Iran Barkley Was KO’d By Nigel Benn In 1 Round But Says Another Fighter Hit Much Harder

Nigel Benn is often regarded as one of the best boxers of his era, but Iran Barkley claims he was hit harder by someone else.

Benn is a former two-weight world champion who held the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and then held the WBC super-middleweight title for four years from 1992.

He defeated several world champions along the way, including Doug DeWitt, Thulani Malinga, Mauro Galvano and Gerald McClellan, before retiring in 1996 with a record of 35 knockout wins from 42 victories with five losses and one draw.

Benn beat Barkley in August 1990 when his opponent was stopped due to the three-knockdown rule at the end of the first round.

Despite that, New York City’s Barkley held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions in a fine career that spanned from 1982 to 1999 and saw him win 43 of 63 contests overall.

Along the way, he also fought the likes of James Toney, Roberto Durán and Trevor Berbick, as well as having two fights with the legendary Thomas Hearns.

Speaking to The Ring Magazine, he admitted Hearns hit him hardest of all.

“Hearns power’s unbelievable. He was a lot stronger than I thought he was for a slim guy. Nigel [Benn] didn’t have any power to me. I felt a lot of punches but Nigel’s power to me, I didn’t really feel his power.

“That evening [against Benn], with me I couldn’t make [middleweight] weight anymore, I was steamed out but he did his job that he had to do. I fought guys who hit way harder than him.”

The first fight with Hearns, who was famously known as one of the ‘Four Kings’, came in 1988 and saw Barkley win the WBC middleweight title by TKO, and he then got a split decision win over Hearns in 1992to win the WBA light heavyweight title.