‘The Dark Destroyer’ Nigel Benn was often able to live up to his famous nickname in the ring.
The former world champion was no stranger to delivering knockout blows in the prime of his career. From Benn winning a world title with a finish, to finishing a one-round war with Iran Barkley, the fighter often did not leave his fate in the judges’ hands.
Starting his career, Benn showed the world his finishing abilities. His debut in 1987 would result in him winning via second-round stoppage.
As well as winning his debut in style, it was the start of an impressive streak.
Nigel Benn won his first 22 professional fights via knockout
Benn would make his professional debut in 1987. In that year, he would fight a total of 12 times.
From January to December, his 12-fight run would see him victorious in each of his outings. As well as this, he was able to finish every one of his opponents.
The latest finish in this stretch was a seventh-round knockout over Reggie Miller (22-6). While his quickest came after just 25 seconds.
Benn would continue his finishing streak until 1989. A further 10 wins by stoppage would see his record become 22-0, with a 100% knockout rate.
Due to the impressive start to his career, he would be paired up with a notable opponent in Michael Watson.
Although the bout did not go the distance, Benn would not maintain his winning and knockout streaks.
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Nigel Benn was defeated by Michael Watson in 1989
In May 1989, Benn would meet Watson in London. Fighting for Benn’s Commonwealth middleweight title, Watson went into the bout with a 21-1-1 record.
Watson was also coming off a series of finishes, scoring three in a row prior to his Benn meeting.
Against ‘The Dark Destroyer,’ he would be able to make it four in a row. A short left hand from Watson would knock Benn down in round six. The knockout artist would not be able to beat the count, as the fight was declared over.
Benn would bounce back from the loss with five wins before facing Chris Eubank for the first time. Then, he would suffer the second defeat of his career to his rival in 1990.