Nigel Benn comeback – Life and times of boxer, from his battles with Chris Eubank to becoming a DJ and then fighting off snakes on I’m a Celebrity…
FOR the past eight years boxing legend Nigel Benn has enjoyed the quiet life in Australia with his wife and family, away from the limelight that surrounded him in the UK.
But on November 23, Benn is to return to the ring - some 23 years after his last fight against Steve Collins.
Now 55, the fitness fanatic from East London wants to feel the buzz of throwing jabs again, and will face off against former world champion Sakio Bika in a bout sanctioned by the British and Irish Boxing Authority (Biba).
It's just another chapter in what has been an eventful life so far for the super-middleweight boxer.
ALWAYS THE FIGHTER
Born in 1964 to parents from Barbados, Benn was the sixth of seven brothers in his family.
Before boxing, he served in the British army for four-and-a-half years as an infantryman with the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
For three of those years, Benn was stationed in West Germany, before he was moved to Northern Ireland during the Troubles for a year-and-a-half.
Subsequently, the Royal Fusiliers often appeared in regimental uniform at many of Benn's fights to pay homage to his military past.
BOXING RIVALRIES
Benn endured many battles during a career that spanned 48 professional fights, with 42 wins (35 by KO), five losses and a draw to his name.
But his most bitter rivalry was shared with Chris Eubank. The pair's hatred for one another was evident, with Benn often taunting the champ during interviews and Eubank telling the media that he couldn't wait to knock his rival out.
They first stepped into the ring together in 1990 at the NEC in Birmingham in front of a packed crowd baying for blood.
In round four a ferocious uppercut by Benn caused Eubank to bite his tongue, causing a severe gash that the man nicknamed Simply the Best hid from his corner in fear the fight would be stopped by the doctor.
By the end of the fifth round Benn's right eye was swollen shut from the punishment he received.
Eventually, referee Richard Steele stepped in when Benn was shaken by a straight right and then pummelled by a flurry of punches.
Three years later, Benn and Eubank took part in a rematch at Old Trafford in what was called Judgement Day.
The fight wasn't quite as brutal as the first, with neither men as hurt, but it did go the distance.
The pinnacle was the final round, which saw both boxers knowing they had to win it.
In the end, the judges scorecards were close - 115–113 Eubank, 114–113 Benn, and 114–114. The fight ended in a draw.
MONEY-SPINNER
After making a mint out of boxing, he's reportedly still got a net worth of around £16m, Benn decided to take on a different challenge.
He learned how to DJ, and became internationally recognised on the world circuit playing at some of the best clubs and parties.
Benn spun a mix of house and garage in cities including Ibiza, Los Angeles, London and Miami to hipster revellers.
In 1997 he teamed up with DJ Ride to release Power-House UK Speed garage Vol.1. mixed live by the two DJ's who collectively called themselves The Untouchables.
But when the dance scene faced challenges and the changing landscape of nightlife saw many super clubs close down, Benn pulled the plug on his hobby.
“The 90's for me was the best era for clubbing," Benn once said.
"I was having a great time working as a DJ, loads of money and travelling the world, but I found that the crowds were getting younger and younger and less appreciative of the soulful, funky music I was playing, so I jacked it in."
DEMONS
In 1999, Benn was at his lowest ebb.
Severely depressed, he took his second wife Carolyne's car to Streatham Common in South-West London and attempted suicide through a combination of carbon monoxide poisoning, mixed with sleeping tablets that were washed down with cheap white wine.
Benn had beaten himself up over a sex addiction that was destroying him and his marriage, and felt he was a bad example to his children.
The only way out from his philandering lifestyle was to kill himself.
"I don't know whether I wanted to kill myself or whether I was crying out for attention. I was in such a state," Benn revealed in an interview with Esther Rantzen on her chat show.
As fate would have it, he survived because the hosepipe kept falling out. It was then that Benn turned to religion.
HE'S A CELEB...
In 2002, ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here was brought to our screens for the very first time.
Benn appeared alongside the likes of the late Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Christine Hamilton, Nell McAndrew, Uri Geller and eventual winner Tony Blackburn.
Viewers were treated to the sight of Benn parading around the camp in Hamilton's bra and knickers.
But he really lost it when he had to perform his Bushtucker Trial with snakes.
Screaming as he put his hands into a tank full of the reptiles to retrieve meal tokens, he was bitten and couldn't carry on with the challenge.
He was the second contestant eliminated from the show.
TODAY...
In 2011, Benn settled in Sydney, Australia with his family after living in Miami, LA, Barbados, Jamaica and Hawaii.
He devotes most of his time to the Hillsong Church, and helps couples who going through marital difficulties by offering advice based on his own experiences.
Benn has also jumped to the aid of disadvantaged kids by teaching them boxing basics in a local gym to keep them off the streets and out of trouble.
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Still fit, he trains twice a day and his muscular and slender physique defies that of a 55-year-old man.
His next project, aside from knocking out his opponent on November 23, is to build a 10-bedroom home for his family with his bare hands.
It's clear that in Benn's life, it's his hands that have always done all the talking.
