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Lewis Benson (boxer)

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lewis Benson
Born (1991-12-02) 2 December 1991 (age 33)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Other namesKid Caramel
Statistics
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights14
Wins12
Wins by KO2
Losses2
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Scotland
GB Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Light welterweight

Lewis Benson (born 2 December 1991) is a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 2015 to 2019.

As an amateur, Benson won four consecutive Scottish national titles from 2012 to 2015. He competed at the 2013 World Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, both at welterweight, and won gold at the 2012 Great Britain Championships as a light welterweight. Benson subsequently made his professional debut in September 2015, winning ten straight fights before dropping two in a row via points decision in 2018. Increasingly disillusioned with boxing, he retired from the sport the following year after the British Boxing Board of Control pulled him from The Golden Contract tournament.

Early life

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Benson was born on 2 December 1991 in Edinburgh to a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother.[2][3] Due to the colour of his skin, he was socially outcast and often found himself as the victim of racial profiling.[4] In one incident at age eleven, he glanced at someone's car in a driveway and was accused of looking like he wanted to break into it.[4] As the only mixed-race child at his primary school, Benson suffered racist abuse and often got into trouble for fighting back.[3][5] He took a liking to boxing, but his mother asked that he improve his behaviour in school before he began practicing the sport.[6] "Ever since then, I got my head down," he said.[6] He credits boxing with changing his life around by giving him the opportunity to do something positive.[4]

Amateur career

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Benson joined the Meadowbank Amateur Boxing Club in east Edinburgh at age 13 and started taking classes under former Scottish super featherweight champion Mark Geragthy.[5] Under Geragthy's guidance, he became a Scottish youth national champion and medalled at two separate British Youth Championships.[5] Benson made the move to Lochend Amateur Boxing Club in 2010.[5] He was a four-time Scottish national champion at Lochend, winning consecutive titles from 2012 to 2015.[a] He also won a gold medal at the 2012 Great Britain Championships in London.[5]

In December 2012, Benson left his electrician apprenticeship to focus on qualifying for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[5] After winning his second straight national title at light welterweight in early 2013,[8] he moved up one weight class to compete at that year's World Championships in Kazakhstan, where he suffered an early exit at the hands of Bahamian fighter Carl Hield in the preliminary round.[11] At the 2014 National Championships, Benson defeated Connor Law in the finals,[9] then beat Law again just a few weeks later in a box-off to determine who would represent Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow.[12] Even though Benson was the national champion, the fight was necessary because Law had accumulated more points during the qualification period.[12] However, at the Games, Benson lost to Bowyn Morgan of New Zealand in his opening bout.[13] He won one last national title in 2015 after moving back down to light welterweight, defeating longtime friend Jason Easton in the final.[10]

Professional career

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Benson signed with MTK Scotland, a subsidiary of MTK Global, in the summer of 2015.[14] He made his professional debut that September, defeating Kristian Laight on points at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh.[15] Shortly after his eighth fight, a victory over Marek Laskowski in March 2017, he suffered a back injury in sparring that hospitalized him and left him sidelined for seven months.[16] After ten straight wins to begin his pro career, Benson suffered his first defeat on 30 June 2018, falling to former Prizefighter: The Welterweights winner Johnny Coyle via a 96–95 points decision in Belfast.[17][18] He lost again in his next bout five months later, dropping a controversial points decision against Tyrone McKenna in Glasgow by the same 96–95 score.[19][20] Immediately following the loss, he announced he was quitting the sport during the live television interview on BoxNation.[20] "I don’t want to have to build up for fights with no money in it. I’ve got my health to think about. I’d much rather have a healthier lifestyle and not get punched for a living, particularly when you get decisions like that," he told the Edinburgh Evening News a few days later.[20]

Benson made his return to the ring on 22 March 2019 with a comfortable victory over Zoltán Szabó in Glasgow,[21] then improved to a 12–2 record with a close win over Renald Garrido.[22] That October, he was announced as a participant in The Golden Contract super-lightweight tournament that secures the winner a two-year, five-fight contract with MTK Global.[23] Initially listed as a reserve, Benson was awarded his spot in the tournament following the withdrawal of Akeem Ennis-Brown.[23] However, he was pulled from the event one day before his first fight by the British Boxing Board of Control, who refused to allow him to compete for medical reasons.[24] After describing it as "the worst day of his life," he effectively retired, saying "I won’t get an opportunity like this again so I’m going to call it a day in this boxing game. I’m devastated I can’t box as I am on weight and ready to fight. There are no words to describe how heartbroken I am."[24]

Professional boxing record

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Data retrieved from BoxRec.[15]

14 fights 12 wins 2 losses
By knockout 2 0
By decision 10 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location
14 Win 12–2 France Renald Garrido PTS 8 22 Jun 2019 United Kingdom Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
13 Win 11–2 Hungary Zoltán Szabó PTS 6 22 Mar 2019 United Kingdom Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
12 Loss 10–2 United Kingdom Tyrone McKenna PTS 10 30 Nov 2018 United Kingdom Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
11 Loss 10–1 United Kingdom Johnny Coyle PTS 10 30 Jun 2018 United Kingdom SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
10 Win 10–0 Nicaragua Michael Isaac Carrero PTS 4 16 Dec 2017 United Kingdom Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland
9 Win 9–0 Russia Mikhail Avakian PTS 6 6 Oct 2017 United Kingdom Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
8 Win 8–0 Poland Marek Laskowski PTS 6 11 Mar 2017 United Kingdom Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
7 Win 7–0 Poland Łukasz Janik PTS 6 1 Oct 2016 United Kingdom Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
6 Win 6–0 United Kingdom Fonz Alexander PTS 4 7 May 2016 United Kingdom Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
5 Win 5–0 Lithuania Edvinas Puplauskas PTS 4 21 Apr 2016 United Kingdom Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
4 Win 4–0 Bulgaria Radoslav Mitev RTD 1 (4), 3:00 12 Mar 2016 United Kingdom Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
3 Win 3–0 United Kingdom Matt Seawright KO 1 (6), 1:31 5 Dec 2015 United Kingdom Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
2 Win 2–0 Nicaragua Santos Medrano PTS 4 29 Oct 2015 United Kingdom Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
1 Win 1–0 United Kingdom Kristian Laight PTS 4 5 Sep 2015 United Kingdom Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland

Notes

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  1. ^ [7][8][9][10]

References

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  1. ^ "Boxing record for Lewis Benson". BoxRec.
  2. ^ "Lewis Benson". 2014 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hannan, Martin (20 July 2014). "Glasgow 2014: Lewis Benson prepares for the ring". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Line them up, I'll fight them all, says Benson". The Herald. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Gunn, Kris (14 May 2014). "Boxing: meet Lewis Benson". The Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b Murray, Keir (14 March 2014). "Lewis Benson desperate to seal Commonwealth Games place". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  7. ^ Donald, Brian (2 April 2012). "Boxing: Finals thrill Meadowbank crowd". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b Coleman, Paul (29 March 2013). "2013 ABS Scottish Championship Finals latest results". Boxing Scotland. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b McGlade, Neil (29 March 2014). "Lewis Benson lays down Law for Commonwealth Games". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Lewis Benson and Jason Easton ready to renew boxing rivalry". Edinburgh Evening News. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  11. ^ Dorsett, Renaldo (17 October 2013). "Carl Hield Dominates In The Opening Round". Tribune242. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  12. ^ a b Murray, Keir (26 April 2014). "Edinburgh's Lewis Benson beats Connor Law in Games box-off". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Glasgow 2014: Boxer Benson out as Henderson progresses". BBC Sport. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Lewis Benson handed new lease of life after changing promoters". Edinburgh Evening News. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  15. ^ a b Boxing record for Lewis Benson from BoxRec (registration required)
  16. ^ "Capital boxer Lewis Benson glad to be back after freak injury". Edinburgh Evening News. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  17. ^ Dooley, Terence (18 June 2018). "Lewis Benson believes he is taking reasoned risk in Coyle fight". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  18. ^ Egelstaff, Susan (1 July 2018). "Lewis Benson suffers first pro defeat". The Herald. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  19. ^ O'Neill, Joe (1 December 2018). "Tyrone McKenna edges Lewis Benson in dramatic and controversial Glasgow clash". Irish Boxing. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "Lewis Benson explains his reasons for quitting boxing". Edinburgh Evening News. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Lewis Benson wins comeback fight against Zoltan Szabo after battling pre-bout nerves". Edinburgh Evening News. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Lee McGregor Breaks Down, Stops Scott Allan in Eight". Boxing Scene. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  23. ^ a b McGlade, Neil (16 October 2019). "Boxing: Lewis Benson handed life-changing chance in Golden Contract". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  24. ^ a b McGlade, Neil (21 November 2019). "Lewis Benson loses chance to win £500k as British Board of Boxing refuse him licence to fight". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
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