NIGEL BENN is always either late or early. Yesterday it was the latter when he departed a press conference in Manchester abruptly, leaving Steve Collins in the same manner as Chris Eubank had left him at a notorious press conference in Dublin before their historic fight in Millstreet in March of last year.

Benn may not remember that the insult to Dublin city and its Lord Mayor on that occasion ("F... the city," Eubank said to the then Lord Mayor, John Gormley, as he tried to make small talk with Eubank in the lift) was part of the motivation behind Collins' spectacular defeat of Eubank in the Green Glens Arena a few weeks later.

That bout significantly altered the pecking order in the World Boxing Organisation super middleweight ratings.

Since then Collins beat Eubank again, this time in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and has defended successfully against Cornelius Carr in Dublin. Eubank has retired (band has bought a bogus title, "Lord Brighton", while Benn has lost his WBC title.

Following his defeat by "Sugar Boy" Malinga in Newcastle last March, Benn immediately fell to his knees and proposed to his girlfriend, who had joined him in the ring, and announced his retirement.

Both of those decisions have since been reversed, and he now challenges Collins for the WBO title in the Nynex Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.

Yesterday promoter Frank Warren said that more than 15,000 of the 20,000 seats had been sold and that the rest were certain to be snapped up before Saturday night, ensuring a big pay-day for both fighters.

Benn's early exit from the press conference clearly annoyed Collins and was followed by a brief "photo opportunity" when both boxers glared at each other balefully, and Collins was heard to remark ominously: "I'm going to knock you out."

Although this kind of pre-fight behaviour is par for the course, there was an element of genuine antagonism between the two following a previous rather tetchy outburst by Benn at another press conference a few weeks ago when he tangled with members of the Irish media.

Earlier in yesterday's press conference Benn seemed relaxed and happy. He told reporters that he had over-trained for his fight with Malinga. "I haven't made that mistake this time," he said. "My attitude is calm. It is not a case of raging. I never felt like this before. It is a very important fight for me and I feel good.

"I am making a lot of money. I've been around long enough and I'm getting paid a lot of money - Wow!"

Collins was equally confident. "I am a much better fighter now than when I beat Eubank in Millstreet. Benn failed to beat Eubank but I have beaten him twice. The punches just bounce off me," he said.

Given Benn's earlier demeanor, his abrupt departure from the conference seemed contradictory. But he has always been unpredictable. In this respect his statement that defeat would not make him unhappy seemed equally strange.

"If I lose - which I very much doubt - I will not walk out of there sad. I have had glittering career," he said. "I'll walk away happy."

This will be the first time that Collins has defended his title outside Ireland, but he expects that a big contingent of his supporters will travel to Manchester, . and that many Irish people in Britain will also be urging him on.