I've been spending a little time getting better acquainted with this quartet of middleweight/super-middleweight standouts from the 90's, and am developing a deeper appreciation for all of them. Must have been a hell of a lot of fun to be a British boxing fan then, seeing all the round-robin stuff going on with them all. They were all a bit different too, and appealed to different types with their personalities, and the styles blended so well. Makes captivating watching. Please share your thoughts about your favorite, and whom you thought was the best........any memories of their fights, etc. Personally, I think the best all-round fighter of the bunch was probably Watson. I like Eubank as a personality, and he did hold two wins over Watson, but I did have Watson winning the first fight, though I don't really call it a horrible robbery or anything. Benn was probably the most fun to watch, volcanic as he was. Head to head though, he fared the worst. Collins had such an ugly style, but he was so damn tough, and made hell for the others.
yeah, the initial group of fights between the first three are a great series of fights between developing contenders with genuine world class ability.One of the last time we really had that sort of thing going on such a short space of time at middleweight. Watson vs Benn, Eubank vs Benn and the second Eubank vs Watson fight are all great fights, with the first Eubank vs Watson being an interesting good quality chessmatch sort of bout. Collins i tend to think of as more on the periphery of them, alongside the older Herol Graham circa 1990.He was in America serving that tough apprenticeship of an early title fight with McCallum, then taking on other "who needs em" sort of fighters like Reggie Johnson and an old Kalambay. His first fight with Eubank is really good, but the others he had with the duo were against faded fighters(eubank being more due to weightmaking than being outright shot) especially Benn. A prime vs prime Benn Collins fight might have been a classic too.
I still need to see Collins-Benn. I remember Roy Jones being told in a postfight interview that Benn had lost to Collins earlier that night, and he seemed both shocked and disappointed.
I loved Watson the most, but I loved all of them really. 15m watching on tv. Everyone at school talking about it the next day. Good times.
I have to admit liking Eubank, which I'm surprised to see me write.......I typically can't stand showboats or mouthy people, but in listening to a lot of interviews with Eubank, I get the distinct impression he understands the role he was playing, and the necessity of playing that up. I also see a lot of empathy and remarkable insight in him you rarely see in a fighter. They're usually terrible, unimaginative interviews. He's great fun to listen to.
I have to put Eutanks at the bottom of that quartet simply because of how he let Collins beat him with a parlor trick: "I have been hyp-mo-tized, so you can't hurt me," and Eubanks acts as if a curse has been put on him. What a strange deal that was.
That was Eubank! Merchant told him Eubank had lost to Collins that night, and Jones said 'He did!?!' with bewilderment in his expression! Eubank made it clear he wanted Jones after he fought Henry Wharton and was '85% sure' the fight would happen in 1995 'if the business side of it is correct'. Jones had been chasing a fight with Eubank for three years before Eubank lost to Collins. Jones was ringside at the Watson-Benn fight when NBC were trying to drum up a Benn-Jones fight in '89!
Just bumping this a few years later, as I just saw a couple more fights from this bunch. Anything to add?
Loved the era. Was a great time to follow boxing in the UK. Benn and Eubank especially, brought a great rivalry to the mix and then throw in Watson. Good Times.
For me Michael Watson was the best of the lot, although tragically he never got a chance to prove it. But he beat Benn in a Hagler/Hearns type war, for me beat Eubank in their first meeting. And was miles in front vs Eubank in the rematch, but of course as we all know had a tragic end. I do honestly believe Watson in the rematch vs Eubank, that was the highest level of boxing from Watson that Benn, Eubank, Collins, ever had. I don't think any of the other 3, ever fought as well as Watson did for them 11 rounds and 2 minutes 50 seconds.
I know this post is from 2013 which is kind of surreal I'm replying to it, but since this thread has been bumped recently. I thought I'd mention that I see Chris Eubank documentary awhile ago. And Eubank actually believes he lost to Benn in the rematch, but believes he beat Collins in their first fight. Theres a clip that shows Eubank actually floored Collins twice, and the 2nd knockdown wasn't called. I actually never hear anyone talk about that. I don't remember the judges scorecards, but perhaps if that 2nd knockdown would of been called, it might of changed history.
A tremendous era and a full house of champs right there. Interestingly all outside of Watson have sons who fight pro aswell with mixed results. These guys had a lot of character and personalities which is why they moved the needle. The Groves,Froch,DeGale era didnt as much imo.
