Lewis Benson is the current Scottish and British 64kg amateur Boxing Champion; he is a very proud, affable and admirable young man who is in it to win it. He was kind enough to take time out to speak with me before he goes to Serbia to fight for his country.
The first memories in Lewis’s life go back to primary school; he was always getting into trouble because of verbal racist abuse targeted at the colour of his skin, this turned Lewis into an angry young boy who fought back and became the ring leader of a mischievous wee group of boys.
He developed an interest in boxing but his mum would not let him go unless he mended his ways. However, he satisfied his mum’s curiosity in his behaviour and started attending boxing classes at Meadowbank when he was 13 years old; travelling by bus with a friend who also used to get into trouble and the journey could take up to an hour to get there. His friend gave up boxing pretty quickly and has been in and out of jail since he was 16, “I think to myself, that could have been me if I had not taken the boxing route”, said Lewis. He told me his biggest influence was his dad, his family are very close and supportive in whatever he does, Lewis said, “I always wanted to make my dad proud, also my family; I always want to do better”.
Lewis’s first trainer Mark Geraghty had a profound influence on him, “He taught me the basics and it was more like a father son relationship”, he went on to say. Geraghty was a former professional boxer who had won the Scottish Super-Featherweight Title during his career and never lost that title in a boxing ring. During his time with his mentor Mark, Lewis went from strength to strength winning Bronze, Silver then Gold at the Scottish Youth Championships. He also boxed in two British Championships, picking up a Silver Medal to a boxer who now ply’s his trade in the professional ranks and he lifted the Bronze Medal losing out to Jeff Saunders whose brother Bradley is flying high as an unbeaten professional Welterweight. It’s fair to say Lewis gained a lot of experience and success under Mark Geraghty but Mark became a father and his priorities had to change significantly, “leaving Mark was the hardest thing I have ever done, we were so close, I had to move on to improve my career”, he said poignantly.
Almost two weeks ago on the 29th March 2013, the venue was Meadowbank Stadium in the Capital City of Edinburgh, it was a capacity crowd that exploded into life as Lewis had to defend his Scottish 64kg Title against local man Jason Easton. He told me that he and Jason were good friends who lived on either side of the city and that the wind up’s begun way before the final. Both boxers had to fight their way through the preliminaries and they had fought each other four times with the score standing at two a piece so this was the ultimate decider to date. I was at ringside that night, it was the theatre of dreams, the atmosphere was something else, it was more like top of the bill material because the noise level of the crowd was so loud and intense you would think the old volcano under Edinburgh Castle had just erupted. Both boxers came in to a rapturous, arousing appraisal that almost took your breath away. The fight itself lived up to all expectations, Lewis was using his superior reach advantage working to the head and body, Jason was slipping inside throwing forceful right hands to the head, it was a very close fight but there had to be a winner. Lewis upped his game in the second half of the last round and that may have been the difference on the judges scoring. The announcer lifted the microphone and said “Scottish Champion at 64kg 2013, Lewis Benson. I asked Lewis what that meant to him “That was massive, it was a great feeling, mum and dad were in the front row, she only comes to home shows or finals and dad comes to them all”.
In 2010 Lewis left his former trainer Mark Geraghty on good terms and they remain friends, he then joined his current club Lochend with corner man and trainer Eric Brown who has been with him throughout his career. Joining Lochend ABC has quintessentially been a landmark in Lewis’s boxing career, “Moving to Lochend offered me full time training every day of the week, this has allowed me to better myself, become a more accomplished boxer and I’m reaping the benefits. Eric Brown is like family to me, Terry McCormack has been a massive influence, also, Raymond Gibson comes in on a Tuesday and Thursday to give me a good workout on the pads, I will never move away from this gym. Why would I want to be anywhere else, 3-4 times a week Ken Buchanan comes in, he’s a legend, he’s always giving us advice, takes time to speak to the boys and points out anything that we are doing wrong. He also tells us boxing stories and it’s just great to be in the gym with Ken”. However, Terry McCormack holds all the keys, not just to the gym but to the success of every boxer who enters the door. He immediately pointed out to Lewis that success didn’t come overnight and that you had to work at it.
October 2011 was significantly a statement that Lewis Benson sent out to the whole of Scottish boxing, he was boxing on a home show against Scottish Champion Mark Parvin, “It was one of my best performances, I beat Mark very well, this was the turning point in my boxing career and I felt really confident after that”, he went on to say “When my club mate and Olympian Josh Taylor moved to the Great Britain Podium Squad, I was next in line. As a boy I looked up to Josh and John Thain, now I’m getting close to being as good as them, if not better”. Lochend head coach Terry McCormack began the process of procuring young Lewis into the formidable fighter he is today by beginning with working on strength and conditioning, he regularly spar’s with club mates who are amateur and professional that include John Thain, Aston Brown and Steven Tiffany. Lewis won his first Scottish Senior Title last year 2012 and progressed to the final stages of the British Championships, “Terry told me I could win it but I didn’t really believe him. I knew I was doing well and I was really fit but the last person to win the British Title fighting out of an Edinburgh club was Scott Flynn who boxed for Gilmerton and that was a decade ago”. Well before the British Finals Lewis had travelled to Liverpool to fight a local boxer called Robbie Davis, who was tipped to win the British that year, “I beat him on his home show”, said Lewis, Terry said to Davis’s coach, “We will see you at the British”. Lewis and Terry travelled to London for the finals knowing Robbie Davis was going to be there, with only three boys in the weight division Davis got a bye into the finals and he also had the luxury of having his club coaches in his corner whereas Lewis had the Scottish Team coaches in his, it does make a difference who’s in your corner because you develop a special, unique bond that can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of the fight. Lewis dispatched a Welsh boxer while Davis and his coaches looked on deliberating a plan of attack. Terry and Lewis had worked for weeks on end on tactics for the inevitable showdown with Davis, “No-one had even thought about me going there and winning a medal at the British, I was still working at this point”, Lewis pointed out. The judges scoring had been announced “16-13, and the NEW British Champion at 64kg, Lewis Benson.
This lead Lewis to return south to join up with the Great Britain Development Squad, he went down with fellow Scottish boxer Charlie Flynn, it is the path you have to take that could land you a place in the Great Britain Podium Team that fight in the inaugural World Series Boxing Tournament. I admire Lewis as a boxer, he has a natural god given talent and after witnessing Charlie Flynn demolish his opponent at the recent Scottish Championships I was surprised when Lewis told me he and Charlie received a letter’s saying they were unsuccessful, without an explanation why.
Lewis was a bit of a bright spark at school that never revised and believes he could have done better but he secured an apprenticeship as an electrician. He has recently given up his job in a bold bid to cement his place in the Scottish Commonwealth Games Team for 2014. His employers have reassured him his job will still be there for him if he chooses to return to his trade. He has no sponsorship; his father truly believes in his son and is providing his son a means to making his dream a reality.
Lewis is an open class boxer who fights at the highest level and has only lost one bout in the last twenty. He watches the film Against The Ropes before every fight, it’s about a boxer from the ghetto who comes from nowhere to make something of his life in the boxing ring. He has a pre-fight ritual where his socks have to be positioned directly under his knee and he always wears the same club vest when he fights for Lochend. His favourite Rocky movie is Rocky III “He got beat by Clubber Lang, he got another trainer who changed his style that took him to another level he won the rematch”, Lewis explained. His favourite film is Notorious, about the life of Biggy Smalls, one of Lewis’s favourite rappers.
I spoke with Lewis about the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014 and he gave me a simple answer, “To the people that have doubted me, I am the Champ for a reason. I will be looking to take that No 1 spot for the Commonwealth Games at 64kg no matter who is in my way”.
Lewis Solemnly believes in hard work and dedication, he has won back to back Scottish Titles and is the current British Champion, I would consider that to be very successful and I can only beg the question, how is this man being immensely overlooked by the Team GB Podium Squad. I’ll leave the last word to Lewis “Never doubt me”.
By Raymond Fraser Buchanan
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