28.05.08 – By Ted Sares: This one took place in 1988 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Nigel, “The Dark Destroyer” was 18-0 at the time, while Anthony “The Terminator” Logan from Jamaica was 15-1 (his only defeat, a UD, coming at the hands of David Noel). Both were heavy handed warriors and the match promised fireworks. Indeed, each of Benn’s prior wins had come by way of stoppage, many occurring in the first two rounds. Moreover, their respective styles were more similar than different.
The Fight – Benn immediately opened up with several hard punches that seemed to land behind the Terminator’s head but Referee Larry O’Connell felt no warning was necessary. The Destroyer continued this early attack with his trademark fury. But Logan’s punches had icing written all over them as well, and he came on towards the end of the round doing some good counterpunching and landing hard uppercuts.. Then he decked Benn with a sneaky right for a flash knockdown. Undaunted and unhurt, Benn roared back with a furious onslaught. He finished strong as he hammered his opponent against the ropes at the bell. The crowd was up and roared its approval for an electrifying round. The fight was living up to expectations.
In round two, both men continued to hit each other with jackhammer shots including molar rattling uppercuts and then Logan began to get the better of it with sharp uppercuts and strong rights. Finally, he staggered Benn with a two-punch combo and followed up with a 22-punch volley that had The Dark Destroyer on the precipice. As Benn was stumbling back from The Jamaican’s attack, he unleashed a roundhouse left hook from Hell which landed flush and terminated “The Terminator at the 1:15 mark. And just like that, The Dark Destroyer snatched victory from defeat. It had been a fight that contained more sustained action than most 10 round bouts.
Today, when fans talk about Nigel Benn, they conjure up words like fury, rage, and ferocity. These were his trademarks in the ring. This fight went far in establishing that legacy.
Visit the authors Web Site at www.tedsares.com