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
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
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]
