BOXING PREVIEW (for 11/11)
PREVIEW: STEVE COLLINS - NIGEL BENN
(WBO SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE)
NYNEX ARENA, MANCHESTER
9 NOVEMBER, 1996
Following Nigel Benn's last fight in July I wrote that he should
have retired permenantly. Next Saturday - November 9th - he fights
Steve Collins again in Manchester.
My reason for willing him to retire was not because I felt he would
be beaten in a rematch with Collins or because I believe him to be a
spent force (we can't assess whether he is a spent force yet). Benn
had retired and come out of retirement following the loss of his long
- held WBC title in March. He repeated this u - turn having lost his
challenge to Collins in July - only this time he announced his
comeback 15 minutes after his retirement.
Although Benn lost to Collins in inconclusive fashion - Benn was
forced to pull out due to a twisted ankle - it pained me to see him
damaging his legacy by being so publicly indecisive. He also afforded
the tabloid newspapers an opportunity to deride him for this
second turnabout. Headlines like "Benn Behaving Sadly" (a play on the
sitcom title "Men Behaving Badly") just don't do 'The Dark Destroyer'
justice.
So why does my mouth water at this rematch caused by the u - turn I
condemned? Simple - Nigel Benn is a raw, gritty, pure value - for -
money warrior and he is up against a man who is no mean slugger
himself as Collins proved by beating Chris Eubank twice. As Collins
said in the build - up to this match, "I have to beat them twice to
prove I'm better than them."
The difference however between this bout and his rematch with Eubank
is that he beat Eubank clearly the first time. He beat Benn by
default. Critics desperately tried to analyse the four rounds of
their last fight - some saying Benn "bottled out", some saying Benn
was winning the psycological battle and some saying Collins was on
his way to victory and would have won anyway. All of this is
irrelevant and would have been even without this rematch.
The fact is that nobody will know who is the better man until both
battle to a natural conclusion - which they should do on Saturday.
Benn would have been easy to match against (then) WBC title holder
Vincenzo Nardiello or WBA Champ Frankie Liles had he wished to take
an easier route to a belt. The fact that he chose Collins again
suggests that he noticed a chink in the Celtic armour in July.
Benn will enter this fight exactly where he likes to be - with his
back against the wall. He will receive by far the smaller purse, but
has reportedly moved to compensate for this with a substantial wager
on himself to win. Should he lose, it will be his third successive
defeat, and the proud man will not be planning on this eventuallity.
The build - up to this fight for Benn is similar in many respects to
his run - up to the Mc Clellan war in February 1995, and this is why
I pick him against the odds to fight out of his skin and to be WBO
Champion by the time Tyson steps into the ring to meet Holyfield (on
Sunday morning here).
PREVIEW: NASEEM HAMED - REMIGIO MOLINA
(WBO FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE)
NYNEX ARENA, MANCHESTER
9 NOVEMBER, 1996
The fighter still known as Prince has had a lot of questions asked of
him following his last two fights, and this is his chance to answer
them. Although Molina has never mixed in World class before, he is
unbeaten and all eyes will be on 'Naz' to see how he handles his
latest challenger.
Hamed rose to World Champion status sensationally, reminiscent of a
certain Mike Tyson. He appeared to be unstoppable, bowling over
opponents at a furious rate. This aura was damaged however when
Daniel Alicea knocked him to the canvas in June. It was further
sullied in August by Manuel Medina who gave the Prince all the
trouble he could handle for eleven rounds.
Critics are now saying that the Median fight was Hamed's real acid
test at World class and that it exposed the Prince as a pretender to
the crown. He has been said to have a weak chin and an inability to
adjust his style when faced with awkward opponents.
As he was suffering from a cold in the Medina encounter, Naz will
need to be on top form on Saturday to re - establish his reputation.
Argentinian Molina carries the reputation of being a tough, durable
fighter but as he doesn't possess a solid punch he is unlikely to
ruffle Naz's feathers. Expect his challenge to have failed before the
bell tolls for round five.
PREVIEW: RONALD WRIGHT - ENSLEY BINGHAM
(WBO LIGHT MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE)
NYNEX ARENA, MANCHESTER
9 NOVEMBER, 1996
Ensley Bingham won't be short of support as he challenges for a World
title in his hometown of Manchester. This chance has come late for 31
- year old Bingham, but many believe he can cause an upset.
He has earned this title shot the hard way, beating Gilbert Jackson
in January for the British Title following years of low - key bouts
around the country. Last time out Bingham stopped Anthony Ivory - and
in stopping him achieved what Simon Brown, Julio Cesar Vasquez,
Carl Daniels and, most significantly, Ronald Wright had all failed to
do.
Wright is a slick boxer and his superior experience will make him
favourite to retain his crown. I can't see him avoiding Bingham's
damaging shots for 12 rounds however, and I expect Ensley to win by
stoppage - probably in the second half of the fight.
IRISH AND BRITISH BOXING NEWS
CHRIS EUBANK ended his year - long retirement successfully on October
19 by stopping Argentinian LUIS BARERRA in five rounds of a light
heavyweight contest. One cannot genuinely praise Eubank for beating
a man suffering his fifth successive loss, but he does deserve credit
for bravely promoting his own comeback show - in Cairo!
WAYNE MC CULLOUGH will challenge Mexican DANIEL ZARAGOSA for the WBC
super bantamweight title on January 11, 1997. He has yet to receive a
TV date for his warm - up against DUKE MC KENZIE which was scheduled
to happen last month. Mc Cullough's mooted clash with NASEEM HAMED
looks less likey to happen as time goes on - Hamed refuses to box
below 9st and Mc Cullough above 8st12lbs - even though the contract
for the Mc Cullough - Mc Kenzie match stipulates 8st 12lbs "give or
take a pound or two."
HEROL GRAHAM who failed in World title attempts against MIKE MC
CALLUM and JULIAN JACKSON in his prime, is making a comeback this
month at the age of 37. This announcement was greeted with much
scepticism in Britain, considering the Sheffield man's skill lay in
his reflexes which are bound to have depleted with age.
Liverpool's SHEA NEARY broke into World class on October 26 by
beating DARRYL TYSON for the WBU light welterweight title. Although
life is too complicated already to start recognising 'paper'
organisations like the World Boxing Underminers, one can take nothing
away from Neary who looked very impressive in soundly outpointing the
vastly experienced Tyson.
KEITH HOLMES proved me wrong (any surprised readers please refer to
the above predictions for Nov.9th after the event) on October 19 by
stopping England's RICHIE WOODHALL in the final round of their WBC
middleweight title contest. Although all of the judges had Holmes
well in front, none of the US commentators did. More significant
however was the fact that Woodhall needed keyhole surgery on his
right elbow twelve days before the fight. Having waited 18 months for
this mandatory challenge, he refused to pull out and suffered his
first loss.
Ireland's heavyweight hope KEVIN MC BRIDE returns to the ring on
Wednesday 6 November following 15 months of inactivity. He will fight
Shane Woolas in Hull over six rounds. A dispute between Mc Bride, his
trainer and his manager led to his inactivity, but the 23 - year old
Clones man has stayed in shape. Mc Bride is undefeated in seventeen
contests and is now trained by RICHIE GIACHETTI, who also trained
LARRY HOLMES, OLIVER MC CALL and MIKE TYSON.