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.