DARK DESTROYER

25th February 1995
Docklands Arena London.

This was the night
The night of the Dark Destroyer.
Millions paid to view
And if millions only knew
What was to happen.....

The king of his sport
He came from Freeport,
The G-Man
All American boy.
Full of poise
Full of noise
He entered with a swagger.

Then there was our man
True Brit.... East end clan
The Dark Destroyer
Snarling English bulldog.
Stalked and prowled
No words... He growled
Full on hardcore... Ragga.

From the opening bell
G-Man unleashed hell
And sent Benn crashing to the floor,
But the Warrior came back strong
Proving American fans wrong
He'd just come back for more.

Benn then went on the attack
Driving his opponent back
Landing blows so savage and hard,
The G-Man seemed stunned
He was being massively outgunned
By a Brit in his own backyard.

It didn't take long
To see something was wrong
The American appeared in a daze,
He'd taken many shots to the face
And he staggered about the place
As Benns fists fired like a blaze.

G-Man bravely knelt down
The destroyer had retained his crown
And the crowd roared their acclaim,
Something just wasn't right
Why hadn't somebody stopped the fight?
McClellan had collapsed in pain.

The Dark Destroyer is no more
That night haunts him to the core
Benn is now a preacher man,
The scars of that war
Are still raw and sore
He prays for the recovery of Gerald McClellan.

(Gerald McClellan suffered a blood clot to the brain and even after surgery was left blind, deaf and unable to walk. He is cared for by his loving family in Illinois USA. He is visited by Nigel Benn and they have a deep spiritual bond.)

Boxing is a brutal sport and unfortunately recriminations are still raging as who is to blame for the tragedy.

I leave it to Nigel Benn to have the final word from the boxers perspective

" We gave you what you wanted to see, you got what you wanted "

Nigel Benn "Dark Destroyer"

Phil Hall  July  2014