For those of you who thougt it might go away, the Nigel Benn comeback: one the former two-weight king is set to launch at the age of 55, this after 23 yars of inactivity (gym work aside, and we know Nigel has kept himself in fine, fine shape; even enviable shape), ain’t going no place.
Benn, who thrilled millions of fans back in the late 1980s and right through to the mid-1990s, has scheduled a press conference for London this Thursday (Sept. 26th), and it is widely anticipated that the 55 year old (56 in January) will formally announce his November 23rd ring return, in Birminghman. The rumoured (for some time now) foe is Sakio Bika, a tougher than tough former champ who, although also at the veteran stage himself at age 40, has likewise kept himself close to a gym (Benn’s own gym in Australia, in fact).
The British Boxing Board saying no, no way, has not deterred Benn. Having been turned down for a license there, Benn has sucessfully obtained license to fight under the auspices of the British and Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA). This also explains the announced (though not officially) addition of another veteran former champ to the card: Ricardo Mayorga no less.
As per a piece from talkSPORT, via IFL TV, Tommy Jacobs, also licensed under BIBA rules, is set to fight Mayorga on the November 23 bill.
Now, if you feel 46 year old Mayorga should no longer be fighting (the Nicaraguan warrior who ruled as welterweight champ and, briefly, 154 pound champ back in the mid-2000s, has lost his last three fights, all by stoppage), you sure have a point. But should Benn be fighting again having had almost a quarter of a century out of the ring?
Who knows what we can expect to witness if the full card goes ahead as scheduled (or, if you prefer, as threatened)? No man should tell any other man what to do, and in this spirit, it’s up to Benn and to Mayorga when it comes to what they wish to do with their lives.
Above all else, as has written here before on this, shall we say, wild card – let’s hope no-one gets hurt on November 23rd.