Eubank on Froch

'Carl Froch is a British super-middleweight World champion. But 9 out of 10 people in the street don't have a clue who he is. The recognition he has earned and deserves, he does not have. It's not enough to be just a top fighter... you must be a top entertainer as well.'

 

Also bigging up his career...


'You talk about baptism of fire, having tough fights on the way up. I had my first 30 fights by the age of 19-and-a-half, only three- and four-rounders but more knockout-type punches thrown at me than an eight- or 10-round contest would possess. All fully grown men who were trading punches with top professionals every day. Most of these opponents in my first 30 fights had Golden Gloves success, where you fought multiple three-rounders in one night, and every one of these first 30 opponents were there to win and attempted to take my head clean off my shoulders. So I was 4 and 0 as a professional boxer, and with the best sparring in the game at my disposal, in New York City, and so the world was my oyster.

'By the time I was fighting eight- and 10-rounds against Anthony Logan and Randy Smith, who had fought all of the world's leading middleweights between them, I was an extremely polished operator and punched them more cleanly than they'd been punched. This was when I knew I was world champion in waiting, if I didn't already.

'I considered myself to be world champion when I beat Hugo Corti for the WBC International title on March 6th, 1990. I became leading contender in the World Boxing Association with that victory, apart from fighters who got knocked out in one round or gave up the world championship. When Nigel Benn went on to knock out Iran Barkley in one round, he defeated the fighter who only subjectively lost to the other world champions, and so warranted the kings ransom to fight me.

'I was officially world champion with the Benn victory. As far as elite competition, Michael Watson and Tony Thornton from 1990 only otherwise were defeated by the best-rated boxers, pound-for-pound, of the world. Sugar Boy Malinga was the future WBC world champion. Lindell Holmes was the former IBF world champion. Ron Essett was unofficially the WBC world champion. Graciano Rocchigiani was unofficially the IBF world champion. The WBA title-holder, Michael Nunn, would be defeated by the aforementioned Rocchigiani for the WBC light-heavy world championship. Even Ray Close and Henry Wharton were European and Commonwealth champions respectively and that's 3/4's of the world.

'I was unofficially world champion until September 9th, 1995. That's five-and-a-half years. That's 24 world championship fights until defeat with three non-title first-round knockouts, or 27 fights of elite performance in a 66-month period, the vast majority of which over the 12-round duration. That was unthinkable before it occurred, no fighter could surely do this. Well, my friend, I did it. And my name is Christopher Livingstone Eubank.'