0:00:06 > 0:00:07My guest this week
0:00:07 > 0:00:11is counted amongst the greatest of British sporting heroes.
0:00:11 > 0:00:17Introducing Nigel Benn!
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Known as the Dark Destroyer,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23he was a two-time world champion and in a glittering career,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26he first put on his boxing gloves when he was serving
0:00:26 > 0:00:28for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
0:00:31 > 0:00:37Nigel Benn went on to win 42 out of 48 of his professional fights.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39..Takes this fight by the scruff of the neck...
0:00:39 > 0:00:4235 of those victories were knockouts.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Once again he fights back!
0:00:45 > 0:00:47But looking back over his life,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51it's easy to see that Nigel's longest fight, his greatest fight
0:00:51 > 0:00:57and his finest victory was actually the battle he fought with himself.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Nigel Benn was eight years old when a family tragedy
0:01:03 > 0:01:05turned his world upside down.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Something in my heart was severed.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10I had no feelings.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12That pattern from a young eight-year-old boy
0:01:12 > 0:01:17went all the way through my life, the anger and the hurt that I had.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Five years in the Army gave him discipline and a will to win.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24There were highs...
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Nigel was a marauding, attacking puncher who just walked you down,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31put you to the ropes and knocked you out.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Nigel Benn, the Dark Destroyer...
0:01:34 > 0:01:37..and there were also lows.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40I remember kissing one hand, saying, "Sorry." And that was it.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47Outside the boxing ring, Nigel's life spiralled out of control.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49He lived his life like he used to fight.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51I didn't even care about the fight.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- Get him out the way, let's go out and party.- Shocking.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Eventually his past caught up with him, and Nigel even thought
0:01:59 > 0:02:01about taking his own life.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04I don't know if I wanted to die.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I think I just wanted someone to say, "You know what?
0:02:06 > 0:02:09"You're going to be all right."
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Help came from an unexpected source.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15God used a 63-year-old woman
0:02:15 > 0:02:20to break Nigel down to who God created Nigel to be.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24What I want to know is how, against all the odds,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Nigel Benn won the fight of his life.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Is this bringing back memories?
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Although, actually, this was your club, wasn't it?
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But not this building.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Yeah, this is where I really started boxing.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51It's got so much character, got so much history as well.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53But you're on the board over there.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56- Aren't you?- Yeah. - Hang on a minute...- 1986.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Just after Mark Kaylor.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Would have been nice if I had some lights,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04with my name up in lights there, but I'll take that.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08I'll stick some fairy lights up there for you for Christmas.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12# You say that you love me
0:03:12 > 0:03:14# Say you love me... #
0:03:14 > 0:03:19Nigel Gregory Benn was born on 22nd January 1964
0:03:19 > 0:03:24in Ilford, Essex, to parents Dixon and Mina,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27who came to England from Barbados in the mid-1950s
0:03:27 > 0:03:31with their growing family - all boys.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34So, what was family like when you were growing up in
0:03:34 > 0:03:37a house full of seven boys? Your mum was the only woman!
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Mum was the only woman. She wanted a girl so badly!
0:03:41 > 0:03:45From the top - Andy, Dermot, John,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Danny, Mark, Nigel and Tony.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Nigel being second from youngest, obviously we looked after him,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54you know what I mean?
0:03:54 > 0:03:56But after a certain amount of years, he looked after himself, you know?
0:03:56 > 0:03:58That's the type of chap he was.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03We just had fisticuffs amongst each other but, being honest with you,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06it was the best time of my life.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09We never had much. "Mum, we ain't got no food."
0:04:09 > 0:04:11And she'd come out with her accent,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13"What do you mean, you ain't got no food?"
0:04:13 > 0:04:17And she would knock something up, we'd think, "Wow, that was great!"
0:04:17 > 0:04:18What sort of mum was she?
0:04:18 > 0:04:23Mum was good. Mum was all right. Oh...
0:04:23 > 0:04:25If I was naughty, "You wait till I tell your dad."
0:04:25 > 0:04:28"Oh, no, where do you want me to clean up, Mum?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31"What do you want me to do, the washing up?"
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- Mum was good.- But your father was the disciplinarian.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36My dad was discipline.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37But he was fair.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40But the minute you stepped out of line, he come down on you heavy.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44I know my dad loved me very much.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Out of all seven boys, we were the closest.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49- Were you?- Absolutely.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55But in 1972, Nigel's parents were faced with devastating news,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58which they had to break to the rest of the family.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Uh... Oh.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07All I remember, I think it was about four, five o'clock in the morning.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12And I remember hearing my mum screaming, "He's dead, he's dead!"
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I was eight years old, I didn't understand what "dead" was.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Mum and Dad woke us all up
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and said,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23"Your brother won't be coming home again."
0:05:23 > 0:05:26And we said, "What do you mean, he won't be coming home again?"
0:05:26 > 0:05:29They said, "He's dead." And, uh...
0:05:29 > 0:05:34That was about it, really. I sort of remembered... I was only...
0:05:34 > 0:05:3711, 12. And...
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Our biggest brother was our hero, he looked after us, you know?
0:05:41 > 0:05:45And the house is, like, police cars are flashing outside,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47the lights and all that.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Later I found out my brother was killed by racists.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53- By racists.- Yeah, he was pushed through a window,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56cut his groin and bled to death.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Nigel believes his brother was murdered,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03but nothing was ever proved beyond the bare facts -
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Andy felt from an upstairs window onto a glass roof.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- How old was he?- He was 17.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16Back then, you think, well, when you're 18 you're a man.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21Now that I'm 52, nearly 53, I think,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23"He was just a little boy."
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He's the only one that come from Barbados.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31All my other brothers were all born in England, he was the only one.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33So, it was really a...
0:06:33 > 0:06:36A really telling time for Mum and Dad.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38They seemed like they brought him
0:06:38 > 0:06:41all the way from Barbados to England...
0:06:41 > 0:06:42- To die.- And he died.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46- So it was really hard for them. - Yeah.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49And it was hard for the family because...
0:06:49 > 0:06:52no-one talked about it for many, many years,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55until we were all adults. No-one ever talked about it.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00It was tough. It was a tough five, six years just getting over it.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Even now I still get emotional.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06Yeah.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Losing the brother he worshipped had a lasting effect on the young,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16impressionable Nigel.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21Me and my brother Andy, we were so close, you know? I just loved him.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Something in my heart was severed. I just changed.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I had no feelings.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31And that pattern from a young eight-year-old boy went
0:07:31 > 0:07:36all the way through my life, the anger and the hurt that I had.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I started smoking at eight, and I was always fighting.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- You were smoking at eight? - Yeah, eight years old.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46I just...just went off.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The main thing with Nigel when he was a youngster was fighting.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Always in scraps.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53He wouldn't be afraid to get in a scrap, and he had
0:07:53 > 0:07:55a bit of light-fingering,
0:07:55 > 0:08:00he'd go into places and take stuff, you know?
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I always shoplifting.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08I remember in 1976, nicked a crushed velvet jacket from Marks & Spencer.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11ALARM WAILS
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Woolworth and Marks & Spencer, it weren't, like, Versace or anything.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21I done a lot of bad things.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Nicked my auntie's purse, my next-door neighbour's purse.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I just went off the rails. Needed money.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31What did you need money for?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Just so that I can go and just enjoy myself.
0:08:34 > 0:08:41And then I made everybody in school on my birthday bring me 50 pence.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- You made everybody?- Yeah.- What, you bullied them into it?- Yeah.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47I was a horrible kid, yeah.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50He was definitely a rogue, you know, but that was him.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51Do you know what I mean?
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Were you caught?
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Oh, yeah, I was caught. I think...
0:08:56 > 0:09:01"Please send my mum, not my dad. Oh, please, please send my mum."
0:09:01 > 0:09:03How did your father react?
0:09:03 > 0:09:04He said,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07"By hook or by crook, you're not going to end up like your brother."
0:09:07 > 0:09:09I think, "Oh, OK, right."
0:09:09 > 0:09:12- Not end up dead like Andy. - Yeah, yeah.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16And I was going that way. I was going that way and I think...
0:09:16 > 0:09:19What he was trying to do, he was trying to steer me the other way.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25- Mm. Was there much church in your life?- No church at all. Yeah.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Not my cup of tea.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- So at that time, God wasn't present in your life.- No, not at all.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34He was around me but I didn't know him, not at all, no, no.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Far from it. I was more in the other corner.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40By far, more in the other corner.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45As Nigel reached 16, his parents were at the end of their tether.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48They turned to one of their older sons, John,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50for help with the tearaway teenager.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- My brother John was in the Army. - Oh, was he?
0:09:53 > 0:09:57And John used to walk down our road in his uniform, looking immaculate.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59It was like a fanfare,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03"Look, here comes John!" It was like that. Everything about him...
0:10:03 > 0:10:06I just loved... "I want to be like John."
0:10:06 > 0:10:09John was serving overseas when he received
0:10:09 > 0:10:12a desperate phone call from his mum.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15I could tell in her voice that something weren't right and
0:10:15 > 0:10:18she said, "John, do me a big favour.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22"Have a word with Nigel, get him in the Army, because I can see him
0:10:22 > 0:10:26"killing somebody or getting killed or being put in prison.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29"Please, have a word with him and get him in the Army."
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I said, "Mum, don't worry, when I'm on leave next time,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33"I'll have a chat with him."
0:10:34 > 0:10:38And so Nigel joined the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
0:10:38 > 0:10:431st Battalion and reported for his initial 18-week training.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Now, the objective of your training
0:10:45 > 0:10:50is to transform you from the soft life of a civilian
0:10:50 > 0:10:52into a robust fighting man.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Oh...wow.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Left, right, left, right!
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Basic training, it was like...
0:11:01 > 0:11:03I can't say what they used to say to you.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Stand at attention when you're speaking to me!
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I mean, screaming in your ears.
0:11:09 > 0:11:10Sit down!
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Screaming, tipping you up in the bed.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Wakey, wakey, rise and shine! Let's be having you!
0:11:16 > 0:11:17And we're like...
0:11:17 > 0:11:20"Oh, Mum!"
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- How old were you then? - I was 17.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33I would not change it for anything, cos I learned so much about myself.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35At that time, Rocky was out.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39We were running in the snow, the sleet would be bouncing off us,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42"Yeah, yeah, I'm a He-Man!"
0:11:42 > 0:11:47I think it affects you, cos it just changed my mentality.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50If I didn't join the Army, I don't know where I would be.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55For me, joining the Army was the best move I ever done.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58It gave me that discipline, that determination and will to win.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Mm. So the anger you had from Andy's death and all of those
0:12:03 > 0:12:07troubled teenage years was being exhausted, really, by this.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09No, it's just in the back.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12It's just in the back at this present moment because I'm learning
0:12:12 > 0:12:15something. What was going on before back Ilford...
0:12:15 > 0:12:19I can't even think about that now. I have not got time
0:12:19 > 0:12:22to think about what was going on.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26The anger from what happened to my brother is still in me
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and it's going to carry me through a lot of the arenas
0:12:29 > 0:12:31that I'm going to go through now.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37During his time in the Army, Nigel was sent on operational tour
0:12:37 > 0:12:41to Germany, where his brother John was also stationed.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- He was a boxer, wasn't he, in the Army?- Yes.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Is that what led you into boxing?
0:12:48 > 0:12:52No, it was already in me, I was always street-fighting anyway.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Without gloves?
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Yeah, without gloves and... Yeah...
0:12:56 > 0:12:59No, that was already in me, cos I did martial arts.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01I was always into contact sports.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Nigel took every opportunity the Army offered to develop
0:13:08 > 0:13:09his boxing skills.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12This is not Come Dancing, you're allowed to hit.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18But it wasn't just a passion for fighting that kept him in the ring.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23If you're good at sport in the Army, they take good care of you.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Really take good care of you.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28He boxed because he could get away with murder.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31We didn't wear a uniform, we didn't do any duties
0:13:31 > 0:13:35and we were treated like kings, basically, and I think that's why...
0:13:35 > 0:13:39He done it more for that than actually a love of boxing,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41to be honest with you.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Instead of me getting out my bed at 4.45 in the morning,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47I'm getting out my bed at nine o'clock. While they're all having
0:13:47 > 0:13:49slops and all that, I'm having steak and salad.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- That was a good incentive, wasn't it?- Absolutely!
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Whatever the motives behind his Army boxing,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58he proved to be a formidable opponent.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03When did you know that you were really good at boxing?
0:14:03 > 0:14:05I didn't.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09- Really?- I didn't.- How many wins had you had in the Army?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- All.- All of them?- Yeah.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14So how many fights was that?
0:14:14 > 0:14:15About 50.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21When his time in the Army came to an end, Nigel returned to London.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25He continued to box but he also had bills to pay.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29I came out with an exemplary record so I had no problem getting a job -
0:14:29 > 0:14:31a store detective...
0:14:31 > 0:14:33in Woolworth, where I used to shoplift.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36THEY LAUGH
0:14:37 > 0:14:39His ambitions in life were modest.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I just wanted a terraced house like me dad,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45cos I thought me dad had made it.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48And I'll be one better than my dad, I'll have a BMW.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51That's all I wanted - I just wanted a terraced house, like my dad.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53I didn't want nothing much, just like my dad.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59After store detective work, Nigel switched to armoured van security
0:14:59 > 0:15:02and discovered that even after four years of Army discipline,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04temptation wasn't far away.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07So you were doing cash in transit, in the vans...
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Yeah, and the thoughts that were going through,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14sitting on, like, £500,000, like, "Oh, how can I get this out?"
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- Did you? You were tempted? - Course I was.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- Did you have a plan, though, in your head?- Oh... Yes.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23It wouldn't have worked but...
0:15:23 > 0:15:25We would've blown the van up,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28the money would just have been left, the top would have been open...
0:15:28 > 0:15:31You had plans - wishful thinking!
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Nigel's plans now included another person in his life.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Tell me about meeting Sharon, your first wife.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Yeah, me and Sharon...
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Yeah...
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Oh, you've thrown me there.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Yeah, me and Sharon, we got on really well,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- we got on really well in the beginning.- Yeah.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Well, you were very young, both of you, for a start.
0:15:59 > 0:16:06We were young, and I think that my first wife, we weren't meant to be,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09we weren't meant to be, and that's no disrespect to her.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13We just didn't know how to love one another.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17We have three beautiful kids, Dominic, Sade and Reene.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Nigel was working full time to support his family,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26but he was also making a name for himself in boxing's amateur ranks.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- COMMENTATOR:- Nigel Benn comes from Mark Kaylor's old club
0:16:31 > 0:16:33but the man he has to beat is Gloucester's Johnny Melfah.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38After knocking out 24 of his 28 opponents,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41he beat Johnny Melfah in 1986
0:16:41 > 0:16:45to become amateur boxing's Middleweight champion.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Another chance of looking at it here.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Benn seems, to me, to be immensely strong.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54The following year, his life changed when he turned professional.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Your first professional fight - obviously, you remember that.
0:16:58 > 0:17:04Graeme Ahmed in Fairfield Halls in Croydon.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Was that a good purse to start with?
0:17:07 > 0:17:12Oh, no. I only started off on, like, £1,000
0:17:12 > 0:17:14but, to me...and I can remember...
0:17:14 > 0:17:16I remember signing on at 16,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I remember it today like it was yesterday,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I was getting £36.40 every two weeks.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- Yes.- I remember that.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26It's like God's always reminding me,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29"Yeah, remember where you come from, your £36.40 every two weeks."
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- Yes.- Then, all of a sudden, it was, like, getting £1,000.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Wow, I get £1,000 for knocking...
0:17:35 > 0:17:40And then it just went to five, 15, 50,
0:17:40 > 0:17:45- 100, 400 and so on.- Wow.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49- Money was just coming in... - From every fight?- Yeah.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59When I train,
0:17:59 > 0:18:04I think, "Yeah, Mercedes Sports, a nice, big house,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08"money in the bank, Rolex watches, diamonds."
0:18:08 > 0:18:11That's what I think about and that's what drives me on,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13that's what I want, and I'm willing to work hard for it.
0:18:14 > 0:18:20- In a year, we moved to a seven-bedroom mansion.- Wow.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25This is my house, a big, massive swimming pool,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27a massive garden, I'm like...
0:18:27 > 0:18:31"I own this house. This is mine."
0:18:33 > 0:18:36After turning pro in 1987,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39the fights and the victories just kept coming.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44- One a month?- Mm-hm. - And they were all wins.
0:18:44 > 0:18:4722 wins, 22 fights, 22 knockouts.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49- ANNOUNCER:- Nigel Benn!
0:18:49 > 0:18:52CHEERING
0:18:53 > 0:18:58In April 1988, less than a year after his first professional fight,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Nigel won the Commonwealth Middleweight title
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and a formidable nickname.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- COMMENTATOR:- Nigel Benn, the Dark Destroyer.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Quite probably one of the most popular boxers
0:19:09 > 0:19:10in the country at the moment.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11And this is a moment, really,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14when your celebrity life's really kicked in.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Yeah, from that time.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Once I got that belt around my waist, that was it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33I have watched many of my dad's fights.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37He's like a warrior when he goes in there.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Ferocious, savage, animal.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44When I hit someone, I know I'm hitting them hard.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48# Oh, baby, no I can't take it... #
0:19:48 > 0:19:50And you know, if you're getting in a room with him,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53there's just going to be no way out, really.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55I think he was an amazing fighter.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Just knock them out - boom, that's it.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Right on the chin, and he's out.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I think if I weren't related to Dad,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and I just saw him back in his boxing days,
0:20:08 > 0:20:09I'd be terrified of him.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10Terrified.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19CHEERING
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Did you get the posse of people around you? The entourage?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- Listen, wow!- Yeah?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34They just come out from everywhere!
0:20:34 > 0:20:39And you know what it is? It was like wherever I went, I had an entourage.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41How many?
0:20:41 > 0:20:46We'd have a posse of bullheads. You know what bullheads are?
0:20:46 > 0:20:51Massive bodybuilders, all around us, but all, like, pals,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54all pals, and we'd, like, take over a club for, like...
0:20:54 > 0:20:56We've done this for about ten years.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59DANCE MUSIC PLAYS
0:21:04 > 0:21:07It was just too excessive sometimes, you know?
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Everybody's trying stuff, "I want you here, I want you there,"
0:21:10 > 0:21:12and it was just too much.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14I didn't even care about the fighting.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15Boom! Get him out the way,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18let's go out and party - that was my whole attitude.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23- Shocking.- I just got swept along, I just got swept along.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25It was just unbelievable, it was like...
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Who was paying the bills, though? You?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- No, these people had money as well. - "These people"?
0:21:31 > 0:21:34That sounds very underworld-y. Gangster land.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36- Yes.- Really?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Oh, yeah. Very, very...
0:21:38 > 0:21:40These people that come along and say you're mates,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42they want to take you here, they want to give you this,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45they want to give you that - they're not your friends.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47They're just after being seen with you,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50as long as you do stuff for them, but, you know, I've always said -
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I had friends before I had money, and they're my safe friends.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54That's my policy.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00Fern, it was like, um, all through my career, I couldn't stop.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04It was like I was getting pulled around, all these shows,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and I just didn't really have no time to myself.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11It was just like a merry-go-round, I couldn't get off.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12It was like that.
0:22:12 > 0:22:13Has all this fame and fortune
0:22:13 > 0:22:17changed the so-called Dark Destroyer? You bet it has.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18# I'm gonna stand and fight
0:22:18 > 0:22:20# I'm gonna make it right I said. #
0:22:20 > 0:22:23# Stand and fight... #
0:22:24 > 0:22:27CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:30 > 0:22:31Nigel Benn!
0:22:31 > 0:22:34APPLAUSE
0:22:35 > 0:22:36# I'm gonna stand and fight
0:22:36 > 0:22:38# I'm gonna make it right I said... #
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Incidentally, you may have noticed some rap music
0:22:40 > 0:22:41in the background during that film.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It was in fact taken from Nigel's new pop single
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Stand Up And Fight, which will be in the shops very shortly.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50With his single peaking in the charts at 61,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Nigel was never going to be a pop star.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55In the ring, he continued to power his way to the top,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58a seemingly unstoppable force.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03But he was about to learn his first hard lesson as a professional boxer.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10Finsbury Park, London, 21st May 1999.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15Nigel Benn, the Dark Destroyer, against Michael Watson, the Force.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17They thought they could walk through Michael Watson,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19they thought Michael Watson was soft.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20What could he do to me?
0:23:21 > 0:23:2522 fights, 22 wins, 22 KO's.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27What can he do to me?
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I remember, this was how confident I was,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34I went to the hairdresser's to get my hair plaited
0:23:34 > 0:23:36a couple of hours before the fight.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40He was more concerned about his hair than he was about Michael Watson.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43He should have been more concerned about Michael Watson.
0:23:43 > 0:23:44I'm in the greatest shape ever,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47and if I stop Benn, it'll come like a bonus,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49but I'm ready to have a really good time.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52BELL RINGS
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Nigel started the normal way - wham, wham -
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and just throwing everything at him, and you could see things unfolding
0:23:58 > 0:24:00from about four rounds into the fight.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03After the five rounds...
0:24:03 > 0:24:05I'm, like, on empty.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10And I know the light's flashing - you're on empty, you're on empty.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14As I went back to my corner, this is what my trainer said to me -
0:24:14 > 0:24:16"Go out there and steam him.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19"Just go out there and steam him."
0:24:19 > 0:24:22What do you think I've been doing for the last five rounds?
0:24:22 > 0:24:24He blew a gasket, he ran out of steam,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28and he just couldn't seem to penetrate Michael Watson's defence.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31And Michael just hit me with a jab, and I went down.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35Well, it's happened.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38The man who swept to popularity on the strength of his lethal punching
0:24:38 > 0:24:40has himself landed on the canvas.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Nigel Benn was knocked out in the sixth round at Finsbury Park
0:24:43 > 0:24:44last night by Michael Watson.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47And that was a hell of a turn-up for the books, and everybody was
0:24:47 > 0:24:49flabbergasted, to be honest.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52And I remember walking back to my changing room...
0:24:54 > 0:24:57..and it was quiet, like this. You could hear a pin drop.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04Everybody said, "Yo, Nige, I'm just going to hang out with Michael.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08"When you get the title back, give me a ring."
0:25:08 > 0:25:10It was like that, so you're left on your own.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15- It was just me and my jockstrap left in the changing room.- Really?
0:25:15 > 0:25:16And it was like...
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Cos I thought I was the best thing since sliced bread...
0:25:19 > 0:25:23- Well, you would.- ..and I've got the world on my shoulders now.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24I'm a loser, I can't...
0:25:24 > 0:25:26That was it.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29All the negative thoughts started coming back, taking over.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34But the Dark Destroyer was destroyed.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35HE GROANS
0:25:35 > 0:25:36Oof!
0:25:36 > 0:25:42- I weren't... No, no, no, I wasn't destroyed.- Finished?- I came back.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Cos you've got to get this right, because I came back.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- If I'd been destroyed, that would mean I would've gone for good.- Yeah.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- But you lost, unfortunately, your title.- Yes, yes.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55It was my first defeat.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00That was the first time Nigel had to come to terms with the fact,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04well, I am vulnerable, I am beatable, I am human.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08The Michael Watson fight was Nigel's wake-up call.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Am I going to make it? Am I really as good as what I think I am?
0:26:12 > 0:26:14I had to go away.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20With his whole career at stake, Nigel headed across the Atlantic
0:26:20 > 0:26:24to the gym where Muhammad Ali himself had trained -
0:26:24 > 0:26:265th Street Gym, Miami Beach,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28known as the university of boxing.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I wanted to better myself because I knew there was more in me.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35I just needed to learn my trade.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37And how to pace it, cos I never knew how to pace.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40I only had one gear - first gear.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- You did pretty well, though, with only one gear.- Yeah.- You did.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47But you know what? That was what was in me.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52That's what was in me. I went in, can I do ten rounds?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Cos I'd never done ten rounds before.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Six rounds was like the maximum, with Michael Watson,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01and I was exhausted so I'd think, "Well, can I do ten rounds?"
0:27:01 > 0:27:04In Miami, Nigel went back to basics.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07He was honing his skills, training three times a day,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09and sparring with top fighters.
0:27:11 > 0:27:17In 5th Street Gym, some guys used to - bang, bang, bang, bang!
0:27:17 > 0:27:23Knock my headgear flying, I'd think, "Oh, really, Lord?
0:27:23 > 0:27:26"Just break my leg so I ain't got to come in sparring."
0:27:26 > 0:27:28That was my attitude, I hated sparring,
0:27:28 > 0:27:33because I didn't understand it, but then after about three months,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35I understood their culture.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39And eventually, no-one wanted to spar with me.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45- So it was building your stamina? - Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47So I knew how to go through the gears.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Now, I've got second, oh, look, third.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Oh, I'll tell you what, this one's got fifth as well.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55I never knew how to do that before.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- So Miami was the place.- Absolutely.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03With renewed confidence, Nigel won his next five fights,
0:28:03 > 0:28:08and in April 1990 beat Doug DeWitt to win his first world title.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Congratulations and welcome
0:28:10 > 0:28:14to the WBO Middleweight champ of the world, Nigel Benn!
0:28:14 > 0:28:17CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:28:20 > 0:28:24He returned home and wasted no time in showing off his belt.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32- That's the belt.- That's the belt. - Look at that belt.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35At what stage in the fight did you hurt your hand?
0:28:35 > 0:28:39- I hurt it in the last punch in the eighth round.- That was lucky.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41- The very last punch. - That was lucky, wasn't it?
0:28:41 > 0:28:43If that had gone earlier, you might have been in trouble.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- No, I would have carried on using my right.- Yeah.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47LAUGHTER
0:28:47 > 0:28:48APPLAUSE
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Nigel didn't have long to bask in the glory of his world title.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Someone else was after his belt -
0:28:56 > 0:28:59a fellow Brit who would become his greatest rival.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03When did you first hear the name Chris Eubank?
0:29:05 > 0:29:09I don't know, it was so funny, it was like...
0:29:09 > 0:29:10Bloop!
0:29:10 > 0:29:15Whe... Where did he come from?
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Eubank had had a couple of fights
0:29:17 > 0:29:23but he really wasn't a big name and suddenly he came in,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25with all his arrogance and brashness, and said,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29"I'm going to beat you, I'm going to wipe the floor with you."
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Christopher Livingstone Eubank had also trained in the States.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36He'd never lost a fight.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39But it was his flamboyant persona outside the ring
0:29:39 > 0:29:42that was really getting him noticed.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Who's this man with...jodhpurs,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49a monocle and a cane
0:29:49 > 0:29:51and with a lisp worse than mine?
0:29:51 > 0:29:54I don't know where he come... he's a sharp dresser.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57But I thought, I don't know where he came from,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01he was just, like, was there, we were just so different.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05And it was like, you know, he was looking down on everyone,
0:30:05 > 0:30:07he just thought he was better than everybody,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10it was just the way he was...
0:30:10 > 0:30:14- So he genuinely got under your skin? - Oh, big time.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17And I want to jump on him and fight him for real.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20There was no playing around with me and him.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22There was no playing around with me and him.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Nigel hated the man...passionately.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Let's make sure the fight takes place
0:30:27 > 0:30:29by signing the contract right now.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Christopher.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34I have to say, there seems an element of genuine hate
0:30:34 > 0:30:36- between these two, Ambrose. - For sure.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39I have nothing to say to Nigel, I find the man intolerable.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42In fact he's so wild, I have no time for such people.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44He has no class as far as I see it.
0:30:44 > 0:30:45It was fantastic.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49It was just great, and you don't get those type of rivalries,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51and it was just great to watch.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53I personally do hate him.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54So is there any point asking you
0:30:54 > 0:30:56- to shake hands after signing the contract?- No, no, no.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Chris Eubank, with his monocle and his walking stick,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02and Nigel, just wanting to tear everyone limb from limb,
0:31:02 > 0:31:06so you need them rivalries in boxing, that's what makes the sport.
0:31:07 > 0:31:1118th November 1990, the NEC Birmingham.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Eubank, the unbeaten fighter.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Benn with a reputation for knocking people out.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23Most of the boxing experts and the pundits all had, you know,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Benn winning the fight easily, stopping Eubank, etc, etc,
0:31:27 > 0:31:28and this young pretender.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Eubank was a very good fighter,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33but he didn't have that aura round him, like Nigel had.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37- That was a very tough fight. - Very tough fight.- It really was.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38He was just so strong.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41When Nigel went on the attack, you know,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45you could see the people sat in the stand next to you moving
0:31:45 > 0:31:49a little bit forward in their seat and, you know, "Come on, Nigel!"
0:31:49 > 0:31:52He had a neck that was just full of muscle
0:31:52 > 0:31:55and he had a head shaped like a mallet,
0:31:55 > 0:31:58he was just so strong, I was hitting and...ching!
0:31:58 > 0:32:00I couldn't even dent it.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02I couldn't even dent it.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Nigel was too aggressive, too eager going for the knockout
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and he flew at him with no care for the punches
0:32:07 > 0:32:08that were coming back at him.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12He can't half bang. He's got a lot of power.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15And Eubank showed that night how tough he was.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20More than anything else, he had the ability to absorb punishment,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23like nobody I've ever seen before, he just soaked it up.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Even the referee said it was the most dramatic fight
0:32:27 > 0:32:28he'd ever refereed.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32We were throwing big bombs. We both wanted to be winners.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Seconds from the end of round nine,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Eubank took the fight and Nigel's belt.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42I didn't have a game plan. He had a game plan and what he'd done worked,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44and I've got to take my hat off to him for that.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Which is very hard, but I will.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49The fight went down as a classic,
0:32:49 > 0:32:52but for Nigel, it was a devastating loss.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57It wasn't even about...losing, it was that pride thing.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59- It was that pride thing. - It got personal?
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Yeah, it got very personal, it was like,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05"I told you this man was beneath me."
0:33:05 > 0:33:07- You know how he talked. - Is that what he said?
0:33:07 > 0:33:09That's how he is. So it was very personal.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Eubank, that one really rankled him. He still had to beat him,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16he had that fire in his belly, he had to beat him.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21It was another three years before the Benn/Eubank rematch.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24It was one of the most anticipated and biggest
0:33:24 > 0:33:27British boxing events ever staged.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31He's beaten me, and I want to even the score.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34You know, he prepared like the champion, and I didn't.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37And I paid the price. Badly.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39We now step aside to let the main event begin.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Enjoy the fight, good night.
0:33:42 > 0:33:48The Dark Destroyer, introducing Nigel Benn!
0:33:50 > 0:33:54I remember, I saved up, I think I paid £70 from my ticket.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57- It really did stoke up the nation. - Mm-hm.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00- Everybody seemed to have watched it. - Absolutely, yeah.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Half a billion people worldwide.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06£70, I mean, I was only about 15 or something like that.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- We made a million each.- Did you?
0:34:09 > 0:34:13- In that one fight?- Yeah, in that one fight. One fight, yeah.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16£70, I thought I'm going to have a belting seat here, I'm going to see
0:34:16 > 0:34:19every punch, and I wasn't. I was at the back, I needed binoculars.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22They were just like two little one pence pieces in the ring.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26But just the atmosphere...
0:34:27 > 0:34:30You know, Nigel went in there, you know, being so aggressive
0:34:30 > 0:34:34and he put his heart on his sleeve and he went for the knockout.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41I think most people thought that Nigel did the better work
0:34:41 > 0:34:43by maybe just a round or two.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Oh, it's really livening up now. They had to do that.
0:34:49 > 0:34:55I won, but I got a point deducted because they said I hit him low.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Oh, yes, another low punch there.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I think he might take a point away there.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04But if you see him, he actually wears his shorts up to here,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07not under his belly button.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12After a thrilling final round, the bout was declared a draw.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15It wasn't a bad decision, because it was that close.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20This fight was a very close fight and I had it as a draw.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22I still won it anyway, but it went down as a draw,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24so I take it as a draw.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Nigel was now a national celebrity.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Could you repeat that, please?
0:35:30 > 0:35:32LAUGHTER
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Outside the ring, he was about to meet his match.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Hi, my name is Carolyne and I met Nigel in a nightclub.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44Although I didn't know who he was, I thought he was a real knockout.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48I saw him across the dance floor, if you like.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50And I noticed his eyes.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53So I thought, wow, he's got really nice eyes.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58When I saw her, I actually gave her a rose. I gave her a rose.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02It was quite romantic. But I lost the rose.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08Carolyne was like me, we just loved the rave music at the time.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13We just like clubbing, both of us, and we talked for hours.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17And then we, um...we were on the phone all the time.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20She didn't know who I was.
0:36:20 > 0:36:26I think, looking back, that possibly interested him
0:36:26 > 0:36:30because I was not in his face,
0:36:30 > 0:36:33I was not...all over Nigel.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37I'm trying to be like... I'm trying to kiss her and all that,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40and she's, "No, no, what are you doing?"
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Because I've always had that with other women.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47I was very forward. But actually, "No, no, no."
0:36:47 > 0:36:52I definitely was not interested in Nigel Benn,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54the celebrity, if you like.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57I don't even know if he was a celebrity when I met him.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01So I still... You know, we just got on, we just laughed and laughed
0:37:01 > 0:37:05and we were more friends, which was more important than anything else.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11When she found out who I was, she kept me quiet for two years.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15- She kept me quiet for two years. - So nobody knew she was seeing you?
0:37:15 > 0:37:19No-one knew she was seeing me because my name was Rob.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Oh, no, that is so embarrassing!
0:37:24 > 0:37:27- My name was Rob.- She said, "Oh, I'm seeing Rob tonight."- Robert.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30It all sounds silly now, I was 20.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34So I didn't want my friends to...
0:37:34 > 0:37:38think I'd changed because I was dating Nigel.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40So I just gave him the name Rob.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Two years.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Carolyne hid her relationship with Nigel,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51but she made no secret of her feelings about his job in the ring.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53I couldn't bear to watch Nigel fight,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56but I'd go to the fights and I'd sit front row
0:37:56 > 0:37:58or wherever they'd sit me,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00but I didn't actually ever watch the fight.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04I'd be looking down or have something in my hand the whole time.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I'd go in case anything ever happened.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11And something did happen.
0:38:13 > 0:38:19On 25th February 1995, Carolyne had a ringside seat for Nigel's
0:38:19 > 0:38:23fight against the American Gerald McClellan, known as The G-man.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27And McClellan was the bookmakers' favourite.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32At that time,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35McClellan was knocking people out left, right and centre.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I'd been watching him for five years and I thought to myself,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40this guy's going to be one of the superstars.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45- He's a tough guy.- Yeah.- Gerald McClellan, the mini Mike Tyson.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47And everyone had me to be...
0:38:47 > 0:38:51knocked out within round one to round three.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56From the Sun, the Mirror, Today, the Telegraph, the Observer,
0:38:56 > 0:38:57every single one.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01- I was annoyed.- Yeah.
0:39:01 > 0:39:02I always knew Nigel had a chance,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05but I couldn't see him beating the guy.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10Even brother John was nervous about Nigel getting hurt.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12I might be a little more straight with you.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15I remember, about a week before the fight,
0:39:15 > 0:39:17I went to Nigel and said,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20"Nigel, do yourself a favour, Nige, give your belt up."
0:39:20 > 0:39:23He turned round to me, give me such a look, he went,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26"You know something, John? Not a hope in hell."
0:39:28 > 0:39:29I looked at him.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33I didn't have no fear at all, absolutely no fear whatsoever.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36The day of that fight, the whole day, I had a headache,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39I was just stressed out, absolutely stressed out.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42That atmosphere was evil, and the people,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46they were just wanting to see blood.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50He hit me and then he hit me again,
0:39:50 > 0:39:55but I felt all the ligaments in my neck just stretch and I went out.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58He knocked me out of the ring, out. Out on the canvas.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00Bump, bump, bang.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Nigel's gone. He's gone, his face is cut, his cheek's cut.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07And he's knocked him straight through the rope. Absolutely gone.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10He did, he followed onto the table
0:40:10 > 0:40:12where all the commentators were, so we pushed him back in again.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16I mean, he just bashed the grind out of me in the first round.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18But this is what happened.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23Now, something in my subconscious, I don't know what's gone on,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26because after that, you watch the second round,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I'm chasing him around.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32He'd just given me a good hiding in the first round,
0:40:32 > 0:40:34but now I'm chasing him around.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36He rose from the ashes, and what a performance!
0:40:36 > 0:40:40There's something inside me that I didn't even know existed.
0:40:40 > 0:40:47The amount of bravery and the guts that he showed was remarkable.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50I could hear the power in the punches, it was unbelievable,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53one of the best performances by a British fighter of all time.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00The fight ended in round ten when McClellan dropped to one knee.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02What happened next turned what should have been
0:41:02 > 0:41:05a famous victory into tragedy.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08McClellan collapsed in the ring
0:41:08 > 0:41:10after being stopped in the 10th round.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Moments later, a large team of doctors and paramedics jumped in
0:41:13 > 0:41:16and struggled for 15 minutes in the ring to resuscitate him.
0:41:16 > 0:41:17He was taken to hospital
0:41:17 > 0:41:20for an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23It's too early yet to say whether there's going to be any
0:41:23 > 0:41:28long-term disability or any sign of damage as a result of this bleeding.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30It is in fact too early to say yet
0:41:30 > 0:41:33whether he's going to survive this blood clot or not.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- You went to see him in hospital. - Yeah.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40I remember kissing him on the hand and saying sorry.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42And that was it.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47McClellan was in a coma for 11 days.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52He survived, but suffered extensive and permanent brain damage.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54I came out with a damaged knee, damaged jaw,
0:41:54 > 0:41:55and a shadow on my brain.
0:41:55 > 0:42:00He came out paralysed, blind, 80% deaf, and in a wheelchair.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04- That's a terrible outcome, isn't it? - It was a very terrible outcome.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06And that's not what you box for.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10No, it's not what we box for, but it's was just... It happens.
0:42:10 > 0:42:16The fight was horrible, and the outcome was just heartbreaking.
0:42:16 > 0:42:17No, you don't ever think
0:42:17 > 0:42:20that something like that is ever going to happen.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24I've been in a tragic fight.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28One of my opponents died in 1983.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33And you are changed inexorably.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36You can never be the same again.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40It doesn't mean that you can't throw punches,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43it doesn't mean that you can't knock somebody out and hurt them.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46But it leaves an indelible mark on you.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Something in the back of your mind...
0:42:55 > 0:42:57..always makes you hesitate.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59Just a moment's hesitation,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and that's all it takes to get knocked out yourself.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04You're never quite the same again.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06It just... You just aren't.
0:43:08 > 0:43:14Nigel fought five times more before announcing his retirement in 1996.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18He looked to a new future with Carolyne
0:43:18 > 0:43:21to match his glittering boxing career of 12 years.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23But there was to be no fairy-tale ending.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28- So, Carolyne, she's the one for you. - Absolutely.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30She stood by me through thick and thin.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33She stood firm, and she knew I had a lot of issues as well.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36She knew I had a lot of issues
0:43:36 > 0:43:39and you know what? She was willing to work through them.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41There were so many affairs in that...
0:43:41 > 0:43:43- Your affairs?- Yes.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45Whatever did you do that for?
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Because...
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Sometimes a man's looking for love.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54And I didn't care where I got the love from.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56It was an addiction.
0:43:56 > 0:43:57Mm.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59HE EXHALES DEEPLY
0:43:59 > 0:44:01- Are you all right?- Mm-hm.
0:44:04 > 0:44:05Wow.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Just filling some kind of void in you?
0:44:11 > 0:44:15No, I don't think a void. It's not what I've gone through,
0:44:15 > 0:44:19it's what I've done, because I couldn't do things right.
0:44:19 > 0:44:20I'm struggling.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27I was hurting a woman I loved and I didn't know how to break that.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30I was battling a lot of issues in my life.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34People think that I'm strong, I'm very weak.
0:44:35 > 0:44:40When yet another story came out in the newspapers about an affair,
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Carolyne confronted Nigel.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46- You and Carolyne had had a terrible row at home.- Yeah.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Yeah, we had a terrible row
0:44:49 > 0:44:57and I remember driving off in our black Grand Cherokee,
0:44:57 > 0:45:02I had a hosepipe, she tried to stop me, and I just cried.
0:45:02 > 0:45:10Tortured by guilt, Nigel drove to a quiet corner of Streatham Common.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13And I'm there and I was crying.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17I don't know if I wanted to die.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19I think I just wanted someone to say,
0:45:19 > 0:45:21"You know what? You're going to be all right."
0:45:24 > 0:45:30And I remember driving home and that was the lowest point of my life.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38Carolyne was also struggling and feeling increasingly unable to cope.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41I'd dropped my children off to school and there was
0:45:41 > 0:45:44a group of mums outside and I don't think they were gossiping,
0:45:44 > 0:45:46I just don't think they knew what to say to me.
0:45:46 > 0:45:52And I walked the kids into school and I came out
0:45:52 > 0:45:53and for the first time, oddly,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57I noticed a big Church of England church opposite the school
0:45:57 > 0:46:01and I sat at the back of this empty church for about three hours
0:46:01 > 0:46:03and I just cried.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09They weren't tears of feeling sorry for myself, cos I'd passed that.
0:46:09 > 0:46:14They were tears of, "I need help and I can't do this."
0:46:14 > 0:46:18She went in there and she said, "If you're real up there,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20"do you want to help me down here?
0:46:20 > 0:46:24"And if you do, I'll worship you for the rest of my life."
0:46:24 > 0:46:26And I honestly heard, not an audible voice,
0:46:26 > 0:46:31but I heard God say to me, "Now you've come to me, I will help you."
0:46:32 > 0:46:35And that... I tell you, I felt like...
0:46:35 > 0:46:38We hear it, but I've never heard this before,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41I felt like the biggest rucksack had been taken off my back.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45I drove home to Nigel and we hadn't spoke for weeks.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49The whole atmosphere in the house was horrible for weeks.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53I'm knocking on our door, didn't even open it with the key,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56just banging on it and he opens the door, and I said...
0:46:56 > 0:46:59"Jesus says it's going to be all right,"
0:46:59 > 0:47:05and I'm like, "OK, OK, all right, yeah, OK."
0:47:05 > 0:47:09And he looked at me like I was mad
0:47:09 > 0:47:12and he actually looked at me with such fear of,
0:47:12 > 0:47:13"What have I done to her?"
0:47:13 > 0:47:16I thought, like, "Man, I've really ruined this girl,"
0:47:16 > 0:47:18because I didn't know who Jesus was.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22Didn't know who Jesus was, because I was always in the other corner.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26I always get emotional when I speak about it because it's real.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30And then she'd go to church and I'd go to church with her
0:47:30 > 0:47:34and she'd lift up holy hands in praise.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37And I'd be like, "Oh, that's what... OK, yeah, yeah."
0:47:37 > 0:47:39I'm just doing what she's doing.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I thought, "She's a Christian, I must be a Christian,"
0:47:42 > 0:47:44but it doesn't work like that.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49I think, in the beginning, Nigel wanted to make the marriage work,
0:47:49 > 0:47:54so he just plodded along, so he just came to church.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57I'd read my Bible to him and he'd understand what I was reading
0:47:57 > 0:48:01but I'd keep reading and it obviously wasn't real to him,
0:48:01 > 0:48:03then, at that moment.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05I was just following my wife,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08but didn't understand what it really meant.
0:48:08 > 0:48:14In 2000, Nigel and Carolyne moved with the family to Majorca.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17They became friends with Cheryl,
0:48:17 > 0:48:20pastor of a church called The Vineyard.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23To all intents and purposes,
0:48:23 > 0:48:27their relationship seemed to be, er, good...apparently.
0:48:27 > 0:48:33And they seemed to be people who knew and loved the Lord,
0:48:33 > 0:48:39but I have to be totally honest, I really did feel at that time
0:48:39 > 0:48:43that things were probably not as right as they should be.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47Nigel was taking Bible classes with Cheryl for two years
0:48:47 > 0:48:52before, one day, he came out with a startling confession.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54I said, "I've been having an affair."
0:48:54 > 0:48:59I didn't even want to say it, but it came out. It came out.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02She said, "Have you told your wife?" I said no.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05She said, "Well, you'd better go and tell your wife."
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Nigel was all over the place.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10I mean, you know, he wanted to be forgiven
0:49:10 > 0:49:12but he understood that this was not something
0:49:12 > 0:49:14that could now just be forgiven just like that.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17There needed to be a working through in all this.
0:49:17 > 0:49:22So all my life now... I'm at a crunch point.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26Carolyne had been through this all too many times before
0:49:26 > 0:49:30and now this man had betrayed her again.
0:49:30 > 0:49:35She was lovely, Pastor Cheryl, she became a confidante,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38someone I'd really talk to about everything that was going on,
0:49:38 > 0:49:41cos I didn't have that. I didn't trust anybody.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45We prayed, we talked things through and in the end,
0:49:45 > 0:49:49I had the idea, "Well, how would you feel, Carolyne,
0:49:49 > 0:49:55"if he came to stay with us and perhaps we could work this through?"
0:49:55 > 0:50:01She needed space to be able to think things through
0:50:01 > 0:50:05and I always remember Carolyne's answer, "Just get rid of him.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07"Just get rid of him."
0:50:07 > 0:50:10So Nigel agreed to leave the family home
0:50:10 > 0:50:13and live for a year in Cheryl's house.
0:50:13 > 0:50:19We've to get back to basics of who the real Nigel Benn was,
0:50:19 > 0:50:25because Nigel Benn had become the celebrity that had been
0:50:25 > 0:50:33promoted by the media, and that isn't who God created him to be.
0:50:33 > 0:50:38Nigel was put under a strict regime.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Whatever we did, Nigel did with us.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44It's because Nigel was always, before that,
0:50:44 > 0:50:47going where he wanted to go, doing what he wanted to do
0:50:47 > 0:50:52and never being responsible or accountable to anybody.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54They stripped me of everything.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58His way of life - his house, his swimming pool,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02all those things, his family.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06I couldn't drive my Porsche or my Escalade.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09He had to drive our cars, which were nowhere near like that.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13A 25- to 30-year-old G reg Escort with wind-down windows.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17And the only thing I was allowed to watch in the house
0:51:17 > 0:51:19was Little House On The Prairie.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Which he became addicted to, I might add.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26I've got from season one right down to season ten, I've got them all.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30During the year, it was very tricky at times.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35I'm very volatile, and Nigel is also very volatile
0:51:35 > 0:51:41and there were times when we were in disagreement.
0:51:41 > 0:51:46It was like, "How dare you?!" And I'd cry, I'd really cry.
0:51:46 > 0:51:52"How dare you, Nigel?! How dare you?"
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Not too long ago I was knocking people out for a living
0:51:55 > 0:51:57and yet I'm petrified, I was really...
0:51:57 > 0:52:00I don't know what happened through the whole year,
0:52:00 > 0:52:02I was just petrified, I was really scared.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04She scared him, yeah.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06And how amazing.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10Do you know, honestly, if God would have used a man,
0:52:10 > 0:52:15any man, Nigel would not have come under that authority or respect,
0:52:15 > 0:52:19so God used a 63-year-old woman
0:52:19 > 0:52:24to break Nigel down to who God created Nigel to be.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26It was like God took me back to school,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29my whole life started changing, you know,
0:52:29 > 0:52:33what I've done, I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37He's my role model, as it says in James 1:26.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40If we say we abide in him, we ought to walk in the same manner as him.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42He's my role model so I've got to walk like him.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44During that year,
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Nigel finally began to come to terms with the events
0:52:47 > 0:52:51that had changed his life aged eight, the death of his brother.
0:52:51 > 0:52:56His brother's death was very, very profound in his life
0:52:56 > 0:52:59and he needed to get rid of all that
0:52:59 > 0:53:04that had happened to him as a child and then, again,
0:53:04 > 0:53:11as a celebrity, so, yes, he did, he needed to talk those things out.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13So everything about the issues with my brother
0:53:13 > 0:53:16was what I was really battling with.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Wow, OK, and I was really angry for my brother,
0:53:19 > 0:53:25and James 1:20 talks about, "Be quick to listen and slow to speak,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28"for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Wow, so I think, "OK, I've got to lose that anger."
0:53:32 > 0:53:34If you go to Matthew 5, it says,
0:53:34 > 0:53:39"If someone slaps you in the cheek, give them the other side also."
0:53:39 > 0:53:43I'm working on that one. I'm working. We're getting there.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Nigel and Carolyne left Majorca in 2012
0:53:47 > 0:53:50and have now settled in Australia.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53Nigel's wild past is behind him.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57As for boxing, he's now mentor to his son Conor,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59who followed his father into the ring.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02He gives me advice on boxing but he's more concerned
0:54:02 > 0:54:05about the partying, the drinking, the drugs, the girls, you know.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07My dad says, "Stay away from it, son."
0:54:07 > 0:54:09You know, it didn't benefit him in any way.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12The main thing that he always says is, "I've been there, done that,
0:54:12 > 0:54:17"I don't want you to go down that path," so it's like, "OK, Dad!"
0:54:17 > 0:54:24Well, the Nigel I first knew was a rogue, er, womaniser, drinker.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Now he's gone completely the other way.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28I've never seen a man change so much.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31He's a better person, ten times a better person.
0:54:31 > 0:54:37He worked so hard, he really worked so hard to give us the best life.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40You know, what better man to have in my corner
0:54:40 > 0:54:44and tell me about my day-to-day life? You know, it's a blessing.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48He's just amazing. He is, he's my best friend.
0:54:48 > 0:54:53Your heart is clean, your faith is clearly pouring out of you,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55what's next?
0:54:55 > 0:54:58What's next for me and my wife,
0:54:58 > 0:55:02we do volunteer work at Hillsong Church in Australia.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06Now, Hillsong Church is colossal.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Hillsong is a global church
0:55:08 > 0:55:11belonging to the Pentecostal tradition.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16# As I stand in your presence... #
0:55:16 > 0:55:18It's known for its worship music,
0:55:18 > 0:55:22and the community work for which Nigel and Carolyne volunteer.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29# ..As I look to the heavens... #
0:55:29 > 0:55:30And you know what it is?
0:55:30 > 0:55:35I have more enjoyment doing that than any world titles.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37I feel blessed, I feel honoured
0:55:37 > 0:55:40and privileged that God would use me to go and serve,
0:55:40 > 0:55:41and it's all about serving.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44Me and my wife love it, we come out, of it,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47"Wow, that was a good day. Thank you, Jesus."
0:55:47 > 0:55:50So that's how blessed we feel, that I'm doing that,
0:55:50 > 0:55:54because the other work was all about drugs, sex and rock 'n' roll
0:55:54 > 0:55:56and everything, partying, and all that.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59I'm glad I went through that to get where I am now.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02And that's who I am now.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04And what will you be doing for Christmas?
0:56:04 > 0:56:06What will I be doing?
0:56:06 > 0:56:09I'll just be spending time giving thanks and praise
0:56:09 > 0:56:11for what he's done in our lives.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15He said, "If you draw near to me, I will draw near to you."
0:56:15 > 0:56:20And so I stand close to him. Once I'm close to him, I can't go wrong.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Nigel, I'm going to give you a little Christmas present
0:56:23 > 0:56:26before you go. Thank you so much.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28You've given us a wonderful, wonderful conversation.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30This is for you.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33You're allowed to open it now. Have a look at it.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36It's sentimental.
0:56:37 > 0:56:42- Oh, yeah.- Shake it up. And what does it say on it?
0:56:43 > 0:56:46- It says "peace".- Peace.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- That surpasses all understanding. - Yes.- He's peace.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54- Thank you very much.- Oh, bless you. Mwah.- Mwah.- Happy Christmas.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58- And to you.- To you and all your family.- Thank you. That's brilliant.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02Have that in the Australian sunshine and that will be beautiful.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11I think this time of year is a very easy time to be aware
0:57:11 > 0:57:16of the dark things in your life and the dark sides of your life
0:57:16 > 0:57:19and the things that are wrong with your life as Christmas approaches.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22I don't know why that should be but it does,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26so if you're someone who's facing problems going into Christmas
0:57:26 > 0:57:28and perhaps into the New Year,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31hang on to what Nigel was talking about
0:57:31 > 0:57:35because he has been to the depths,
0:57:35 > 0:57:38and look how happy and free and peaceful he is now.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42And if you have a faith in God, as Nigel has,
0:57:42 > 0:57:46then maybe God is in your corner.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48BELL RINGS
0:57:48 > 0:57:49- What a year you have had. - A very busy year, yes.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Next week, I'm meeting Michael Gove.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56The former Conservative Cabinet member talks candidly
0:57:56 > 0:57:59about the highs after the Brexit vote...
0:57:59 > 0:58:03I was working a bit after four when one of my friends rang me
0:58:03 > 0:58:04to say, "Michael, we've won,"
0:58:04 > 0:58:07and I remember saying, "Well, I suppose I'd better get up, then."
0:58:07 > 0:58:11..and the lows, after his failed bid to become prime minister...
0:58:12 > 0:58:15No matter how often I look back on those events,
0:58:15 > 0:58:18I can't replay those events.
0:58:18 > 0:58:22..and the value of having religious faith in public life.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27Some of the people with whom I worked are impelled
0:58:27 > 0:58:30by their religious faith to try to find the best in others.
0:58:30 > 0:58:34# Break upon my praise
0:58:34 > 0:58:38# As I sing of your love
0:58:38 > 0:58:41# Holy Spirit fire
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# Burn within my soul
0:58:45 > 0:58:49# As I call on your name
0:58:52 > 0:58:56# As I call on your name... #