Should these Brits make it to the HOF??

[PowerPuncher]

Nigel Benn - the Mike Tyson of the middleweights, with a similar style to Tyson. Nigel ran through his first 22 victims with 22 KOs until he ran into the canny Mike Watson, who from my recollection stopped him while benn was blinded from a thumb.

Benn came back to become WBO MW Champ KO'ing Dewitt and Barkley in America before losing in a brutal battle in what should have been fight of the year to Eubank

Benn came back from this goin 6-0 before going to Italy (the home of controversal officiating) to take the 168 WBC belt from Galvano, which he would defend 10 times. Benn would draw against

Benn was considered a lower level below Roy Jones and Gerald McCellan until he faced and beat the GMAN in another brutal great great fight

In conclusion Benn fought many top opposition, was 1 of the most exciting fighters of the last 30years, was a 2weight champ, was a boxer who transcended into a national hero in Britain.

Chris Eubanks - you can't say Benn without talking about Eubank. The Eubank-Benn rivalry is 1 of the biggest in boxing history as far as Britain is concerned.

Eubanks obviously beat and drew against Benn but he also twice beat Mike Watson who himself beat Benn. His other defining win is against the 35-0 Rochiagani who would be robbed against Michalczewski and beat Nunn

Eubank went 41-2-0 before losing his crown to Collins and 17-2-0 in world title fights, albeit the WBO version. If the truth be told Eubanks had controversal decisions along the way

Eubanks never faced the top Americans like Roy Jones, James Toney, GMAN, Nunn, McCallum, Barkley. But he beat Benn who had wins over 2 of those and he beat Rochiganni who would go on to beat a past prime Nunn

Naseem Hamed - Another huge figure in British boxing, champion at 21yo, unified all 4 belts at 126, cleaning out the 126lb division over 6years. Probably goes down as having the best 126lb power ever but at his best had a great radar defense, timing, use of angles and speed

Hameds top scalps:

Vasquez - 3 division champion, WBA featherweight champ - brutalised

Bungu - IBF king for years at 122 beating Mkkinney twice (before Barrera did), had a better resume at super bantamweight than Barrera - ko'd in 4

Soto - WBC feather champ, top3 at 126 and beat a young Castillo - beat comprehensively

Tom Johnson - IBF champ at feather and probably top2 in the world at the time, outboxed and ko'd

Ingle - undefeated future IBF champ and beat the man who beat MAB in Junior Jones aswell as Medina

Medina - 5 time featherweight champ in his prime, top 5 featherweight - ko'd despite Hamed suffering from Flu

McColough - ex bantamweight champ and robbed of the super bantamweight crown, beat without too much trouble, he went on to go close with Morales 6 months later

Robinson - excellent WBO champ who himself beat a 3weight champ and made many defences, easily outboxed and dispatched brutally.

Kevin Kelly - still near his prime, ex-champ and a top3 fighter when Hamed ko'd him

Hamed beat all 4 belt holders, all the top featherweight contenders and a total of 10 world champions and ruled the roost for 6 years.

Hamed is a natural bantamweight that was campaigning at super bantamweight and only fought at featherweight because a title fight became available.

Hamed beat 2 fighters in 2 rounds that each went the distance with Erik Morales.

Hamed would have fought Barrera years earlier if MAB didn’t lose to Junior Jones (who went on to lose to a Hamed victim)

I would induct all 3

[stonerose]

I would certainly induct Benn, don't understand why he hasn't been already. He took on all comers ,never lost on foreign soil and beat some very well known fighters. As well as this he fought in one of the most brutal fights ever, which would recieve more recognition if it wasn't for the way it ended. Unique fighter who was adored and still is by his countryman. Many Britons favourite fighter.

I would induct Hamed due to his excellant record which while not being full of top names was none the less a who's who of title holders and he held titles at a few different weights.He was also a huge box office draw on both sides of the pond.

Eubank, while being a british boxing legend and great personality who had ability in spades and a solid chin never faced the best like Benn did and openly admitted he dodged fighters like Jones and Nunn,so i'd say no.

[WhataRock]

Hamed for sure...Benn and Eubank I dont know about, neither fought the best possible opposition available at the time, No Nunn, Toney, McCallum, Jackson, Brewer, Jones Jr, Liles..Barkley probably wasnt the scalp he was either...he had lost two on the trot when Benn beat him.

Why these fights didnt happen is irrelevant, the fact is they didnt.

Supermiddle was a young and not very prestigious division at the time should possibly taken into account.

That being said there are probably guys in there for less, Galaxy for instance...So its not out of the question, but they arent as deserving as Naz thats for sure.

[WhataRock]

Stoney..I know your a big fan of Benn..you dont hide it well :)...But who has he beaten besides McClellan and Barkley to warrant such praise?

[PowerPuncher]

Eubank, while being a british boxing legend and great personality who had ability in spades and a solid chin never faced the best like Benn did and openly admitted he dodged fighters like Jones and Nunn,so i'd say no.

I see your point but he ofcourse beat Benn and fought in 2 of the greatest fights of that period, Benn 1 and Watson 2.

Eubanks also went all the way to Cruserweight and should have had a 3rd title against Thompson in the first fight. He also probably deserved a decision over Collins

Eubanks did avoid some big fights, but even Sugar Ray Robinson did that

The funny thing about these 3 is Herol Bomber Graham is better than both the middleweights, made Hamed what he is and has got bugger all chance of getting recognition :|

[jc]

If they let Gatti in before those three i would be very dissapointed...I can see it happening though.

[stonerose]

Stoney..I know your a big fan of Benn..you dont hide it well :)...But who has he beaten besides McClellan and Barkley to warrant such praise?


De witt , Galvano twice, Simms, draw with Eubank. Tell me the massive names who Jones has beat to be considered one of the best of all time apart from Toney and Hopkins ? People get to John Ruiz before long. Not saying he isn't but sometimes its not just about the names, its about the manner of your victory as well . How long did Benn defend his titles for ?A long, long time . He was an extremely respected operator in his day and what gets me about british fighters, it always seems to be them who were avoiding, rather than being avoided .
The fact that Benn is so talked about to this day spells out FAME to me.

[PowerPuncher]

No Nunn, Toney, McCallum, Jackson, Brewer, Jones Jr, Liles..Barkley probably wasnt the scalp he was either...he had lost two on the trot when Benn beat him..

Barkley lost an SD and an MD to Nunn and Duran respectively. Benn took him out in 1. He'd go on to beat Hearns again and become a 3weight champ after this.

GMAN was a massive scalp and was P4P top6 at the time. He obviously beat Jackson

Benn wanted RJJ after GMAN but RJJ didnt want to work with king. Eubanks didn't want him when RJJ was a prospect

Toney was the biggest that didnt happen, they were probably both steered away

Brewer and Liles weren't ever meaningful foes

Nunn and McCallum were great fighters, pity they didn't happen. You missed Bomber Graham

[PowerPuncher]

De witt , Galvano twice, Simms, draw with Eubank. Tell me the massive names who Jones has beat to be considered one of the best of all time apart from Toney and Hopkins ? People get to John Ruiz before long. Not saying he isn't but sometimes its not just about the names, its about the manner of your victory as well . How long did Benn defend his titles for ?A long, long time . He was an extremely respected operator in his day and what gets me about british fighters, it always seems to be them who were avoiding, rather than being avoided .
The fact that Benn is so talked about to this day spells out FAME to me.

He dominated and ko'd Mallinga who beat Benn, he beat Virgil Hill who is a top20 all time LHW, he beat McCallum who is just great but old, he destroyed Griffin who beat Toney (and himself), and beat Tarver. All in all he beat 15 champions

Agree with you that Benn is great though

[stonerose]

He dominated and ko'd Mallinga who beat Benn, he beat Virgil Hill who is a top20 all time LHW, he beat McCallum who is just great but old, he destroyed Griffin who beat Toney (and himself), and beat Tarver. All in all he beat 15 champions

Agree with you that Benn is great though


benn also beat malinga. by the time he lost to him he was finished. and mcallum was fucked by the time he met jones.
i fully admit jones is far better than benn, but if someone slates benns competition, there isn't a massive gulf between the two. did jones ever face ( and beat )such a murderous puncher as mclellan ?

[stonerose]

you can pick holes in pretty much everyones record. Benn has a better one than most, especially taking into account losses.

[WhataRock]

Massive win on paper and reality but watching that fight it was a definition of a technical knockout..Barkley could have continued and knowing how he could come back..really anything could have happened.
You could actually see the ref didnt want to stop it but had to because of the 3KD rule.
Not taking anything away from it though...great win.

McClellan is quite overrated but a good scalp nonetheless.

Brewer and Liles were title holder during their reign...I would say they would have been better opponents then a lot their defences were...certainly not meaningless.

My point is though there records arent bullet proof considering they are missing their fair share of names...still solid though.

Stone,
I can tell you how long Benn was champ for at supermiddle...nearly 4 years, making 7 or 8 defences of his title..by no means a record and it wasnt like he was undisputed or anything.

[PowerPuncher]

benn also beat malinga. by the time he lost to him he was finished. and mcallum was fucked by the time he met jones.
i fully admit jones is far better than benn, but if someone slates benns competition, there isn't a massive gulf between the two. did jones ever face ( and beat )such a murderous puncher as mclellan ?

Thats pretty debatable, think the ITV team had Benn-Malinga 1 to Malinga and Benn was having problems figuring the South African out. Eubanks had problems with him too. Malinga was pretty unlucky with the decisions. Agreed Benn was probably borderline shot after the GMAN match

[WhataRock]

benn also beat malinga. by the time he lost to him he was finished. and mcallum was fucked by the time he met jones.
i fully admit jones is far better than benn, but if someone slates benns competition, there isn't a massive gulf between the two. did jones ever face ( and beat )such a murderous puncher as mclellan ?


I think the gulf is considerable...It fairly obvious IMO.

Roy probably didnt fight a puncher like McClellan but he fought better opposition and fought light heavyweights, some of which punch for punch didnt punch that much softer then GMAN Id imagine.

[PowerPuncher]

Massive win on paper and reality but watching that fight it was a definition of a technical knockout..Barkley could have continued and knowing how he could come back..really anything could have happened.
You could actually see the ref didnt want to stop it but had to because of the 3KD rule.
Not taking anything away from it though...great win.

McClellan is quite overrated but a good scalp nonetheless.

Brewer and Liles were title holder during their reign...I would say they would have been better opponents then a lot their defences were...certainly not meaningless.

My point is though there records are bullet proof considering they are missing their fair share of names...still solid though.

Stone,
I can tell you how long Benn was champ for at supermiddle...nearly 4 years, making 7 or 8 defences of his title..by no means a record and it was like he was undisputed or anything.

Barkley was a TKO but no way Barkley was getting out of that round anyway

[stonerose]

Massive win on paper and reality but watching that fight it was a definition of a technical knockout..Barkley could have continued and knowing how he could come back..really anything could have happened.
You could actually see the ref didnt want to stop it but had to because of the 3KD rule.
Not taking anything away from it though...great win.

McClellan is quite overrated but a good scalp nonetheless.

Brewer and Liles were title holder during their reign...I would say they would have been better opponents then a lot their defences were...certainly not meaningless.

My point is though there records are bullet proof considering they are missing their fair share of names...still solid though.

Stone,
I can tell you how long Benn was champ for at supermiddle...nearly 4 years, making 7 or 8 defences of his title..by no means a record and it was like he was undisputed or anything.


WBC SMW title he made 11 defences . 3 Defences at MW. Not a bad record is it ?

And come on mate, you can pick apart the Barkley win but the guy was down twice in the last 20 seconds. You can pretty safely say if it would have gone on Barkley was in serious shit.

[stonerose]

I think the gulf is considerable...It fairly obvious IMO.

Roy probably didnt fight a puncher like McClellan but he fought better opposition and fought light heavyweights, some of which punch for punch didnt punch that much softer then GMAN Id imagine.


considerable yes,not massive. Roy Jones is rightly hailed as a legend . I'm not claiming Benn to be the same, i just reckon he should be in the hall of fame.

[WhataRock]

Barkley was a TKO but no way Barkley was getting out of that round anyway


Yes he was...the bell had rung whilst he was getting up..He would have been given the 8 count (which he would have been fine for) and then he would have gotten 60 secs to get his senses back.

IMO Benn doesnt let him off the hook but who knows.

[WhataRock]

Not taking away from the win but it was a technical knockout..Im more having a go at the WBO having the 3KD rule for a title fight...Ive seen a bloke come back from 4 in a round, should be up the ref's discretion and they have now since changed that I believe.

[WhataRock]

And as I said there are people who are in for less but if I was running it I would be very picky.

[stonerose]

Would you have Julian Jackson in it ? For that matter, is he in it ?

[WhataRock]

Would you have Julian Jackson in it ? For that matter, is he in it ?


He is in the WBHOF...pretty sure he isnt in the IBHOF, get back to you on that one.

[PowerPuncher]

Would you have Julian Jackson in it ? For that matter, is he in it ?

Jackson doesnt have that many marquee names but he was the business, went 46-1 before running into Gman as a 32yo and having a damging war against a much bigger man. Still he's sparked Bomber Graham and Terry Norris and stopped so many contenders that others couldn't.

[AlFrancis]

I see your point but he ofcourse beat Benn and fought in 2 of the greatest fights of that period, Benn 1 and Watson 2.

Eubanks also went all the way to Cruserweight and should have had a 3rd title against Thompson in the first fight. He also probably deserved a decision over Collins

Eubanks did avoid some big fights, but even Sugar Ray Robinson did that

The funny thing about these 3 is Herol Bomber Graham is better than both the middleweights, made Hamed what he is and has got bugger all chance of getting recognition :|

Also, on another thread on here, opinions are mixed about who would win Sibson or Benn. Can't see Sibson being inducted in the near future. Not thet he wasn't a very decent fighter.

[Mendoza]

I think all 3 should get in over time. None jump out at me as a must induct ASAP type. I would say Benn was the best of the three, then Naz, then Eubanks.

Is there any reason why we never saw Benn or Eubanks fight Roy jones jr in the early to mid 1990's?

[stonerose]

I think all 3 should get in over time. None jump out at me as a must induct ASAP type. I would say Benn was the best of the three, then Naz, then Eubanks.

Is there any reason why we never saw Benn or Eubanks fight Roy jones jr in the early to mid 1990's?

Politics, Benn publicly said he'd fight Jones Jnr after they was widely seen as the Number 1 & 2 in the division. But to be honest this was after Benn had truly and belatedly made America believe in him ( hard to imagine they were so late on the uptake after battering Barkley and Dewitt on US soil ) when he beat Mclellan. But if the fight would have happened then Jones would have taken the piss out of Benn , he was finished after the G-Man brutality.
Eubank i think openly said he avoided Roy like the plague.

[enquirer]

All three should make it to the hall.
All three were tremendous fighters,and were very good head to head...

[GPater11093]

eubank and benn should be inducted

naz shouldnt he was a great fighter but he got a one sided beating by barrera and never came back to the big time

[d239113g]

It's EUBANK not EUBANKS

[GPater11093]

he was actually born Christopher Livingstone Eubanks but he chopped the s off

[d239113g]

he was actually born Christopher Livingstone Eubanks but he chopped the s off

well i apologize then :)

But no way Benn gets in over Eubanks

[GPater11093]

he calls himself Eubank though

[d239113g]

he calls himself Eubank though

because he cannot prenounce the S ;)

[GPater11093]

lol