When I was driving, motor racing was dangerous and sex was safe!
THERE are no free shots for anyone following a famous father in sport.
Be it boxing, football, golf, tennis, motor sport, these kids are never as good as the old man in the court of public opinion.
This is the territory walked by Conor Benn, who is back in the ring in Liverpool next Saturday with an opponent still to be confirmed after nine months out with ligament damage to a hand.
Benn is not as big physically as his dad, but he has many of his attributes.
Whether this means he will have the career his father had it’s just too early to tell.
Conor, 22, grew up in Australia, where Nigel now lives.
Like his dad he had no great amateur career, just 20-odd fights Down Under.
Also like his father he has come into the pro game like a fireball, registering nine KOs in 13 bouts under the tutelage of Tony Sims.
He is so determined to knock people out, he can look wild. This has not cost him so far but it will if he does not make the necessary adjustments as he progresses.
At some point he is going to run into a guy who can take his shots and fight back.
I like the fact that he is committed and aggressive, but if he takes chances against a slick counter-puncher he will get knocked out. Though he is very supportive, his father takes more of a backseat and has essentially told his kid to get on with it.
That is the right way to go.
It hasn’t prevented the haters getting stuck in just because of who he is, which is totally unfair.
He struggled in his first fight against Cedrick Peynaud (left), was on the deck early and, though he had the Frenchman down in the fifth and sixth, was perhaps lucky to get the decision. In the rematch last time out he tore a tendon in his right hand in the first round but still managed to come through.
That tells you what he is made of. So far he has been handled well by his promoter Eddie Hearn. The next 18 months are likely to determine how far he can go in the hardest game of all.
The welterweight division is stacked with talent.
He is a long way from sharing a ring with the likes of Terence Crawford, Errol Spence, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia. Patience is the key for him and his team. He is learning on the job but if he is good enough he will get there soon enough.