Nigel Benn vs. Iran Barkley

Nigel Benn vs. Iran Barkley

Date	August 18, 1990
Venue	Bally's Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada
Title(s) on the line	WBO middleweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Nigel Benn Iran Barkley Nickname The Dark Destroyer The Blade Hometown West Ham, London, U.K. The Bronx, New York, U.S. Purse $400,000 $200,000 Pre-fight record 26–1 25–5 Height 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (177 cm) 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) Weight 159 lb (72 kg) 160 lb (73 kg) Style Southpaw Orthodox Recognition WBO middleweight champion Former WBC middleweight champion
Result
Benn wins via 1st round TKO

Nigel Benn vs. Iran Barkley was a professional boxing match contested on August 18, 1990, for the WBO middleweight title.

Background

After losing his WBA middleweight title to Roberto Durán in February 1989, Iran Barkley would get a shot at the IBF's version of the middleweight title when he challenged champion Michael Nunn six months later, though he would lose via unanimous decision.^[1] Despite the loss, Barkley secured another middleweight title fight, this time against the inaugural WBO champion Doug DeWitt. However, the fight, which was scheduled to take place on January 15, 1990, on the undercard of the George Foreman–Gerry Cooney fight, was called off after Barkley had to withdraw after suffering a torn retina in his left eye.^[2] Matthew Hilton was subsequently named as Barkley's replacement.^[3]

DeWitt defeated Hilton and then was matched up against Nigel Benn for his next defense. Benn dominated the fight, knocking DeWitt down four times en route to a technical knockout victory.^[4] In July, after Barkley's left eye finally healed and he was cleared to return to boxing, the Benn–Barkley fight was made official.^[5]

The fight

As soon as the opening bell rang, Benn quicky attacked Barkley with a combination that left Barkley stunned and backed into the corner. Barkley, caught off guard by Benn's aggressive start, attempted to clinch but was unable to do so and was caught with a left hook that sent him down only 20 seconds in. Barkley answered referee's Carlos Padilla Jr.'s 10-count at six and continued the fight as Benn continue to wildly throw big power punches that Barkley was able to mostly dodge before countering with a left hand that sent Benn back into the ropes. Barkley continue to attack Benn while he was against the ropes but Benn was able to weather the attack and hit Barkley with several big punches to regain control of the fight and again sent Barkley down with a right-left combination, landing an illegal punch while Barkley was on his knees though the referee did not punish Benn for the infraction. A dazed Barkley again got back up but was quickly sent down for the third time. With the three knockdown rule in effect, Padilla, unsure if Barkley was knockdown or slipped, briefly consulted members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, who ruled that Barkley had indeed been knockdown, resulting in the fight being immediately stopped and Benn awarded the victory via technical knockout.^[6]

Fight card

^Note 1 For WBO middleweight title

References