Such a shame Michael Watson doesnt get as much credit as Eubank snr he was so better

Michael Watson legacy is his incredible fighting spirit in and out of the
ring and his services to the community and disability sports for which
he was rewarded with a MBE by the Queen in 2004.
A humble champion who had the ultimate respect of his most fierce rivals.
http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/13275/7193965/a-night-to-savour

 

Watson doesn't beat Calzaghe he's too fast

Watson v Eubank 1 i had Watson 2 rounds up. Finished the fight stronger and was more composed. Eubank tried to cheat rds. Showboating and fighting last 30 sec of rds. Watson was applying pressure throughout

 

Yes as much as we all think he’s a bell end his caution now with his son in the ring is commendable

 

McCallum's fight against Watson was one best displays of body snatching you'll ever see.

A pure masterclass by McCallum.

 

Toney would have beaten Micky though fine fighter Micky was.

 

In my opinion Watson would have beaten all 3 of them.

 

Please believe me, I am not slaughtering Watson, I liked him, rated him but I think people overrate him because of what happened to him and what they believed he would go on to do.

After beating Benn, Mike McCallum bashed him up and knocked him out.

I understand he beat Benn but it was a naive, raw and badly trained Benn, and yes he gave Eubank two fights that were beyond tough, but the reality is Watson got stopped by Eubank, a fight is 36 minutes long not 33 minutes.

I know both Eubank and Benn said he was the best, kind and generous words and I have no right to question them but a Eubank beat him twice and Benn wasn't the same Benn that went on to beat McClellan.


I'm not suggesting Watson failing to win a world title somehow makes him a bad fighter or that far lesser fighters have not gone on to win world titles but it is a fact when Watson stepped up to world title level he lost them all.

 

McCallum - one of the most ducked and underrated fighters of all time.

 

I agree, one of my favourite fighters.

 

Well, you've hit on something interesting there. I'm not saying Nigel had an easy route to a title, he still had to go out to the US, win five on the spin there and bounce bombs off the heads of tough, capable operators in DeWitt and Barkley to close out that streak, but Watson had to go straight from a developmental Benn to a prime McCallum, which is a huge step up.

Benn did get better, for sure, although I don't think we see the most cultured and rounded version until his SMW title run under Jimmy Tibbs, ie. the Benn who de facto beat Eubank in their rematch (by Chris' admission, FWIW). But Michael certainly improved, too, taking more from his loss to McCallum than just an uninstructive beating. The fact that we never got a high-level sequel to their domestic rumble should be lamented.

Eubank's stoppage win over Watson is legitimate (he did nothing wrong, and his opponent had to be saved), but it would be remiss to overlook Michael's absurdly poor fortune. After dropping a decision in a fight most observers thought he won, he was then the victim of a freak injury in the return bout. It wasn't even the impact of the punch that did the real damage, but the resulting impact of the ring rope against Watson's brainstem, an occurrence that neither he nor Eubank could've legislated for.

And that's why I'd have him below Benn and Eubank on any kind of career ranking, as clarified earlier in the thread.

Taking them out of context of history and just evaluating them by their respective overall fighting quality, I do feel that Watson was the finest specimen of the three. His fate doesn't influence my judgement, but it does lend a bittersweet quality to the enjoyment derived from watching him box, knowing that there should've been much more to come.

I hate to bemoan fate on another man's behalf, but it's hard to ignore the extremely bad hand he was dealt by the sport. If there was a fighter as talented as Watson with a worse rub of the green, his name escapes me.

 

Watson pummelled the midsection of Chris. That statement reminds me of Ray Mercer's comment about Tommy Morrison hitting him so hard to the body that it made him pass flatus.