Thread: Eubank: "I did what Johnson did to Jones, just 20 years earlier!"

Tina Turner's song "Simply The Best!" blasts out as the brash upstart donning yellow and red leaps over the top rope to a chorus of boo's. He strutted. He postured. And he somehow always managed to find a way to keep his title. He held his chest high. He put a smug look on his face. He used slow-paced patience in his posturing. And he spent a lot of his time looking down his nose at ringsiders. 'Simply The Best' was his motto, not without reason, he claimed to be the best fighter in the world and challenged anybody to prove him wrong - only they wouldn't fight him.

Chris Eubank was a very special addition to British boxing. In the public eye, the celebrity Eubank comes across as being provocative, lispingly verbose, dapper, haughty and overly pretentious, as well being very eccentric, expensively dressed and not too adverse to the odd poetic quotation. Everybody knows about his wearing of jodhpurs, his use of a monocle, his carrying of a cane and his driving of a truck. But for me, that is not the real Chris Eubank. The Chris Eubank that I loved to watch while I was growing up was the sharp-dressed boxer - 'Simply The Best'. The man who kept winning just as everybody expected him or wanted him to lose.

He was charasmatic, he was super-confident, and he was controversial. But above all, from 1988 to 1994, I remember sitting watching Eubank fights live on terrestrial ITV at prime time (and later in his career on Sky Sports) and just marvelling at what a good boxer, entertainer and showman he was. Despite the emergance since then of the likes of Naseem Hamed, who projected themselves in a similar way, I feel that Chris Eubank was a genuine one-off, and the void left in British boxing when he retired is one that is still left largely unfilled.


I feel it's due to conduct an interview with Eubank about his BOXING career, to focus on Eubank the BOXER, because after all it was BOXING that brought this unique man into the public eye.

Q: Chris, when was the first time you stepped into a boxing ring?
CE: It was at the Peckham ABC just before my father took me to New York to live with my mother, they used me as a human punching bag with no gumshields. They'd take it in turns to take pot shots at yours truly, there was a sense of disbelief because I'd keep fighting back.

Q: Do you remember the first boxing match you ever saw?
CE: I have a certain conscience that tells me it was Muhammad Ali, yours truly does not re-call who he was fighting. The first boxing match that yours truly saw in the flesh was when my older brother Pete beat Barry McGuigan.

Q: Your brother beat Barry McGuigan??
CE: Pete might of been better than I ever could of been but he was too involved in drink and drugs.. and he didn't train hard enough. In a way he kind of had the similar boxing skills I had when I went on to become a boxer some time after, the high hips and moving in and out of range. My other brother Simon was the same, Pete's twin, didn't make the most of what he had, I think he got all the way to the final of the amateur boxing association south coast divisionals in I think it was 81, but then battled alcoholism and was a prize fighter only for money rather than glory, content to be used as a human punching bag to pay for his alcohol.

Q: After moving to New York, did you take up boxing right away?
CE: I sweeped the floors of the gymnasium every day until they finally let me join in, I worked as a cleaner at the gymnasium because I couldn't afford the joining cost.

Q: And what gym was this?
CE: Jerome Boxing Club, Westchester Avenue, South Bronx.

Q: Did any decent boxers train there?
CE: Some of the regular gymnasium members were Alex Ramos and Aaron Davis, also Dennis Milton, Angel Cruz and Dennis Cruz.

Q: Is it true that you once sparred with a young Roy Jones JR.?
CE: Yes.

Q: And what are your recollections of that experience?
CE: I gave the kid a battering on the ropes, I had him trapped and landed punches at all angles. I punched holes in him, I drew blood.

Q: Wow. And he was how old?
CE: Probably around 15, 16 at a push because he had a moustache. The sparring came about because he'd just won the 1984 Junior Olympics and I'd just won the 1984 Golden Gloves in New York City. I remember he was very cocky like me and it was very competitive. We were both around welterweight. He tried fighting back with fast clusters but I think I had him out on his feet.

Q: Would you say that you were a naturally gifted boxer?
CE: I hate it when people say that because it's just not true, assuming is annoying. I was actually very raw material when I started out, as I said I was used as a human punching bag. But in New York in 1982 I managed to quit smoking and drinking, and I trained every single day to perfect my craft. It took me two years of nothing but hard work to become a skilled fighter. It took me many more years of hard work to become a truly skilled fighter.

Q: What fighters did you look up to?
CE: Well one man I looked upto was Dennis Cruz because he had this perfect balance, I mean a good mover. He was a gymnasium fighter, I watched him spar Pernell Whitaker and it was two slick, defensive fighters, abit like when I was sparring Herol Graham some years later. But my style more or less was my own. I was a self-styled pugilist.

Q: When did you first meet Mike Tyson?
CE: At the New York Golden Gloves, I turned up with no coach and he was kind enough to let me warm-up with him. I stayed with him for a few weeks in New Jersey in 1985 when we were both fighting at the Atlantis Casino. A guy who trained me then was Maximo Pierret whoI think knew Kevin Rooney. So I knew Mike personally, before he ever became famous. And he knew me, before I became famous.

Q: Not many people know about the Pre-1988 Eubank the boxer, tell us about him.
CE: I won the New York Golden Gloves at age 17 with no coach and had offers to turn professional from Don King and Bob Arum after winning this tournament, but I told them that boxing was a mugs game and had no plans to make a career out of it. I also won the Spanish Golden Gloves tournament in 1984. I turned professional at age 19 as a light-middleweight and my first five fights were four-rounders in Atlantic City, unanimous decisions in my favour. But for the mid-to-late 80's I was mostly gymnasium fighting or working on technique and working on being relaxed, I wasn't fighting consecutively often until coming towards 1990 and then getting upto the Benn fight. I can tell you now that it takes around three years to truly master one punch. I only turned professional in the first place to pay my mothers telephone bill that I had clocked up. I was more interested in gymnasium fighting to be honest, developing my craftsmanship and then putting it to test in the ring just man against man. I saw it as an art.

Q: How did Ronnie Davies becoming your trainer come about?
CE: I knew John Conteh's brother David from the Jerome and he told me that Ronnie Davies in Brighton is a good guy if I wanted to take up boxing back in England.

Q: When did you decide that you were going to make a career out of boxing?
CE: I boxed as nothing more than a prize fighter wanting some cash to pay some bills right up to the Anthony Logan fight in February 89, yours truly had been sacked from clothes shops due to stealing. Logan had ofcourse caused the highly-rated golden boy Nigel Benn a lot of trouble in his previous fight, almost stopping Benn, but I won every single round against him and didn't even sit down between each round. It was a Benn undercard but I stole the show. I think my particular showman on top of it all gained me a lot of recognition and promotor Barry Hearn signed me, I decided to make a career out of it because yours truly was an attention-seeking, money-grabbing kind of fellow with his own artistic licence. I was an original. But I was also misrepresented in the media thoughout my career and people had a preconception about me that wasn't always true. I don't know, I can't complain, boxing has given me the lifestyle I always dreamed of.. from the days I was living on the streets. If the posing and proselytising suited my personality, it also perplexed opponents and annoyed punters to the point where they made me a multi-millionaire by streaming through the turnstiles in the hope of seeing me defeated. Yes boxing is a trade and a craft but it's also a business.

Q: You won the WBC International middleweight title in 1990 and after 24 wins out of 24 fights in professional boxing you were given a shot at the newly-created WBO title when you took on your fellow countryman and arch-rival Nigel Benn. It's generally regarded as the best ever seen in a British ring and will always be talked about for what a titanic struggle it was. You were only 24 years old at the time and even though you had been recieving a lot of attention outside of the ring and had been putting on impressive displays inside of the ring - nobody knew just how good you really were before that fight Chris.. but it ended up being the first of 24 WBO title bouts for you. Tell us about the terrible injuries you sustained after the imfamous first Benn clash.
CE: He broke my tongue, injured my ribs, my back, bruised muscle tissue, my forehead was a little swollen, and I just could not get up for days because I was in too much pain, and I was urinating blood for a week. Nigel punched harder that I ever imagined anybody could punch, perhaps his punches don't look as hard as they actually feel, but he could whack alright.

Q: Was the hatred between the pair of you that genuine or was it exaggerated?
CE: I don't think the hatred was as intense as it was percieved to be, but we were not too fond of eachother.

Q: Michael Watson ofcourse was the only other man, aside from yourself, to defeat Nigel Benn.. and Watson was a fellow countryman. You were pushing for a unification against Michael Nunn around 1991 but then chose to defend your title against Michael Watson instead. Tell us why was this?
CE: It was public demand, the public demanded nice guy Michael (Watson) have a shot at me. After beating Benn but then losing his world title shot (against Mike McCallum) he was blanked out as my rivalry with Nigel came to the forefront and the British public picked up on this and felt sorry for him and felt he deserved a shot at me. The money was right and we got it on, it was a better pay-day than I'd of got elsewhere and I kept my title. The guy who fought Nunn instead of me was Toney, and Toney won that one, but I was better than Toney so I'd of done the same to Nunn, only better than he did.

Q: After the first Watson fight, Mike McCallum was asking you for a unification but you didn't take this opportunity. How come?
CE: What did he bring? I saw no logical reason to risk being stopped late and losing my championship for such small money, I'm sure I could of beaten McCallum but I had to think of my family and wasn't in the business of taking risks unless the money was good. Bob Arum offered me some good terms to unify against Toney, but the British public were demanding I re-match Michael (Watson) and there was simply more money on the table for that.

Q: The first Watson fight was controversial, with the vast majority of people feeling that Watson had been robbed and that's why there were calls for a re-match to set the record straight. Looking back though, do you think it was more wishful thinking that Watson had been robbed because let's be honest Chris, you were probably the most unpopular world champion in the history of British boxing in a sense.. I mean they loved to hate you.
CE: Your spot on, I was 60-54 up at the halfway point. I was also 60-54 up at the halfway point in the Benn re-match. But they say that I was lucky not to lose those fights, I mean the Watson first fight and Benn second fight, but that is such rubbish and when you look back you see that's it's such rubbish. That's what I have a problem with, yes okay I played to the crowd and I rode the crowd and everything and yes I created this persona of the man they love to hate, and yes I was arrogant and what not. But come on, watch those fights with an open-mind and I'm showing much better than they were until I let them back in. I'd of definately beaten Benn again if it wasn't for me injuring my back at the end of round six when I shoved him out of the ring, then I twisted my back or pulled something in the first minute of round seven, so I found no rythm for the rest of the fight, I was in pain but it's no good making excuses at the time because nobody believes you anyway and you end up losing respect.

Q: The second Watson fight was ofcourse a tragic night that seemed to affect you for the rest of your career, we won't go into too much detail because I'm sure you have dark memories. (Eubank was behind on all three scorecards and then Watson scored a knockdown at the end of round 11, Eubank though rose off the canvas seemingly prematurely and unexpectedly as he caught the challenger with a fateful uppercut, at the start of the final round Eubank pounded Watson along the ropes before the referee jumped in to the rescue. Watson was left permanently disabled at the hands of Eubank). You very nearly walked away from the sport, infact at one point you had walked away from the sport and your WBO title was to be fought for by Nigel Benn and Michael Nunn after seemingly being left vacant by your retirement, what made you come back?
CE: What brought me back was the realisation that I had done nothing wrong, that had I failed to climb off the canvas when I was floored in the 11th round I would have been cheating myself. At the start of that 12th round I was so tired I could barely stand, so battered I could barely think. It's all to do with integrity, I had to to keep fighting and punching until there was nothing left. To lose without knowing I had given absolutely everything there was to give would have made it impossible for me to live with myself. But after that fight I was content not to give everything I had in me and do only just enough to keep my championship while looking for big pay-days to come along.

Q: You become a two-weight world champion but then many people feel that you lost your killer instinct after the second fight with Michael. Pre-Watson you were renowned for your ability to finish an opponent off with sharpness and accuracy, to go in for the kill when you had an opponent hurt. Post-Watson you were renowned for a lack of aggression and an increase on posturing during a round, basically you did not go in for the kill again or show that same sort of attacking form that you did earlier in your career. Is it fair to say that you lost your killer instinct after seeing what happened to Watson?
CE: I lost my finishing instinct. If I couldn't take them out cleanly with one shot then I went for the decision, because I couldn't bludgeon anyone into submission.

Q: Between your second fight with Watson where you won the vacant WBO super-middleweight title and your controversial loss to Collins where you lost it four years later, which one of those 15 defences was your most difficult?
CE: I'm inclined to say the first fight with European champion Ray Close because he'd been studying me relentlessly whereas I had never seen him fight before, he was countering my long overhand right with three or four quick punches, he was peppering me with fair shots. If you ask me why I kept throwing that long overhand right throughout my career.. well it's because that for every 100 times I threw it, it landed once and the fight was always over. I proved in the first Close fight that I was always fighting on reserve, that there was always more to come out of me if needed, because I was behind on points late on until I simply decided to turn it on and put him down with one short uppercut which forced it to be scored a draw, and then I set the record straight by winning the re-match in his backyard. One things for sure and that is that the quality of my opposition cannot be questioned, I beat the North American champion Ron Esset and I beat the IBF champion Lindell Holmes, those guys used Roy Jones as a sparring partner but I used them as a sparring partner with my championship on the line. They were world-class fighters. Tony Thornton caused Toney, over 12 rounds, much more problems than he caused me over 12 rounds.

Q: Your long-awaited re-match with Benn was a fight that many feel was disappointing, I suppose it's hard to live upto such an epic battle that you guys had the first time out, isn't it?
CE: When a fight is hyped up like that, no matter what happens it will not be pleasing, it's easy to over-expect.

Q: That was ofcourse the unification that you'd wanted for a long time, but why was there no third fight?
CE: We were signed to different television networks.

Q: Why no push for another unification?
CE: I always pushed for a unification with Nunn or Toney, but neither could offer me enough money or they weren't willing or whatever else came up because they simply knew that they would lose to the better man. Nunn didn't bring much but Toney did, certainly. They were world champions in their own right, just like I was a world champion in my own right. We were all on a level playing field being world champions in our own right, but I had the best case because I was undefeated which Nunn and Benn were not, and I was unbeaten over more fights than Toney was. I was the longest-reigning super-middleweight champion, the first star of that fresh division and the first star of the World Boxing Organisation. But I had nobody to bring the best out of me and Toney saw that, he saw that I had reserve and saw that I was capable of stopping Benn and Watson. After that I was content to do only just what was needed to do to keep my championship and pick up my cash for the night, in all those 15 defences when I found my rythm over 92 and 93 and 94, none of them with the exception of Benn were able to force me to dig deep, none of them with the exception of Benn were able to force me to train diligently. That's why you didn't see the best of Chris Eubank, you need the best fighters in the world to bring the best out of you when your at championship level. You need to have a reason to train diligently. For example, I found it very difficult to get motivated for a fight against a mandatory of mine who worked as a postman. If the money was right, I would of beaten Toney and I would of proven who really was the best in the world. Remember that when Chavez lost, it was me who had the best unbeaten record in boxing and I got pound-for-pound ranked for that, I was unbeaten for the longest ammount of time and the most ammount of fights in the whole of boxing. And back when I was working my way through the rankings I would always fight the highest-ranked opponent available, and while I was world champion I fought all of mandatories. I didn't dodge anybody. I was unbeaten over 19 successive world title fights over two different weights, not to gloat or anything or blow my own horn but yours truly was willing to fight anybody, any place, any time, anywhere - providing the money was right.

Q: Many people feel that what happened to Watson changed you, and that you could of been fighter of the decade if it wasn't for that. Do you agree?
CE: After seeing what happened to Michael, I knew full well about the risks you take in the boxing game when your fighting for your life at a high level and if the right money isn't on the line then those risks are simply not worth it, nothing is more important on this earth than health and well-being. I had to think of my family, and the equation needs to be sealed and that's the financial situation. Obviously I got a lot of money from the Benn re-match, much more money than was offered by Bob Arum to fight Toney instead.

Q: Do you still consider the Benn first fight to be your best win?
CE: Rocchigiani was the number one boxer in Germany in the 80's and right up to when he fought me in 94 he was seen as best non-British European fighter at the time offighting me, he was the best German amateur and he came through as the best German professional, none of the other German fighters were rated as highly as he was but he was never the same after he lost to me. You have to understand, he had 35 wins from 35 fights at the time of fighting me, his hometown was Berlin and we fought in Berlin, he was a former world champion and he was a future world champion. I schooled him for 12 rounds at his best and got the decision, I think I deserve a lot of credit for that because I needed a big performance after back-to-back draws, and the rascist chanting just spurred me on. People told me that if you go to Germany you have to knock your opponent out to get a draw, but I was so sharp that night that they could find no way to rob me. Rocchigiani was 6'3" and he was a southpaw so it was no easy win. I had many good wins over the years.

Q: Steve Collins became the most popular Irishman in Britain when he beat you in 1995 and snatched your title, because fight fans had been so desperate to see you lose ever since first laying eyes on you back in the late 1980's. You were finally knocked off your perch but under controversial circumstances. Collins claimed he was hypnotised into believing he was invincible and you constantly threatened to call off the fight due to believing that he was incapable of losing and in some sort of a zone. Do you still maintain that the fight was a fluke?
CE: Yes the fight was a fluke, it was the first time that I had ever lost a boxing match but even in defeat I showed that I could easily of won if I wanted to.

Q: Yeah I remember when you had Collins down late on but then strangely backed off and purposely allowed him to recover when he was clearly there for the taking! Was it the thoughts of Michael Watson holding you back, that caused you to posture around the ring rather than finish Collins off?
CE: I had terrible flasbacks of Michael and feared I'd kill Collins. I had a choice, and because Collins was out on his feet I had time to make the choice, the choice was: Kill Collins or lose a boxing match. As you know I'd already killed a man shortly after what happened to Michael, but wasn't charged. All this played on my mind, and with the hypnotising claims and everything I freaked out. I chose to lose a boxing match rather than risk putting myself in a situation I knew I would not cope being in again, so I was a passenger for the rest of the fight. But Collins knows he wasn't fit enough to tie my laces, he knows that he couldn't beat me physically so had to play mind games, and at the end of the day boxing is psychological warfare. Collins is just a one-fight wonder, yes he showed determination against me but it was a one-off lucky fight for him.

Q: He beat you in a re-match later that year Chris, fair and square, although it could be argued that you were past your peak by then seeing as you were about 30 and had already had 45 fights as a professional, most of which going the distance.
CE: (interrupts) The first time that I ever went out to hurt my opponent, I lost. As I said, boxing is a psychological game, it is more mental than physical, anybody can get into physical shape. The re-match with Collins, he made it even more personal, he made me take my mind off the subject matter which is to be professional and to box and to box well, he took my mind off the subject matter and made me put it onto something else - which was Collins himself. I should not of done that, I should of been objective, but that's what he managed to do. You see that's what he created or that's what he wanted. I would never of been able to beat Steve Collins because I would never be able to go out there against him and not make it personal, which is what he'd want, and I just wouldn't be able to not go out to hurt him, and so he's already won because he's got what he wants. Look at what that fellow Tarver did to Roy Jones, he got into his head and Jones lost.

Q:Steve Collins was pushing for a Roy Jones fight, how do you think that one would of gone?
CE: Collins would of beat Jones on the night he fought me the first time, he became the first man to beat me and he would of been the first man to beat Jones if he had fought Jones instead of me. It's all to do with psychology and getting into your opponents head and being in a winning zone. Had Collins fought Jones the second time he fought me, Jones would of taken him to school. If you put the Collins who fought me the first time against the Collins who fought me the second time, the Collins who fought me the first time would batter him. If you put yours truly from the first Collins fight in with yours truly from the second Collins fight, yours truly from the first Collins fight would win comfortably.

so what new with you DD?

you still like Benn and Eubank?

Wow what a man! He claims to have beaten up on a 15 year old RJJ. Damn that proves he is the best ever. And he also admits to ducking Toney and Maculum. Whoo he kicks ass!!!

wtf was the sad click for?

I havent sad clicked you even though most people do.

you always post these damn articles. give it up roy would have beaten any of these guys. steve collins, get real.

i always use this quote to u eubanks nut huggers

heres what roy said in 1996

" chris gets nothing from me,when i was coming up trying to make a name for myself he wouldnt give me a shot,oh but now hes at the end of his career he thinks he can make some money off roy? i dont think so "

Originally Posted by sugarboybenjamin

i always use this quote to u eubanks nut huggers

heres what roy said in 1996

" chris gets nothing from me,when i was coming up trying to make a name for myself he wouldnt give me a shot,oh but now hes at the end of his career he thinks he can make some money off roy? i dont think so "

But Eubank explained that in the interview if you actually bothered to read it, Jones was never his number one contender and probably didn't bring enough money to the table at the time either. Then Jones avoided Eubank when he held a title of his own.

Eubank in his prime..

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thats an excellent interview.growing up in that era it was easy to get sucked in to all that "i hate eubank ,whos he ever fought" shite but he was a really good fighter with the heart of a lion.respect.

Originally Posted by horsebox

thats an excellent interview.growing up in that era it was easy to get sucked in to all that "i hate eubank ,whos he ever fought" s***e but he was a really good fighter with the heart of a lion.respect.

Yep, just watch Eubank's following fights: Benn 1, Watson 2, Thompson 1 and 2. You'll see that Eubank actually did have heart and probably cared about the sport more than he would let us believe.

Originally Posted by DD

Originally Posted by horsebox

thats an excellent interview.growing up in that era it was easy to get sucked in to all that "i hate eubank ,whos he ever fought" s***e but he was a really good fighter with the heart of a lion.respect.

Yep, just watch Eubank's following fights: Benn 1, Watson 2, Thompson 1 and 2. You'll see that Eubank actually did have heart and probably cared about the sport more than he would let us believe.

Or his bank balance

Benn/Eubank Video Clip: http://s46.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0...Y16E3AFBODDQ0T

Originally Posted by BIG H

Originally Posted by DD

Originally Posted by horsebox

thats an excellent interview.growing up in that era it was easy to get sucked in to all that "i hate eubank ,whos he ever fought" s***e but he was a really good fighter with the heart of a lion.respect.

Yep, just watch Eubank's following fights: Benn 1, Watson 2, Thompson 1 and 2. You'll see that Eubank actually did have heart and probably cared about the sport more than he would let us believe.

Or his bank balanceÂ

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