Ed001's Note - that's why they are clogging up the place as I always re-use them. It is only that I always forget to pick some up that I don't take them with me to re-use rather than getting more.}

6.) 09 Aug 2021
09 Aug 2021 22:19:22
Being a child in the 90s the prince Nas fights were epic. The ring walks would have me bouncing around what an entertainer! As for Benn, what a fighter but my mate says he never fought the same after giving that guy brain damage. Either consciously or subconsciously he never fought like he did before that.

7.) 10 Aug 2021
10 Aug 2021 13:16:30
It not only affected Benn but also had a damaging psychological affect on Naz. Brendan Ingle was in Gerald McClellans corner that night and mentioned after how it affected him. It also affected how TV and ultimately ITV viewed boxing. They were a lot more subdued after that.

Was a great come back from Benn, he was very close to be being stopped in the first and a lot of refs would have stopped it, but he showed great heart to fight back. From about round 4 onwards u can tell there is something not right with McClellan, he was struggling to keep his mouth piece in his mouth and the blinking started. Someone said it looked like he was trying to pop an invisible balloon of pressure building up deep in his eyes. The man was clearly in trouble and imo the way Jim Watt and Frank Bruno got on was a disgrace. Man is fighting for his life and Jim Watt is shouting about how he quit.
McClellan sister Lisa told the FBI how Gerald had been complaining about not feeling right from the 2nd round and wanted to stop from from 6th round but was forced to continue by his trainer Stan Johnson.

Benn was a tough cookie, there are plenty of stories about him having dustups on the streets of Belfast when he was a paratrooper during the troubles, with the local hard men. Having a style like his meant he would ultimately slow down and fade, became abit of a punch bag later.

On the Fan man, he had a strange ending. He was found dead I'm Brazil or somewhere in South America afew years after the Bowe Holyfield fight. At that fight he crashed into Bowes corner where his team were seated and they give him one hell of a beating. Lol.