MICHAEL Benjamin was a lightweight boxer when he knocked out Barbadian Angus Alleyne on February 28, 1988 in Guyana.Referee Eion Jardine waved it off at two minutes 35 seconds of the first round to hand Benjamin his third first-round knockout in 13 fights.

Ferocious, courageous and tenacious Benjamin, born in March 1966, was one of the most feared boxers in Guyana at one time. As a lightweight and welterweight Benjamin possessed power, speed and an appetite for destruction.
He turned pro in 1986 and was 4-0 when he met Venezuelan Eduardo Linares on January 25, 1987. A knockout provided his fifth victory. A total boxing package, `Benjie’ could be a slugger if the occasion called for it, or, in another instance, a master boxer.
However, like every boxer, Benjamin met his match on February 6, 1993 and Irishman Eamonn Loughram was in a no-nonsense mood when he met the Guyanese in Cardiff, Wales.
Loughram won via sixth-round knockout knocked out to retain his Commonwealth welterweight title and hand the stocky Guyanese his fifth defeat. The Irishman won the World Boxing Organisation welterweight title in his next fight while Benjamin suffered two other successive knockouts.
Benjamin opted out of the ring in 2000 and his record includes 23 wins (14 KOs), eight defeats and two draws. At present he is one of Guyana’s most qualified sport journalists. Benjamin is now on a drive to preserve the history of Guyana’s boxing and has collaborated with the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) to launch a programme to document the history of the sport in Guyana.