The Dark Destroyer (Dark Destroyer - Nigel Benn)

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	Dark Destroyer - Nigel Benn
Date:	24/06/08 (482 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A very entertaining read

Disadvantages: Some interest in boxing might help

Nigel Benn was one of the most entertaining and charismatic British boxers of the modern era. In the eighties and nineties he became a two time world champion at different weights and had memorable encounters in the ring agaisnt the likes of Doug Dewitt, Michael Watson, Chris Eubank, Iran Barkley, Henry Wharton, and, tragically, Gerald McClellan. His life outside the ring was every bit as colourful and this autobiography finally tells the story of the boxer known as The Dark Destroyer.

The book is a shade over 300 pages long and divided into twenty shortish chapters. It was ghosted by John Lisners and he does a good job with Benn. Norman Mailer it is not but it is a league above the large print Sun reader style 'I Was A Cockney Hardcase' type books that tend to blight this genre. Benn tells his story in his own inimitable way and at times you can almost hear his lilting accent with its traces of his upbringing in Ilford.

The book begins with the event that continues to haunt Benn to this day. The death of his older brother Andy in an accident. Nigel was eight years old. "I don't care when death comes or what fate has in store, as long as I can see my brother," says Benn. "If death means that there is a chance of being with my brother again I am tempted towards that unknown journey." Benn attributes the optreperous Andy as a big influence on his life and someone who gave him the energy and inspiration to break out from his humble working-class origins. I tend to find the start of biographies/autobiographies with the 'early years' and family stuff a bit of a struggle sometimes but this book zips along quickly with its entertaining subject right from the start.

Benn admits to being a tearaway as he grew up with no real sense of direction. The only thing he was really good at was fighting. After leaving school at an early age and spending time on the dole, Benn is persuaded by his Mum to join the army. Another brother is already serving with First Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. "Thank God I did," says Benn. "The decision to do so was a major turning point in my life."

It's interesting to read about Benn's life before he was famous. The army soon learn that they have a natural boxer on their hands and doors start to open up to a possible future in the ring. Meanwhile Benn serves in Cyprus, Germany and does a couple of Tours Of Duty in Northern Ireland. "I don't think fear is an emotion I will ever have after Northern Ireland," says Benn. His scraps and various escapades serving Queen and Country are pretty entertaining. I found it interesting to read that Benn initially left the army with no plans to box as a career. He considered a role in a plan to rob a security van (!) and lived on £38 a week dole money with his young family. A visit to West Ham Boys Amateur Boxing Club set him back on course.

Gradually, the book moves onto Benn the professional boxer. He sketches through the early knockouts fairly briskly and talks about what it was like to have money for the first time in his life. "I became a celebrity overnight," he says. When Benn is paid £1000 for his first professional fight it seems like a fortune.

There are a lot of passages about boxing politics in this book. I found it fascinating but it's fair to say some interest in boxing would aid the reader's interest. At the start of Benn's career, the streetwise Frank Warren has displaced the ageing Mickey Duff as the most powerful man in the British boxing but is furious when Benn leaves him to team up with the slick, unknown businessman Ambrose Mendy. The 'British Don King'.

Mendy of course fell out with Benn and ended up in Prison but it's fun to read about his schemes and dealings with Benn, who admits he was under the spell of the articulate Mendy. "He was as economical with the truth as he was generous with the bullshit," recalls Benn in his usual no-nonsense manner. Mickey Duff and Frank Warren are used for some good stories and one-liners in the book.

Other notable sections deal with the complex relationship between Benn and his two great British rivals, Eubank and Watson. Eubank's distaste for his profession rankles Benn to this day. "Boxing has been very good to me," says Benn. The monocled Eubank is derided by Benn for his "ludicrous clothes" and "the garbage that flowed from his mouth."

His first defeat, to Michael Watson, leads Benn to go 'back to basics'. I really found this section of the book absorbing. Benn explains how he was becoming too mixed up with the showbusiness/hype side of boxing and needed to start again. He heads for the Fifth Street Gym in Miami where American boxers give him severe workouts and sparring sessions. Benn fights in the US for a period and beats tough customers like Jorge Amparo, Jose Quinones and Sanderline Williams in relative obscurity. It's a great insight into the sacrifices he made as a boxer.

More politics follow when Benn beats Doug Dewitt in a tough up and down encounter to win the WBO Middleweight Championship. The British Board Of Control don't recognise the new WBO and so are more or less saying that Benn isn't a champion. Benn rips up his British boxing licence after the fight on television.

The rest of Benn's incredible career pans out through the book. He confesses that he never felt quite the same after a bruising encounter with Henry Wharton in 1994. There is another bout with Eubank and, of course, the tragic encounter with Gerald McClellan. McClellan is Don King's latest superstar. The 'G-Man' is headed for a planned superfight with Roy Jones and Benn, as he points out, was just a stepping stone. An easy to hit British boxer who was probably just on the way down.

Benn confounds the critics by stopping McClellan in an extraordinary, brutal encounter but his greatest triumph turns into his biggest nightmare when McClellan collapses and suffers a brain injury. There is a touching scene where Benn is in hospital being checked out and rehydrated. He goes to find McClellan who is also in the hospital. "He wasn't awake." says Benn. "I kissed his hand and said sorry."

There is much more in the book. Benn's wives, especially his beloved Carolyne, feature a lot and he talks about his post boxing career as a DJ and how he found God. When it was originally published, a certain Prince Naseem Hamed was unbeaten and had dissed Benn in the past. Benn declares that Hamed is fraud. The Dark Destroyer took on the most dangerous opponents whereas Hamed is protected. History proved that Benn had a point. Nigel enjoys recalling the moment where he finally caught up with The Prince at a Brit Awards and threatened to "punch the little shit up in the air."

The book is crammed with Benn's sexual exploits, although it never becomes too distasteful. There is chapter called 'Orgy', which is probably self-explanatory. For once though, even The Dark Destroyer felt a bit intimidated by this, erm, event. To be honest there is a bit too much of this for my tastes. Call me strange but I'd rather read about boxing!

My one other mild critique of the book is that some of the fights are glossed over, especially the defeats. Benn fought Steve Collins a few times at the end of his career but barely mentions the fights.

Overall though, the book is a must for boxing fans. It's a great insight into a remarkable man.

Summary: Good old Nige.