FROM THE ARCHIVE
BLUNT BLADE: On August 18, 1990, in the maiden defense of his WBO middleweight title, Nigel Benn scored an eye-popping first-round TKO over American power puncher Iran “The Blade” Barkley in Las Vegas. With the sound of the opening bell still hanging in the air, Benn came out throwing bombs and decked Barkley in the opening 20 seconds. Despite rising on unsteady legs, the challenger managed to stun Benn with a sharp left hook before the pair went for broke in some fierce exchanges. Benn scored two more knockdowns and the bout was stopped on the three- knockdown rule. Referee Carlos Padilla could have penalized Benn twice for striking the ex-champ when he was down but elected to issue verbal warnings only.
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