Benjamin back in the gym and looking to clinch top honours!

Kaisee Benjamin…”he knows how much better he can be”

FOR his training team, Kaisee Benjamin presents a conundrum they have yet to solve.

The supremely talented Birmingham light-welter – now back in the gym after seven months away – has all the physical attributes needed to reach the top. He has a solid chin, knockout punch, trip-wire reflexes and silky skills.

Yet on his biggest nights, he’s allowed fights to ebb away. He’s found the urgency needed – the wake-up call - too late in championships. Frustratingly, there appeared another gear he could slip into, yet remained at the same tempo.

“Another two gears,” manager Jon Pegg corrected. “And when he finds those gears, he’s dropping people.

“He knows he is good enough and has let fights drift away. I don’t get it, those who train him don’t get it. It’s frustrating and he’s frustrated because he knows how much better he can be.”

The 29-year-old’s last contest, in May, was a case in point. With the IBF welterweight title up for grabs, Kaisee allowed Lucas Ballingall to steal rounds. He rallied and dropped his opponent in the 10th, but by then there was too much ground to make-up.

Twelve months earlier, he produced a near carbon copy performance against Sean McComb for the WBO light-welter belt. He waited way too long to fire on all cylinders.

And I believe Kaisee had more in the locker when losing on points to British 10st champ Dalton Smith, although Smith is a world-class operator.

On a number of occasions, I’ve witnessed his fights and thought there was more to give.

Why he didn’t give it is something those at Eastside gym, where Benjamin has been back in training for a month, still cannot fathom.

When firing on all cylinders, Benjamin, who has lost four of 23 bouts, is a very formidable fighting force – he showed that with a string of spectacular stoppages in bouts televised by Channel 5.

“It happens,” Pegg shrugged, “and it usually happens to talented fighters. He has a great chin, can punch, stamina is fine, skills are good, he’s awkward and has great reflexes, yet he seems to miss the target when it counts.

“He can look great in the gym, then put in a performance that is just not him. It’s hard to work out.”

Kaisee is looking to fight again in March: a tune-up test, then back in the title mix at light-welter.

The only missing piece in the man’s boxing make-up is, at times, a champion’s mindset. That’s the only thing that has prevented him claiming major titles and climbing world rankings.

That is the only chink in his armour. He and his team will spend the next three months attempting to seal it.