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NIGEL BENN is happy to admit he regularly used recreational drugs during his hell-raising days as world super-middleweight king.
But the man they called the Dark Destroyer is bristling at stories he dabbled with steroids and is determined to clear his name.
Benn says the accusation has come from the family of Gerald McClellan, the American tragically paralysed and blinded following their brutal world title fight 15 years ago.
Benn said a solicitor acting for the McClellan family contacted his agent, Kevin Lueshing, to say they had found blood on the boots the American wore in that fight - which contained traces of steroids.
Benn groaned: "This is 15 years after the fight mind you, and that is where I struggle to take all this in.
"They are saying it wasn't his blood, but blood with a steroid or some performance-enhancing drug in it. And if it wasn't Gerald's, then it must be yours.
"Their solicitor contacted Kevin. And they're thinking of going public with it. That's why I'm speaking out now.
"I'm not letting something like this happen. So many people say I'll defend it afterwards. No, I'm defending my name right now. I'll say this only once - I have never, ever, taken performance-enhancing drugs.
"If you said I took recreational drugs, yeah, I'd put my hands up. If they said they'd found a spliff in my urine, then it's possible. But that's not performance-enhancing, and they couldn't say they'd found cocaine, because I've never done that.
"Even finding traces of marijuana would be a shock, because before a fight I'd go away for 8-10 weeks and train hard, eat healthy, and stay away from all the bad stuff.
"But performance-enhancing drugs? That's not me, and I'm not going to let my name be tarnished like Ben Johnson and those guys."
BRUTAL ... Benn v McClellan was one of the most savage everBenn, 47, is even more determined to avoid that sort of smear because he became a born-again Christian three years ago, going down on his knees in front of wife Carolyne and confessing a multitude of sins. He did the same thing in front of his children, his pastor, and the congregation at his local church.
Despite living in Spain, he is now a frequent visitor to prisons and churches in the UK, preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness.
He swears he left nothing out of his confession - owning up to orgies and a string of extra-marital affairs - and refuses to be branded a liar.
He said: "I had many affairs, had children outside wedlock. I hurt the woman I've loved dearly for 16 years. I confessed that to my wife, my children and my dad.
"What I had to confess to Carolyne - if you ever saw a black man turn white, that was me. And now any lie is something we couldn't live with.
"If I can say all those things do you think I'm going to say 'Oh hang on a minute, I forgot to mention taking steroids?' You think I could keep something like that up my sleeve?
"I loved fighting and the lifestyle, which is why I got so caught up in it. But I choose the other side.
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"If I can get someone off drugs, help an alcoholic, or repair a broken marriage. That is my passion now. God is using me as his humble servant, me, Nigel Benn. It's a far greater sense of achievement than anything I did in boxing."
Benn's sense of sadness is obvious as he recalls the night he stopped McClellan in the 10th and ended up alongside him on a stretcher, battered to the point of near-collapse.
He said: "I met Gerald three years ago, when me and Kevin arranged a fund-rasing dinner for him. Before then I didn't have the compassion I have now.
"It never troubled me before that night because he said he was going to damage me. He said that to my dad. I was put out by that. So it never bothered me.
"We were both over 21 and knew what we were doing.
"But me and Kevin got together and raised a lot of money — around $220,000. And we didn't take a penny for costs or anything. And when I saw him, my whole attitude changed. I saw this guy in a wheelchair who was paralysed, practically blind, 80 per cent deaf, and he kept telling me to speak louder because he couldn't hear me.
"Then he said 'Is this the man who did this to me?' I was heartbroken. I was in bits, a blubbering mess.
"I feel sad it was only when I met him that it dawned on me that he was in a dark place.
"So praise God that I was able to do something for him. Two black guys from the East End of London put on a show at the Grosvenor in Mayfair. Hello! To come from the streets and watch the stars turn out. That was something."
Benn has his own theory about why the steroid claims have suddenly surfaced. But he warned: "If they are thinking of trying to use it for publicity or to try to get money from us they will be disappointed.
"I pray for them but if they keep up with this I'll sue for defamation."
Nigel Benn was not paid for this interview although a donation was made to his church. Courtesy of Sport-Plus.net
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz0tgVjcqrz
But the man they called the Dark Destroyer is bristling at stories he dabbled with steroids and is determined to clear his name.
Benn says the accusation has come from the family of Gerald McClellan, the American tragically paralysed and blinded following their brutal world title fight 15 years ago.
Benn said a solicitor acting for the McClellan family contacted his agent, Kevin Lueshing, to say they had found blood on the boots the American wore in that fight - which contained traces of steroids.
Benn groaned: "This is 15 years after the fight mind you, and that is where I struggle to take all this in.
"They are saying it wasn't his blood, but blood with a steroid or some performance-enhancing drug in it. And if it wasn't Gerald's, then it must be yours.
"Their solicitor contacted Kevin. And they're thinking of going public with it. That's why I'm speaking out now.
"I'm not letting something like this happen. So many people say I'll defend it afterwards. No, I'm defending my name right now. I'll say this only once - I have never, ever, taken performance-enhancing drugs.
"If you said I took recreational drugs, yeah, I'd put my hands up. If they said they'd found a spliff in my urine, then it's possible. But that's not performance-enhancing, and they couldn't say they'd found cocaine, because I've never done that.
"Even finding traces of marijuana would be a shock, because before a fight I'd go away for 8-10 weeks and train hard, eat healthy, and stay away from all the bad stuff.
"But performance-enhancing drugs? That's not me, and I'm not going to let my name be tarnished like Ben Johnson and those guys."
BRUTAL ... Benn v McClellan was one of the most savage everBenn, 47, is even more determined to avoid that sort of smear because he became a born-again Christian three years ago, going down on his knees in front of wife Carolyne and confessing a multitude of sins. He did the same thing in front of his children, his pastor, and the congregation at his local church.
Despite living in Spain, he is now a frequent visitor to prisons and churches in the UK, preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness.
He swears he left nothing out of his confession - owning up to orgies and a string of extra-marital affairs - and refuses to be branded a liar.
He said: "I had many affairs, had children outside wedlock. I hurt the woman I've loved dearly for 16 years. I confessed that to my wife, my children and my dad.
"What I had to confess to Carolyne - if you ever saw a black man turn white, that was me. And now any lie is something we couldn't live with.
"If I can say all those things do you think I'm going to say 'Oh hang on a minute, I forgot to mention taking steroids?' You think I could keep something like that up my sleeve?
"I loved fighting and the lifestyle, which is why I got so caught up in it. But I choose the other side.
Advertisement
"If I can get someone off drugs, help an alcoholic, or repair a broken marriage. That is my passion now. God is using me as his humble servant, me, Nigel Benn. It's a far greater sense of achievement than anything I did in boxing."
Benn's sense of sadness is obvious as he recalls the night he stopped McClellan in the 10th and ended up alongside him on a stretcher, battered to the point of near-collapse.
He said: "I met Gerald three years ago, when me and Kevin arranged a fund-rasing dinner for him. Before then I didn't have the compassion I have now.
"It never troubled me before that night because he said he was going to damage me. He said that to my dad. I was put out by that. So it never bothered me.
"We were both over 21 and knew what we were doing.
"But me and Kevin got together and raised a lot of money — around $220,000. And we didn't take a penny for costs or anything. And when I saw him, my whole attitude changed. I saw this guy in a wheelchair who was paralysed, practically blind, 80 per cent deaf, and he kept telling me to speak louder because he couldn't hear me.
"Then he said 'Is this the man who did this to me?' I was heartbroken. I was in bits, a blubbering mess.
"I feel sad it was only when I met him that it dawned on me that he was in a dark place.
"So praise God that I was able to do something for him. Two black guys from the East End of London put on a show at the Grosvenor in Mayfair. Hello! To come from the streets and watch the stars turn out. That was something."
Benn has his own theory about why the steroid claims have suddenly surfaced. But he warned: "If they are thinking of trying to use it for publicity or to try to get money from us they will be disappointed.
"I pray for them but if they keep up with this I'll sue for defamation."
Nigel Benn was not paid for this interview although a donation was made to his church. Courtesy of Sport-Plus.net
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz0tgVjcqrz
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