Boxing: Bentt and Hide limit themselves to sparring of verbal kind

IN the countdown to his battle with Britain's Herbie Hide for the much-derided WBO version of the world heavyweight title, Michael Bentt appeared with Hide in London yesterday, protected against any repeat of the scuffling that attended their last meeting, writes Jonathan Rendall.

Then, Bentt and Hide staged an impromptu brawl that made front-page headlines, but did not discernibly aid ticket sales for Saturday's contest at Millwall FC and brought them heavy fines from the British Boxing Board of Control. This time, Bentt, an American born in London, had with him a seven-strong entourage, including four impassive figures wearing the Nation of Islam uniform of ankle-length black leather coats and sunglasses.

Beneath a placard bearing the slogan 'WBO: Dignity, Democracy, Honesty', Hide and Bentt shook hands and restricted themselves to verbal sparring. Bentt, a 13-8 on favourite, and his trainer, Eddie Mustapha Muhammed, regard Hide as little more than a pushover.

Bentt said: 'These are serious times and that calls for drastic measures, man. Man your battleships because you're going to need them.' Hide insisted: 'It doesn't matter what Muhammed says or what Bentt says or what all those Muslim men standing behind him say. I believe I am going to win.'

Bentt warned that Hide had no chance because Allah could protect him even from a speeding bullet. Luckily, He did not intervene as all assembled then headed for Millwall's refreshments with the accuracy of heat-seeking missiles.