Boxing

Nigel Benn says one man is the best he has faced after 15 world title fights

Published

11 months ago

December 23, 2025

Nigel Benn says one man stands alone as the best he faced after 15 world title fights

Nigel Benn has faced elite middleweights and super middleweights throughout his career, but only one fighter is considered the best he has ever faced in the ring.

“The Dim Destroyer” suffered his first professional defeat at the hands of Michael Watson, a skillful technician who finally stopped him in the sixth round in 1989.

Benn then managed to repair his sterling reputation and quickly won the WBO middleweight world title against Doug DeWitt, defending it with a first-round knockout of Iran Barkley in 1990.

It was then during his next appearance that the Ilford fighter met Chris Eubank senior, his fierce domestic rival, and ended the fight in the ninth round.

The two then clashed a second time less than three years later, this time at 168 pounds, where Benn felt aggrieved that it ended in a highly controversial draw.

Behind schedule in his career, Benn suffered two more losses to Steve Collins, another middleweight and super middleweight champion, but it was Gerald McClellan, whom he defeated in 1995, who instantly became his greatest ever opponent.

Entering the competition with three consecutive first-round finishes, all at world championship level, McClellan has certainly established himself as a monster puncher.

But while their fight provided a truly thrilling spectacle, where While Benn emerged with a 10th-round victory, McClellan was ultimately left with a life-changing blood clot in his brain and now suffers permanent damage.

In an interview with Ring MagazineBut Benn insists that McClellan’s ferocious strength puts the American above all the other opponents he has faced.

“Gerald McClellan [was the best] much. He had an incredible knockout rate and was a prolific striker. There was a mile between him and anyone else.

“I came out of that fight with a broken nose, a broken jaw and I was giving blood. I lay in bed for three days and had a shadow on my brain. It shows how powerful a champion this man was.”

Boxing

Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyus Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News

Published

3 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyu's Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News"

Tim Tszyu seeks to become Australia’s third multi-divisional boxing world champion when he competes for Erislandy Lara’s WBA middleweight title next month, and ahead of the action, trainer Robert Garcia has offered his thoughts on the fight.

Tszyu lost his WBO super-welterweight title in a defeat to Sebastian Fundora back in 2024 and twice failed to reclaim 154lb honours, both against Bakhram Murtazaliev and in a rematch with Fundora.

Since then, the Aussie has stepped up to middleweight and scored a career-best win over Errol Spence Jr earlier this yearand now, the 32-year-old could join lead trainer Jeff Fenech and Liam Paro as his nation’s third two-weight world champion, if he can trump 43-year-old.

Speaking with ProBox TVRobert Garcia, who trains a potential future Tszyu opponent in Vergil Ortiz, admitted that he is leaning towards the home fighter, but noted that Lara will not be phased by competing in the challenger’s backyard.

“We can probably lean towards Tim Tsyzu because he is fighting at home, in front of his hometown, but Lara is not the fighter that brings in a lot of fans following him.

“He doesn’t have a following, he is not one that is going to sell out arenas, so even if it is in the United States, it is likely that most of the people are going to be [there] for Tim Tszyu because Australians do travel and Tim Tszyu has a lot of fans.

“For Lara, going to Australia is like going to Las Vegas or going to New York because he never has that following anyways. Anywhere he goes, he is going to be against the crowd. So, I think for him it is going to be one of those performances where it doesn’t make a difference if he is going to Tim Tsyzu’s hometown.”

Tszyu-Lara takes place at the Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland, Australia on Sunday 13 December.

Boxing

Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight

Published

4 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight"

Deontay Wilder’s former head coach Malik Scott has delivered a knockout prediction for the American’s upcoming showdown with Jai Opetaia.

The pair will square off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, with Opetaia making his heavyweight debut on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.

Despite him being the naturally smaller man, many are favouring the Australian – a former two-time world cruiserweight champion – to defeat his 10-years-older opponent.

It is, after all, generally accepted that Wilder has declined significantly since his trilogy bout with Furywho survived two knockdowns and scored an 11th-round knockout in their 2021 encounter.

Back then, Wilder had just joined forces with Scott, his former opponent, and the pair maintained their fighter-trainer relationship through subsequent defeats against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

With Wilder now operating under different coaches, though, Scott has shared a balanced view of the Opetaia fight with Seconds Out.

“The fight’s got dynamite written all over it. Jai Opetaia is very dangerous, but he’s a smaller man that’s been hurt by smaller men than Deontay, slower men than Deontay.

“I’ve never seen Opetaia get hit by nobody like Deontay; I’ve seen Deontay get hit by bigger punchers than Opetaia. [But] one thing we can expect in this fight is a knockout.

“The name of the fight is ‘bad intentions’ – at least that’s what I’m calling it, because that’s what they share in common. What they share in common is mentality – they both are trying to hurt you.”

While he stopped short of predicting a winner, it is perhaps telling that Scott, despite his relationship with Wilder, has not explicitly favoured him to win by knockout.