THE WBC super-middleweight champion, Nigel Benn, yesterday backed Frank Bruno to beat Mike Tyson in Las Vegas and admitted that it would give him a bigger kick than a successful defence of his title a fortnight earlier.

Benn puts his title on the line for the 10th time against old rival Thulane Malinga at Newcastle Arena on March 2nd.

Benn, who is to train with Bruno in Tenerife, said: "I'm certainly not forgetting about my fight, but the biggest buzz will come when I'm in Frank's corner and he pulls it off.

"I'm not looking for the limelight. I just want to be able to say I put my two pence in and was part of the team.

"I used to be Tyson's biggest fan, but he is not the same man. How can he be when he was out of the game for so long?"

Benn (31) who is relishing a return to the north east where he used to be in the army, wants to put the record straight against mandatory challenger Malinga (36), who still insists he won their non-title fight in 1992.

Benn has WBO champion Steve Collins in his sights - and would love a crack at the golden boy of the division, Roy Jones, who holds the IBF title.

He said: "I can retire now without the taxman after me. But I still love boxing, I'm still hungry and I still have things to prove.

"Collins managed something I could never do - beating Chris Eubank - and putting one over Eubank is itself an incentive."

Benn said of Eubank, now retired: "I wish he would come back. Boxing needs characters like him. But I don't think he will be offered the money he wants - and I personally have no intention of fighting him again."