Lewis Benson wins comeback fight against Zoltan Szabo after battling pre-bout nerves

Lewis Benson was glad to be back in action

The 27-year-old MTK Global fighter was making his first appearance in the ring since announcing his intentions to retire from the sport following a controversial single-point defeat to Belfast’s Tyrone McKenna in November.

However, Benson, who trains out of Lochend Boxing Club, is back with a vengeance and plotting his route up the division following a comfortable points win on Friday night.

But the build up to the 11th win of his professional career wasn’t entirely plain sailing as the former Scottish and British amateur champion explained.

“I felt really good in there. I stuck to my game plan, got the rounds under my belt and came away with a convincing win,” said Benson who represented Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“That said, I felt really nervous. It’s the first time I’ve felt that way in a long time. I knew with me coming back that I couldn’t afford to not look good. It was strange because even though it was, we’ll call it a nothing fight, at the same time it was absolutely huge.

“But as soon as I arrived at the venue, saw a lot of faces I recognised, I switched on and I was fine. It was kind of going into the unknown, a really weird feeling. I got up for the first round I knew exactly what I needed to do. I loved being back in the ring.

“It was very straightforward, pretty easy to be honest. I got the job done and that was the main thing. I just had to win the fight, look good and not get involved in too much.

“I expected him to bring a lot more to the table but I think that says a lot more about my performance more than anything. I didn’t stop him but I made it look easy. That’s what I’m in there to do. I didn’t really have to get out of first gear and I knew I could pick up the pace if I really needed to.”

Benson is now hoping his management team come up with the goods for his next bout.

“I don’t have a date just yet but I am ready to go whenever needed,” he said. “They are working away behind the scenes on a couple of things. I will be back in the gym today. Having had my first fight since the McKenna defeat, I feel really good and am desperate to get back in there. It’s amazing how much things can change in just a couple of months.”