NIGEL BENN’S BROTHER: I WANT A VOICE IN BOXING

BY GABRIEL PRINCEWILL

Danny Benn, 54, has never been in the public domain, but for the first time, will be given a platform by the eye of media.com, to express his strong views about a sport he was once heavily engaged in. Benn has been offered a platform to write on boxing on this site, when big fights are near, and when fighters he wants to write about are fighting.

He told The eye of media.com ” it’s not every fighter I will want to write about. Only fighters I have a lot to talk about. Some fighters are just boring, others are more exciting, he says with passion in his very Posh but emphatic voice. There are some fighters who achieve in the sport, and they deserve respect for it, but it’s the fighters that excite and come to fight that I like to talk about’, he says. I like fighters that come forward and fight, and hit like a mule”, he says. Those are the fighters that give value for money”, he says.

My brother was an example of a real fighter, through and through, he says. He always put it on the line in the ring, and only had victory in mind. I like what you guys are doing, you are bringing something fresh to on line media, something inspiring, and I want to be a part of that. He points out with pride that he went to a grammar school . ” I passed my 11+ and got into a good grammar school in Dagenham. You had to be disciplined and be serious, but there was also time for play. I haven’t written in years, but it will be interesting for me to try my hands again on expressing myself in boxing.

I have a story to tell, and lived the life of a real boxer, even before my brother Nigel started boxing.  I boxed in Frank Bruno’s stable, I knew him very well. I was close to Gary Mason, mingled with the likes of Barry Mcwigan , and many others.  it was my life. I am very proud of what my brother achieved in boxing. He gave it all he got, all he got, he emphasizes! The serious expression on his face tells you how much he likes full commitment to a sport like boxing. Life is about toughness, doing the best in whatever you do. Danny Benn is broad shouldered and very fit and strong looking even at his age, his neck does not look far off in thickness to Mike Tyson’s, he is told by many that he looks like American based British actor, Idris Elba. If not for injury, I would have had a future in boxing. However, it was my brother Nigel, who walked that road and achieved the title belts as he predicted from the start”.

Nigel Benns brother is also set to take part on some of our  radio talk shows on the sport, before and after certain fights. We will hold talk shows after certain fights, whenever we have a knowledgeable guest who joins us to discuss particular boxers. Straight talking and mincing no words, he says not many boxers today have the inner desire to box like a warrior.One ting he is proud of is the fact that he senses a renaissance in the sport, pointing out ” things are changing now for the better, they are changing. We now have about 11 or 12 world champions(we have 11 world champions) , Britain is back on the scene.

In the past the Americans had no respect for our boxers, but now they have to take note. We have two heavyweight world champions in Britain, this is lovely and exciting stuff. Though, let’s make no mistake, Fury is the main champion. Joshua got it by default, but he does the business. He takes them out, but we have t see how he keeps doing. I like Fury, I don’t care what anybody says, he insists. He talks a lot, sometimes crap, but he backs it up. He backs it up buddy, he has to be given credit. David Haye is also a welcome inclusion in the sport. Boy, he’s got speed and power, and if he connects, you are gone. Joshua is a very good kid, but I think Haye will have him now if they meet. Haye has movement and hits like a mule. My money will be on HaYe, any day. Don’t get me wrong,,Joshua is very powerful, very powerful, but Haye, has movement, speed and power. he knows a bit too much at the moment”.

Asked about his prediction about the Amir Khan and Alfarez fight, he says, I don’t know, Khan is really fast, and has a very god chance, but I’m not sure he is ready for Alfarez. He is mean, boy.

 A friend of Benn’s who regularly follows the eye of media.com, contacted us to tell us about Benn’s long time ambition to be heard in boxing. Speaking passionately about the sport, Benn told the eye of media.com ” I think it is important for me to have a voice in the sport because of my past involvement in boxing and the fact I come from a boxing family. Boxing was part of my life from a young age, and I boxed for two boxing clubs in my youth”, he said. Currently a business man, Danny Benn praises his brothers for all doing well in life. All my brothers have done well, my brother Anthony is a lawyer, and a very intelligent guy. People compliment him a lot for his intelligence. He is one of those guys who doesn’t just talk, he does what he says he will do.

We all are men of our words, no point saying you gonna do something if you won’t do it”, he says. Couldn’t care less what is it, whether in boxing sport, anything. Talk is cheap, people must do what they say. I don’t like people who say it is 100% they will win a fight, when they know it isn’t true. David Price for example talked confidently each time he lost. Though the fact those who beat him all had banned substances in their system, it shouldn’t really count.

 Danny Benn boxed for Dagenham boxing club, and Barking club in the amateurs for 6 years, from the age of 14-20, where he had a total of 25 fights with one loss. Broad shouldered, and serious looking, he is straight talking and very opinionated. ”The state of British boxing was previously ridiculed by the Americans, he states, but we have now advanced in terms of achievements. We have over 8 world champions now, which is very good”.

Reflecting on his youth, Benn reminisces on  the history of his famous brother, Nigel Benn, and recounts his first steps into a boxing gym.  ”Nigel fought a lot as a young man, he was a street fighter, a very good fighter on the streets, he says.  ”My brother John, and I decided to take Nigel to a boxing gym in Gascoigne estate, called Dagenham boxing gym.  We knew it would give him more discipline”. I was already in boxing at the time, but could see an unbelievable amount of potential in Nigel, so we took him to the boxing gym.  The rest is history”.

The Benn family are made up of 7 boys- Danny is the third, and Nigel is the second to the last born. Asked what it was like living in  a household with so many boys, he says ” tough, but fun. We all had our ways and  influenced one another in different ways; there was a lot of energy in the family.  My father worked at Fords in Dagenham, and my mother, Williamina, worked in St George’s hospital. I call her Loretta because that is her first name, but many people call her Mina for short. Benn expresses affection for his mother, saying I do anything to keep my mother happy. She did a lot for us, I tell you something, it’s no easy looking after 7 boys  even with a man in the house.

Speaking glowingly of his father, he says ”I really loved my father I did, really loved him, he stresses.  He was the perfect gentlemen, never laid a hand on me. When he spoke, we knew he was serious and meant business. Not like these days when people don’t listen to their parent’s, such people end up nowhere. My parents worked very hard and inspired us to work hard in life, which is why four of my brothers took up boxing, though only Nigel went the whole way”. Sadly, Benn’s father died last November, bringing mourning to the family, as they all rallied round their mother to give her  warm support. When my father passed, he says, my world felt like it ended. I only had good memories of him it hurt to think I won’t see him again. Life goes on, but when you lose someone close, you take a fresh look at life.

My father encouraged everything I did, if he son wanted it, he gave it to his son. I will do anything for my son, he is my world, nothing matters to me more than him. In our family, we look after our children, it is the only way you can train them well . Benn won 20 out of 22 amateur fights, then had the misfortune if being attacked by a mob of West Ham fans one day when he was working as a door man in Ilford.

Unfortunately, Danny Benn’s hopes of making the transition from the amateurs to the pro game was scuppered, when during his weekend job as a door man, he was caught up in a fight with West Ham fans over his decision to eject one of them, after one of them spilled beer on a female reveler in the club. ” I chucked one guy out after he poured beer on a girl he refused to give him a dance, Benn told the eye of media.com. The girl may have been a bit lippy to him. His mates descended on me, and I found myself fighting about six guys, and one of them stabbed me at the back of my neck, and I was hospitalized. I was lucky to be alive, but it meant my dream of being a professional went down the drain. It was such a big shame because I was really looking forward to it”, he added.

The Benn family has recently produced a potential  future sporting hero,  in Nigel Benn’s  son- Connor Benn. Connor recently had his debut in which he blasted his opponent in the first round in the Anthony Joshua under card.

Commenting on the family mood about the arrival of his nephew and son of Nigel-Connor Benn- he said ” the whole family is very proud of Connor. We expect great things from him, and as he has our genes, I am sure he will do very well. He is a very confident and will do very well. Connor has his own place in Brentwood, having moved there from Australia where he was living with his dad. ”He doesn’t want for anything, his dad looks after him very well. All he’s got to do is concentrate on his boxing. He will always have the support and encouragement of his father, but his dad has made it clear that he wants Connor to develop on his own without being in the shadow of his father”.

”His first fight was a quick knockout, and I’m sure we will have more of that in  the months to come”. The family converged before and after the fight, at the family house in Manor Park East London, where his widowed mum lives. Speaking emotionally about his father, Benn said ” we loved our father so much, he was a very loving and gentle person. It was very nice having all of us at my mothers, especially with the celebratory mood that came with Nigel’s visit, and the excitement about Connor’s career.

One last question, I ask him. Who are your boxing heroes?

Mohammed Ali, Jene Tuney, Marvin Hagler,  Sugar Ray Robinson, Mohammed Ali and Nigel Benn. I probably sound biased mentioning my brother, but I would have been a fan even if I never knew him, he insists”

”My brother said before he started boxing that he will be world champion by the age of 24, and he achieved it. H e has done very well, and never lost his money, but invested it wisely. He is still a multi-millionaire, two decades after his last fight”

 Benn  owns a fully paid £260,000 house in Essex, where  he lives with his wife, Lisa, and  16 year old Son, Orlando. ”I read your blog in my spare time about two or three times a week he said. I like what you guys are doing, it is very positive, and you guys say it as it is. This is why I want to be a part of this”, he said. After our interview, Benn and I went for nice meal where our discussion continued, discussing boxers both present and old, and of course, his nephew, Connor. His inclusion in our team should be very interesting.