Eubank Sr on Best He Faced (ala The Ring)

The Benn quote was: 'Roy Jones can beat the hell out of my head all he likes, but I'm not letting Mike McCallum snatch my body!'

 

McCallum wasn't gifted with speed or power or strength or fleet feet. He was just a master. He doubled and trebled the jab and punched off it, countered to the body, dipped and rolled and weaved, could switch from head to body and body to head and throw a duck in there between punches, and he never stayed in the same spot or ever touched the ropes; he caught shots, parried jabs effortlessly and timed his right hands over, even doubling the right hand. He was just ridiculous, made it all look easy, and to the untrained eye didn't even look particularly good, he was that good!

Sumbu Kalambay was better than Floyd Mayweather.

 

Barry McGuigan - July 2017

BEST JAB
Charm Chiteule: The best jab was either Pedroza or Charm Chiteule. Chiteule was very good; he blackened my eye. He was very slick, tough durable. I hit him with a lot before I got him out of there.

BEST DEFENSE
Eusebio Pedroza: Lateral movement, spatial awareness, head movement, knew where you were, stepped back, stepped in, he could block. I think I caught him once with a good left hook to the body at the end of the fifth round. He was very hard to hit. He was brilliant on the inside, really good at riding a punch, blocking, slipping, rolling his head, pulling back, in and out. Very, very tasty on the inside, very sophisticated.

BEST CHIN
Juan Laporte: Laporte had an incredible chin, unbelievable chin. Nobody ever put him down. I had him out on his feet in the 10th round. He said he’s never been so badly hurt. He fought Julio Cesar Chavez; he fought so many world champions and I think he was stopped at the end of his career. His corner retired him. Nobody ever put him down. Nobody actually stopped him in the ring. He was definitely the toughest. A chin like granite.

FASTEST HANDS
Bernard Taylor: “The B.T. Express”, incredibly talented, 440 amateur fights, lost six times, won the Pan-American games, won everything, amazing talent, very very quick. Without a doubt, he was the quickest.

FASTEST FEET
Taylor: Again, he was so quick, beautiful feet, into punching distance, fire off a volley of shots, get back out again and step to the side. Never went the same way, often guys that move are predictable. They had a preference. Often guys who are orthodox jab and push off the right foot and walk into a right hook or overhand right, whereas he would go this way or that way, equal fluidity, forward and back, in and out, side to side, brilliantly talented, just floated around the ring.

SMARTEST
Pedroza: Far better, just clever, smart, hold you, pull you back. I never stopped. I kept on coming. I put him under pressure. He was very smart, very clever, great spatial awareness. He was a master on the inside; he’d lean on you, shove you, just to create space. He was guilty of lots of misdemeanors. What he’d do is, he’d create enough space; he’d hook and hit you with his hook and forearm. He was clever and subtle. He’d put your head down and pull you into an uppercut. It’s a real skill. I’m not promoting it but his ability to fight on the inside was really tremendous. I couldn’t swallow properly for two or three days (after the fight). His boxing intelligence, that’s your DNA; it’s innate. He had that ability, miles better than anyone else I fought. Although I was young, I was a young hungry lion who put him under pressure. He didn’t start to fade until after the halfway stage. Taylor was more talented but not in the same league.

STRONGEST
Laporte: Laporte was the strongest, strong as a bull. Physical strength, naturally strong. He went up to 140 pounds; he fought Kostya Tszyu, Charles Murray, very strong guy. Physically, although he weighed 126, he was as strong as a welterweight. Really good fighter, a bit of a wasted talent.

BEST PUNCHER
Laporte: Laporte by a mile. He could punch, nearly took my head off. He hit me in the ninth round and, when I was a kid, I lived in the diamond in Clones. My mum and dad had a grocery business. My (now) wife’s family owned a hardware store, a beautiful little town of 3,000 people. There was also a toy shop owned by Mrs Keenan. He hit me and I’m coming forward and throwing the jab and, in the 10th, I stepped in and his head went back, so I thought, “I’ll try it again.” As I came forward I saw red. It was his right hand coming at me; he beat me to the punch. I didn’t know where I was. I thought I was in Mrs Keenan’s shop. That’s the God’s honest truth; I thought, “What am I doing in Mrs Keenan’s shop?” That’s how much he hurt me. I grabbed a hold of him. I don’t know how I cleared my head. (Referee) Harry Gibbs was going, “Break, you’re holding.” I could hear this noise but I held on and then eventually he broke us up. He swung a few more shots and I managed to get myself together and got to the end of the round. That was the hardest I’ve been hit. It was the most bizarre feeling. It took me back to my childhood. I came back to my corner and Eddie Shaw used to do this anytime he thought I was hit with a good shot: He had a big sponge and put it in ice cold water and threw it and shocked you back into your senses.

BEST SKILLS
Pedroza: Back to Pedroza, you can go around in circles and talk about how brilliant Bernard Taylor was but skill is about winning consistently, 19 successful title defenses, seven years as champion of the world, one of the longest reigning featherweights. He was a phenomenal fighter. I was privileged to fight someone that good.

BEST OVERALL
Pedroza: Without a doubt, he was one of the greatest fighters of all time. I pail compared to Eusebio Pedroza. He was one of the greatest featherweights of all time. I’m proud to share a ring with him.