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.