Conor Benn has revealed that he may not be able to watch his father Nigel Benn from ringside when the former two-weight world champion makes his comeback on November 23, after 23 years away from the sport.
Benn Jr told The Daily Telegraph on Thursday that he had “got quite emotional” watching his father, 55, sparring in training in Brentwood.
“Of course dad’ll be at my fight this weekend,” said Benn, who meets Laszlo Toth at the O2 Arena, Docklands, this weekend. Benn is currently undefeated in 15 fights.
“I don’t know if I can watch his. I don’t know… I don’t think so. I was watching him sparring and I got quite emotional. It’s not nice, not a nice feeling. I can’t imagine what it’s like for my mum. It weren’t a nice feeling. He’s my dad. It’s not nice. I know the risk of this sport. It’s not a nice sport, really.”
“We have all these incidents happening. I question myself doing this sometimes. What’s worth more, my health or my wealth? Is it worth it? I remind myself I’m a fighter. We know the risks. My dad doing it, think about all the wars he’s had and he’s come out unscathed. Why would you go and dabble your feet back in that pond?”
Yet the pride of being a fighter, and a legendary fighter’s son does persist. “When I see my dad it’s just a reminder of the blood I’ve got going through my veins. Obviously, a dad loves their son. He says give it a couple years and I’ll be a world champion, but you’ve got to take into consideration he’s my dad. He may be a little bit biased because I’m his son. I do take his advice on board. When he says I’ll be world champion in two years, yeah okay. But having him here is a reminder of the fighting spirit I’ve got in me. Come fight night, when the going gets tough, it’s a reminder.”
Benn, 23, was inspired to box watching his father’s stellar career in the 1980s and 1990s. “I watched it, but I didn’t really think it was my dad. I’d think it was cool. I never looked too deep into [it]. He wasn’t my dad because I never seen him that way.”
But the emotional response to watching the old man spar is still there. “I’m not necessarily worried, more it was overwhelming. I had butterflies in my stomach. I had a bit of anxiousness for him. I wanted to get in there and do it for him. He was sparring. I wanted to fight for him. He’s a two-time world champion and when he gets out of the ring I’m telling him what he keeps doing wrong. Not that he needs to listen to what I’m saying, but it’s funny how it works.”
Benn told Telegraph Sport: “Everyone is bound to be concerned. They should be, I’m concerned. We’ve done some testing down at Harley Street and he’s got the fitness of a 25-year-old man. Hopefully he gets in there and he’s smart, focused and switched on.”
Come fight night, the young man will be on tenterhooks. “I would jump in, I would. I’d get in there and want to fill him [opponent Sakio Bika] in. He’s my dad and I’ve got a lot of love for him. I don’t want to see him getting punched in the face. I don’t want to see him sparring. I don’t want to see him fighting. He’s my dad.”
But the dichotomy is there, in the young fighter’s head. Mixed feelings. He understands his father’s desire, yet the concern he has troubles him.
“The reason as to why he’s doing it, is he selfish? 100 per cent. But in this sport you’ve got to be selfish. The reason why I’m cool with it as his son is because the reasons behind it. It’s for himself. It’s not for money, it’s not for fame or because he misses the limelight. It’s nothing to do with any of that.
“I’ve made my peace with it and told him I don’t want him fighting. I know he’d fight anyway and I’m going to support his decision. I love him and will support him. What better place to be than training with me here. I’m on his case. I am doing his nut. When he goes in there on the night I want to make sure I’ve done everything I can to help him, whether he listens or not.
“It’s funny how the tables turned. When I was growing up it was him telling me things and I weren’t listening. And now I’m telling him things and he’s not listening.
“I never thought we’d be in training camp together. I never thought I’d be telling him what to eat and what not to eat. I previously said in interviews I would spar him and let him know. But now, I don’t want to spar him because it’s too real. Before I wanted to take his head off, but now I wouldn’t.”
They have had two father-son spars, he explained. “We had a proper spar when I was 18. I really tried hurting him. He tried to hurt me too. It was a two-way street. He’s got a video recording of it. Proper spar, I knocked the head guard right off his head. I didn’t have no head guard on neither.
“We had 12 ounce gloves and we were going for it. But now, I don’t think I could spar him. It’s for real now and it’s happening. If I was him, I want to hear support from my son. I’m just making sure he does everything right.”
Conor Benn vs Laszlo Toth is on the undercard of the super lightweight title fight between Josh Taylor vs Regis Prograis on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday October 26.
This Article First Appeared On The Telegraph