I know he was dip****, but lets look at the whole picture to show what a real thick **** you are. He beat a young Ryan Rhodes to win his vacant title, then beat a nobody before challenging Jones. Thats top quality :hi:. Beating Rhodes a then inexperienced fighter really is the business. Looks bad on Roy for wanting to fight this 2 divisions lower elite
Not telling the full facts now are we. Collins collapsed when training years later for a comeback. Not when he was first signed to fight Calzaghe. A terrible poster is one like yourself who doesnt tell the real story
Once again more lies. As I said I dont like to pass comment on historical fighters as I havent witnessed their careers as they happen. So much can be twisted with time. Now why dont you BS and tell us all about J Dempsey and what you saw happen. Show me any post where I have been racist. ANY. You cant. Kmac has backed himself into a corner once more atsch
i thought you said you weren't going to respond to my comments calling you a racist? if this is the case, why study history at all? let's only focus on what's happens in the time we're alive. universities all over the globe are considering dropping all history classes after this intelligent comment from bailey. :good
I actually followed the sport at the time unlike you ******s. Jones wanted Collins and that was why Jones invited him to be ringside. Collins was then asked to fight Calzaghe to get ready for Jones but only wanted the 1 fight with Jones HBO/Dibella however wanted Jones to face IBF champ Reggie Johnson instead of Collins January 15, 1999 Jones clash heads for KO by Harry Mullan and Wayne Higgins PROFESSIONAL boxing is a world of hidden agendas, lies and bluff, but the confusion surrounding Steve Collins' date with Roy Jones is setting new standards. It is hard to believe that a shrewd and streetwise pragmatist like Collins, a man who has always cherished his own reputation, would run the risk of exposing himself to public ridicule by announcing the fight was on if there was any doubt about it, but if we are to believe Murad Muhammad, the American's promoter, this is precisely what has happened. Mohammad insists that there is no question of Jones facing Collins in Las Vegas, Dublin or anywhere than in the Irishman's imagination. He refutes the support which Jones' manager, Stanley Levin, has given to the fight, and says that Levin must either have exceeded his authority to speak for the fighter, or else has been misquoted or misinterpreted. Yet, Levin, a Florida lawyer, who gives the impression of operating on a rather higher moral plain than is customary in this business, stands by his word. There is clearly a split in the ranks, and one possibly significant aspect of the affair is that Mohammad is trying to steer Jones into a light-heavyweight championship unification match with IBF title holder, Reggie Johnson. Jones already holds the WBC and WBA versions. When Johnson beat Collins for the middleweight title in New Jersey a few years ago, Mohammad was involved as Johnson's representative. Their current relationship is unknown, but the cynical viewpoint which is often the most accurate and rewarding could be that he is pushing for the Jones v Johnson match with the tempting prospect of earning from it in both capacities, as promoter and through his "piece" of Johnson, if he has such an arrangement. Such deals, known as double dipping, are commonplace in American boxing circles. The American press reported the announcement that the Collins fight is on, but without any comment from Jones or Mohammad. The match would have a degree of credibility in America, where Collins is still well remembered and accorded more respect than most European fighters are accustomed to receiving over there. Jones is known to be growing increasingly bored with the lack of challenges on offer for him, and whatever doubts about the Collins match there may be in the Florida camp, they are unlikely to be coming from the man himself. As always, though, the money men will have the last word. If Jones' TV backers at HBO want the fight it will happen: if they don't, Collins faces the prospect of an excruciatingly embarrassing public climb down. The latter may still be the case. HBO chief, Lou Dibella, last night insisted there had been no contact between himself and either the Collins or Jones camp on the possibility of a fight. Dibella, who as chief of the network to which Jones is contracted, would have to okay such a deal, said in a telephone conference: "There would be little or no interest in Collins v Jones in America. Collins has not fought in a year and a half and although he was a very good champion there would not be a great deal of interest in him in America at the moment. If he wants to fight someone else before Roy Jones then interest may pick up. "I would like to see Collins fight Joe Calzaghe, who holds Collins' former super middleweight crown. Calzaghe is an exciting fighter, whom we have earmarked to fight Roy Jones at some stage. At the moment Reggie Johnson, the IBF light heavyweight champion, is the one who I feel most deserves a shot at Jones. However, if Collins was to fight Calazaghe possibly on a Jones undercard, then the winner could meet Jones in their next contest," said Dibella. The likelihood of Collins fighting anyone but Jones is slim, given that he has consistently said that he would only come out of retirement to meet Jones. Dibella said he had spoken to Murad Muhamad, but had not had any contact with either Collins or his solicitor, Brian Delahunt, when they were in Florida last weekend. Collins' solicitor, Delahunt, said yesterday that he had been talking with Stanley Levin, Jones' attorney, regarding the contest, and that negotiations had been taking place between those two. On the possibility of Jones and Collins, he said there would be no further announcements until negotiations took place between Jones' camp and Collins' camp with HBO.
Calzaghe was due to challenge world champ Collins, but Collins chose to retire. Some time during Calzaghes reign. Collins decided on a comeback but passed out after sparring Howard Eastman and decided against a comeback. Collins was going to have a warm up and then challenge Calzaghe. They would have been on the same bill and then fought each other next. Proven http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/boxing-collapse-puts-an-end-to-collins-comeback-1093160.html
nothing but a no chin clown he'd play a basketball game then have a fight like that was tough ... a big mouth who is now at the point in his career where he should have been much earlier, getting knocked out all the time with drama knock outs awful commentator too
McGuigan believes Collins is silly to climb back in ring with Jones by Rita O'Reilly FORMER champion boxer Barry McGuigan yesterday said it was "foolhardy and silly," of Steve Collins to go back into the ring to fight Roy Jones. Collins accepted that there was "a bit of truth" in claims that he is coming out of retirement to make money to keep up his standard of living, but he said he had always promised he'd don his boxing gloves again if a Roy Jones bout was in the offing. McGuigan told Joe Duffy on RTE Radio's Liveline yesterday: "I think he's being foolhardy, I think he's silly taking a fight of this magnitude now. I take my hat off to him and I admire his courage...but I think he's being foolish." Collins has credibility to gain, courage to show and money to pick up from fighting the WBC light-heavyweight champion, McGuigan admitted. But he's also got a lot to lose and he's up against an exceptional fighter, the Sugar Ray Leonard of the nineties. In his heyday Steve would have had trouble going the distance with Jones. "He is very quick-handed, very fast on his feet and has great hand-eye co-ordination, he's a banger. "Boxing is about continuity, it's about keeping going, you can't give up for two years, especially if you're the type of fighter that Steve has always been. "There's no secrets about Steve's style. He grabs the centre of the ring, he plants his feet in the middle and pitches his toes into the canvas and lets you have it. "There's no subtleties about his style. He's an aggressive comeatcha type fighter and those are the type of fighters that Roy Jones loves." McGuigan said Jones's fleet footedness and speed meant he likes guys to come at him because then he can display his fabulous hand speed and his power. "Steve is normally a very wise guy, I just don't think he's being very wise here," he said. He did not think Collins, who won nine world title fights in a row before his retirement, will be able to recapture his sharpness. "Each dog has his day. We all have a shelf life," McGuigan, who now works as a commentator for Sky Sports, said. "This is a dangerous game, let's not forget that. He could get hurt, there's no doubt about that." McGuigan, who retired at the age of 29, accepted his advice might fall on deaf ears. "He's laughing the whole way to the bank and I'm delighted for him and I hope he earns a fortune in it," he said of his compatriot's decision. But Steve Collins said he had always said he would come out of retirement if he got the Roy Jones fight. "And why not?" go back into the ring, he asked. "I believe I still have what it takes to beat Roy Jones," he said, adding that he would not go through any warm-up fights prior to the big bout, likely to take place in April.And he said he still hasn't finalised the deal on exactly how much he will be paid for the fight : "The Rio Hotel in Las Vegas hope to stage the fight on April 17th, its opening night, but I'm hoping that a promoter over here will bring the fight back to Europe."Both Sky and ITV have shown an interest in bringing the fight to Britain or Ireland, and Collins said he hoped a deal would be done by the end of the week. He rejected the question mark over his decision as people being negative. "What I've heard is a lot of opinions from people who I've not requested opinions from," he told Joe Duffy. "The only opinion that would make any difference to me either way would be the opinion of my wife," he added. And Collins accepted there was a little bit of truth in the claim that he is going back into the ring to keep up his standard of living, including the cost of keeping his 11 polo horses. "Unfortunately, I've got involved in a hobby which is probably more expensive than bird-watching or fishing," he said, but ruled out selling some of his stock. "If anything, I would like to buy better horses," Collins said. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer.../14/fshead.htm Collins was shocked into retirement TRAINER Jimmy Tibbs has revealed that former world champion Steve Collins has been shocked into retirement after he collapsed during a sparring session on Monday. The 34-year-old Irishman has decided to call it a day after falling face down on the canvas during a work-out with British middleweight champion Howard Eastman at the Lennox Lewis gymnasium in London. Within minutes of the collapse, Collins, who has not boxed since July 1997, was rushed to hospital where he received tests and a brain scan which have given him the all-clear. The former world middle and super-middleweight champion was set to return to the ring next month after nearly two years on the sidelines. But Tibbs said: "When Steve got himself together after they had done the tests and he had been given the all-clear, we all agreed that the best thing for him to do was to stop boxing. "I was delighted when he told me that he wouldn't be boxing any more. He said that he believed it was a warning for him and he needed that to make him stop boxing. "He needed something like that to shock him into retirement. He's not skint and it's the right decision. Steve had said at the Press conference for his comeback that he wasn't coming back for the money. "To see a tough guy like Steve Collins collapsing to the canvas like that was very frightening." [B]Collins was due to contest a non-title bout on the supporting bill to Joe Calzaghe's WBO super-middleweight defence against Rick Thornberry in Cardiff on June 5.[/B]He had then lined up an autumn clash with the Welshman in an attempt to regain his old world title, with the Celtic Warrior promised a shot at WBC light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones if he won.It is understood that Collins has returned home to Dublin where it is expected he will formally announce his retirement after a career in which he enjoyed epic victories over the likes of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank. Eastman's trainer Ronnie Davies said: "I was terrified when I saw Steve falling forward onto the canvas. "The strange thing is that I didn't see a punch land on Steve. But Howard said that before Steve collapsed he had caught him with a right on the top of the head. "If there was a punch it couldn't have been that hard because we had told them to take it easy and they were wearing 18-ounce sparring gloves." Collins won the WBO super-middleweight title in March 1995 by outpointing Eubank. He made seven successful defences, including a repeat victory over Eubank and two against Benn. Collins' promoters, Sports Network Europe, said he was due to leave hospital yesterday evening. A spokesman yesterday afternoon said: "Steve Collins would like it to be known he is sitting up in bed and will be discharged from hospital later on today." http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer...5/12/shead.htm Collins must wait on medics by David Field STEVE COLLINS wants to fight on, but the former WBO champion will leave the decision in the hands of the medical men. A neurologist's report on Monday will dictate whether the Irishman has a future in the sport after being out of boxing for almost two years. Collins described his collapse at the start of a sparring session with British middleweight champion, Howard Eastman, on Monday, as a black-out. He spent the night in Homerton Hospital, east London. Collins underwent tests and a CAT scan. Yesterday, he said: ''I didn't feel good going into the ring and I should have been honest with my trainer Jimmy Tibbs. ''I felt as though my head exploded, I felt dizzy, I needed a rest. I more or less went on the floor and I sat up in the ring and I felt light-headed. I was not taking any punishment and the session had only just started. In layman's terms you could call it a black-out. ''I don't believe it is serious, it could be a blip or a warning. ''A neurosurgeon read me my results and advised me what to do, and asked to see me again on Monday. He didn't say anything about boxing. The decision on my future is not mine; it depends on what the doctors say. When I know the facts then it will be my decision. ''Of course I'd love to box on. But this certainly got my attention. It's not happened to me before in boxing, but I've had headaches when I've not been boxing. ''I've got some questions to ask the neurosurgeon, which he was not in a position to answer earlier this week after the initial tests.'' Whatever the conclusion of the neurosurgeon at Homerton Hospital, the British Boxing Board of Control would doubtless want to conduct their own tests before he fights again in the UK. Collins was due to have his comeback fight in Cardiff on June 5, but that plan has now been abandoned. The 34-year-old has not fought since stopping America's Craig Cummings in Glasgow in July 1997. That was a seventh defence of the WBO super-middleweight crown he took from Chris Eubank more than two years earlier, and twice defended successfully against Nigel Benn. Collins earned around £1.5 million from boxing, and lives in a £1 million house in a fashionable suburb of Dublin. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer.../13/fshead.htm
Well ill be damned, looks like you might be right and I could be wrong. I think I read on wikipedia that a a Jones matchup was mooted for after the showdown against Calzghe though, if wikipedia is at all believeable. Still doesnt change the fact that Jones never ducked Collins. I cant imagine why he would fight Toney but Not Collins, who would have lost to Jones had they fought. Just because a fight does not come to fruition does not mean Jones ducked anyone. Dont throw stones in a glass house btw, it seems ironic when you slag off Jones's sometimes lackluster competition throughout his career, when Collins fought sometimes a similar level of competition during his reign. Same thing with Eubank, he fought often lackluster oppoents during his reign, and should by right maybe have lost more times than he did, yet you give him a free pass, especially when he never made the effort to fight many of the elite elite super middleweights during his reign, apart from Benn of course, and was comfortable staying in his comfort zone. Edit: Power puncher just posted an article which goes against yours, so who is to believe?
Anyone can add or change what they like on Wiki. Collins was pushing for the Jones fight before he retired and before Calzaghe was looking to challenge him. I have never given anyone a free pass. What I did do was show facts. Of course Eubank had some gimmes. Tell me a fighter with over 10 defences that hasnt. But Eubank did fight some top SMWs. Other than Toney who wasnt fighting in as good a quaility at the weight as Eubank and Benn, Jones didnt fight any other decent SMWs. Collins had some easy SMW fights but did twice fight Benn and twice fight Eubank, thats 4 honest SMW fights. Your comment on Eubank only fighting Benn, you fail to note Eubank travelled to Germany and beat undefeated Rocchigiani who became a SMW and LHW world champ. You fail to note Eubank fought solid top 10 fighters in Watson, Malinga, Gimenez, Holmes, Wharton and the mentioned Collins and Benn
