Eubank/Benn/Watson/Collins

The idea is to actually win the title. Like Eubank did. Not nearly win it. He wasted his best years (83-85) in managerial disputes (and starting over at a new weight), just hanging around defending British titles forever.

 

So does Roy Jones. Love the way he laughs when Collins suggests he might be scared out of the fight (10:30).

Dear oh lord, Roy's cool. To be fair, all the guys in this were. Calzaghe, Richie Woodhall, Eubank, Johnny Nelson. Except Collins. He was so chippy. Really seemed to need a bit more validation.

 

Woodhall is a class act.

 

Look I'm going to be honest here on my assessment of Steve Collins:


Steve Collins - was a very tough boxer no doubt.
Went over to America and basically came up short.
In America he attempted to be a boxer with a rough edge. It didn't work.
Returned to Ireland and basically reinvented himself as a rough and tumble brawler.
His wins over Eubank and Benn came when those two were on the way out pure and simple.
Had he faced them in their primes its a completely different story.
Those two especially Benn were pretty much done.
Now Collins runs his,mouth about how Jones was running from him and this and that and acts like he was held back.
A totally shot Kalambay handed Collins a loss and yet in Steve's mind hes going to beat someone like a Jones? Based on what?

 

WBA, WBO, IBF, WBC; they’re all as bad as eachother

 

Genuine nice guy. Honest and humble and loyal to his family. I can think of absolutely nothing about Richie that I don't admire.

 

Cobra, you’re completely right.

I mean, I respect Collins for taking on fighters in the US like McCallum, Reggie Johnson and Kalambay. To be fair to Benn, he didn’t hide in the UK either and took on top US fighters like Barkley and McClellan, but won. It was only Eubank who seemed reluctant to leave his comfort zone in the UK and mix it with some of the best competition.

However, Collins wasn’t part of the Benn/Eubank/Watson original rivalry and had he met any of them in the early 90s, there’s every chance he’d have come up short there too. He beat a faded/gun shy version of Eubank and a plain-and-simple shot version of Benn and that’s what his legacy rests on.

 

Eubank left to face unbeaten Rocchigiani IN GERMANY (when it was still notorious for robberies). Madness.

 

Eubank LIVED in the USA and even fought in the USA as a pro. People overlook that for some reason.
I think Collins to me comes across as bitter and makes these outlandish claims.
Roy would have MASSACRED him trust me. If Reggie Johnson had Collins wobbly what would have Jones had done to him?
I respect Collins but a prime Watson would have torn him up - too big and strong for Collins.
All you have to do is watch when Collins fought Watts. Collins had his hands full with Watts and even got dropped.
This is the same Watts that Michael Nunn shut out. Frank Tate beat him easily. And here's Steve having his hands full.
Collins was certainly talented and a very good pro.
He worked and trained with Haglers trainers at one point of his career but he came up short.
He was never in the class of a Jones ever. He wasn't in Benn or Eubanks class either. Nothing wrong with that.
Good tough pro with good skills who was never a walk over for anyone.
Yet people on here act like he's this power punching granite chinned slugger when in fact Steve wasn't a very good puncher at all.

 

Definitely not a big puncher by any stretch, Collins. Awkward style though, he’d land in a way that was ugly but sneaky.

 

Yeah Eubank certainly wasn’t in his comfort zone in the South Bronx! He faced Mark Breland at late notice when nobody else would, starving himself to go in there - he was 17 and just started boxing for crumbsake and Breland was the best ever! By all accounts Chris was screaming at the ref for stopping him on his feet in the 2nd, after WINNING the 1st round (!) with a great counter jab!

 

Yeah, I know. I was talking about during his title reign - he was happy to stay where he was in the UK and defend against pretty weak opposition following the Watson fights.

But, anyway, the point I was agreeing with you on was about Collins and how his reputation benefitted from meeting Eubank and Benn at the right time in their careers when he could beat them. A few years earlier and I don’t think he would have.

 

Eubanks opp was quite strong really. Tony Thornton was ranked #1 in WBO/WBA and #1 in IBF right after. Lindell Holmes was one of those avoided dangermen of the 80s. Rocchi was a very high level general ability wise. And Collins was very competent v anyone and who Eubank faced in Ireland ON ST PATRICKS WEEKEND

 

He also stepped in v Calzaghe at very short notice. Nobody else would

Arum didn’t have options on him following the Benn win, such was his dismissal of Eubanks chances v Benn. Or we’d of seen Eubank v Tommy Hearns in the States. Coincidentally, Eubank fought his 5th fight on a Top Rank card, asking his matchmaker Johnny Bos to make it happen so he could try to impress Arum to be signed by him- he asked Bob and Bob said he only signed up potential world champions! (Bos matched Chris with a southpaw and Eubank was unprepared for the stance so didn’t impress -Bos did similar to Paulie Malignaggi once)

Isn’t it funny how things work out

 

I still think it would have been a difficult fight to make.

Again, as great as Eubank was, he wasn’t a big name in the U.S.

It would have taken something special to have gotten Roy to have gone to Manchester in 1996.