The Gloves are off | Super middleweight special | Roy Jones Jr, Calzaghe, Eubank, Collins

He didn’t.

Roy offered to fight him in 1996, but he was busy with Benn.

When they made a counter offer in 1997, it was for low money and Roy had already moved up to LHW and was actually in camp to face Griffin.

Collins then retired.

In 1999, he went to Pensacola for Roy’s mandatory against Ricky Frazier. He called Roy out after the fight. Roy then gave his handlers the go ahead to start negotiations. But then Roy’s other promoter spoke with Lou DiBella, of HBO, who didn’t want the fight, as HBO and Roy had received huge criticism at the time for his opposition. And Collins had been out for 2 years and had never fought at LHW. DiBella wanted Roy to have a unification fight with Reggie Johnson instead. So he wouldn’t authorise it. But he told Collins that it could happen down the line. Collins was then scheduled to fight on Joe Calzaghe’s undercard to Joe’s fight against Rick Thornberry. But after collapsing in training, Collins was advised to retire. Collins then retired and Roy fought Reggie Johnson.

 

I am sitting watching this just now and it's absolutely fantastic! Eubank has Collins by the short and curlies!

 

He beat ancient Benn and eubank and lost when he fought the top level in McCallum Reggie Johnson and kambalay

 

Watched it think Eubank comes across a bit bitter myself, comes straight out the traps for Collins. But if I'm honest a prime Roy Jones Jr would be a very hard fight for Collins, Roy had some rediculas hand speed and was extremely tidy in his haye day. Love Calzagie but did fight an aged version of Jones.

Calzagie would of struggled to take the **** and bum a prime Roy Jr in the ring you know what I mean. Joe is a legend and a favourite of mine not saying he couldn't win just not rip the arse

Will say tho Collins could take a punch and was extremely good at spoiling a fighters range game plan plus loved a war.

Roy Jones Jr and Collin's great fighters shame it never got made would of been a classic

 

As good as everyone was on the table...roy was on a different playing field.

What a weight class that super middleweight division was tho. A pity the uk guys never really fought the usa guys barring mcllellan etc. The uk guys in benn and eubank we,re brilliant in their day....its just that the usa guys we,re probably just that bit more brilliant. We,ll never really know with a 100 percent certainty tho...as much as i,d favour the americans to come out on top....i also favoured mcllellan to beat benn.

 

Spot on Goran I've known Richie Woodhall since the Amateurs. I boxed on the same show as him once. Even as a teenager he was well liked and respected.
I went to many of his pro fights from Oakengates Town Hall to Wolves Civic right up to his World Title fights.
A really good all rounder with an excellent skill set and plenty of courage too. No one had an easy night against Richie. Even that last time out against Calzaghe he was pinning Joe with rights in the middle rounds and we hoped he was getting on top. I saw him after and he looked like he'd been in a car crash.
Ask all the Fighters you like, you'll never hear a bad word about Richie Woodhall. Apart from being a Baggies fan !

 

If I had a time machine and could choose to watch any fights, I’d spend years just watching fights between the 90’s guys at MW, SMW and HW.

Of course, I’d want to watch Ali vs Tyson etc, but most of my time would be spent watching Benn vs Nunn, and Toney vs Graham etc. Fights that most people might not be that bothered about.

 

I’ve literally never heard a bad thing said about Richie.

He’s a great pundit too.

I bet he’d make a good trainer. He’d be very patient and encouraging.

I think he’s a guy who everyone respects.

I’d like to have a drink with him.

 

He's fantastic with the kids in the gym. He makes it fun for them and loves doing the pads. His media and PR work has meant that he's never been able to fully devote himself to training.
He often does one off sessions with the GB Amateur squad as he is big mates with Robert McCracken.
I still see Richie when he compares after dinner shows at Bar Sport in Cannock. He has got my name right at least once !
Yeah. I'd love to sit down and have a beer with him.

 

LOL.

Along with his clueless & insufferable sidekick Steve Dunce, Woodhall is one of the world's worst pundits you clueless clown.

And who TF would ever want to go for a drink with a creepy fat disabled weirdo loser like you?

 

You say that like he didn't juice the rest of his career, and like all top level boxers are not juicing.

Come on.

 

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Collins had earned his stripes, was backed by a big UK-based promoter, and had long built a big following both in Ireland and amongst the plastic-paddies stateside to make Jones vs Collins more than a worthwhile proposition.

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Inexplicably, Roid would refuse all offers from the Collins camp during '96.

Collins responded by taunting Roid via the press;

ALAS MYTH AND JONES; I won't wait for ever for over-rated Roy, vows Collins.
Mirror, London
07 Sep 1996

Steve Collins last night issued a world-title challenge to American superstar Roy Jones and vowed: "I'll prove I'm the best - but I'm not hanging around for ever."

The Irishman's promoter Frank Warren has made a pounds 2 million-plus offer for a unification contest between WBO super-middleweight champion Collins and IBF king Jones.

But Collins, determined to turn himself into a fistic legend, won't wait indefinitely for the showdown.

And the Dublin hero reckons unbeaten Jones - rated by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today - hasn't fought anyone of any note yet!

Collins, 32, said: "We have made offers, good offers, to Jones's people. But never throughout his boxing career has Jones requested a fight with me. He knows I'm there, he knows I've beaten two guys he wanted to fight. I think he's a clever fighter and he knows that I have the capability of beating him.

"If they offered me Jones tomorrow, I'd take it. He is filling a void in America. There are no more Thomas Hearns', no more Marvin Haglers and no more Sugar Ray Leonards."

Collins is all set for a second defence against Nigel Benn at Manchester's Nynex Arena on either October 19 or November 9.

Their first fight finished in freak fashion on July 6 when Benn quit after going over on his ankle - and Collins is in the mood to wreak more damage second time around. But he'd really love to take on Jones.

He added: "The Americans need someone to fill that gap so Jones seems to have come along at the right time.

"They are building him up, but to me he hasn't proved himself to be a great fighter yet. He hasn't beaten anybody that's great, in my opinion. He's beaten some old fighters or guys who've gone past their best. But he's never actually beaten guys at the top of their game.

"I'd say I have. I reckon I've fought the best around throughout my career - and I think my record proves I'm the better fighter.

"But there's no point in arguing about it, the best thing to do is just get it on.

"I'd love to fight the guy. We've made them offers. Frank Warren has offered them good money, and even given them the choice of venue.

"But they've thrown in little things which in my opinion are excuses not to put the fight on.

"They are not exactly coming back to us at the speed at which we would expect. So I'm not going to wait around for those guys, I'm going to be active. Like I said, there's Benn and others. Whoever they are, just line them up and I'll have them."

Jones, with 28 inside-the-distance wins in a perfect 32-0 record, has upset the fight game in the States by playing two different sports on the same day!

He was condemned as arrogant and not showing due respect to his opponent when, before his last fight in Florida in June, he took part in a basketball match for Jacksonville Barracudas in the afternoon.

He then went on in the evening to stop French-Canadian Eric Lucas at the end of the 11th round. Jones, who has been criticised for turning down fights, is looking for meaningful contests. And they wouldn't come any more meaningful than a clash with rock-chinned Collins.

Note 1: One excuse for this duck which Loudunce/Fat Robert made up was his incorrect claim that Roid was already earning more by defeating a string of second raters than the then career-high offer from Collins. LOL. Wrong. Obviously basic maths isn't Fat Robert's strong point (along with everything else); HBO's whole license fee for Roid's bouts were capped at $3m for all expenses including promotion & marketing before the fight purses - and he simply couldn't draw flies vs second raters. It's no secret. So how could the Collins camp's base £2m+ offer for a big uk ppv fight be less?? Nonsensical. Does this spastic even think before making up his excuses? A child wouldn't even invent such a stupid obvious lie.

Note 2: Loudunce's next excuse for the duck was the comparative lack of credibility of Collins' WBO title in the US at the time compared to the UK & Europe - even though, not even following boxing back then, he was not aware of this - and genuinely had no idea the WBO was valued differently in difference parts of the world. The fat clueless troll actually didn't believe it and found it "funny" when first schooled on the subject;

Obviously?? And how would he possibly know this?? Not to mention he's completely wrong. As usual.

The WBO excuse is particularly nonsensical considering it contradicts Roid's own behaviour as he challenged WBO middleweight titlist Lonnie Bradley at the post-fight press conference after his next fight against Bryant Brannon in Oct '96 and would defend his paper light-heavyweight straps against reigning WBO middleweight titlist Otis Grant in 1998.

Plus a WBA-WBO unification bout at heavyweight against Corrie 'The Sniper' Sanders was a done deal in Aug '03...bar the one single detail of Roid signing the dotted line. Roid stated Sanders' WBO title was the only reason he wanted the fight. However, within two days Roid changed his mind and backed out, citing the WBO's threat to strip Sanders if he took the fight as the reason the bout was off;

GL: So if it's not unification you're not fighting Sanders?
RJJ: If he's getting stripped I ain't messing with it, it don't make sense. The only reason I was even considering the fight is because I don't have the WBO title in my archive. Ya feel me? If he's getting stripped it does me no good to fight him.
- B*xingt*lk.net, 11 Aug 2003

Of course Roid could've been lying here. There were also reports of Roid increasing his paid demand to $20m which killed the fight. Roid's shenanigans at heavyweight alone could fill a book though aren't worth fully researching at this point.

...Roid loved his ABC titles, would proudly hold seven at light-heavyweight and recognized the WBO himself, even if some in the US were slow to accept the reality of the WBO's "legitimacy" alongside the WBC & WBA. Showtime, Sky, RTL, Premiere, Boxing Monthly, World Boxing, & Boxing News have all been proven right regarding the WBO. HBO & The Ring have been proven wrong, and after looking foolish for so long have admitted as much. This was obvious 20 years ago.

While the governing bodies are all garbage, the WBO if anything has proven to be the least corrupt.

Regardless, the matchups Roid ducked held more significance than the ABC titles involved, and which of the four major world titles the fighters held weren't an issue to begin with. The lazy weak WBO excuse is a fallacy, and the exact type of false reasoning to be expected by a deluded dishonest fanboy, along with meaningless drivel such as "Roy had a huge ego".

When it came to ducking, Roid avoided the man, not his title. Fact.

 

7 figures or considerably more??

Whatever became of HBO, the network of champions, which broadcast most of the pivotal fights of the 1980s? Does not HBO have the $$$ clout to make a decent, competitive, big $ Roy Jones fight happen? Why are they acquiescing in bullsh*t like the "live panel discussion" with Farhood, Paige and Borges (who should be ashamed of themselves for taking part) lobbing scripted softball questions ("Will I be taking the 11:45 train or the 12:45 home tonight?") at a glib Jones who used the occasion to spout a bunch of b.s. platitudes. He was allowed to slip out of questions about his lack of competition and his basketball clowning with nary a challenge. Why does HBO resort to this circus crap and why do we put up with it?
- CyberBoxingZone, 05 Oct 1996

Due to the rapidly increasing perception that Roid was reluctant to face the best opposition (which would ultimately prove to be correct, to put it mildly), Seth Abraham asked Roid to give what's now an infamous live Q & A interview with cherrypicked journalists to supposedly respond to the criticism on the day of his bout against bullet-ridden jailbird midget Brannon. Strangely failing to mention the big fight offers from Collins, it was during this interview when, prompted by HBO's clueless commentator Jim Lampley, Roid would blatantly lie about making offers of "7 figures or considerably more" to Collins, Nigel Benn, Frankie Liles, and Vincenzo Nardiello (LOL) "which had been turned down". A complete fabrication;

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"Absolutely laughable."

Why would these offers - if they were real - somehow ALL be turned down??

The fact that none of the imaginary offers were reported or confirmed by the recipients (they were denied in fact) and were completely at odds with what was actually happening in the real world obviously prove Roid was lying.

Remember, this is the boxer who would shamelessly pay his ABC title challengers no higher than a disgusting 10% split of the fight purses.

Abraham & HBO's senior vice-president Lou DiBella have never since defended him against the criticism for ducking either. They would infact do the exact opposite and expose him, which we'll spell out further on. Even Roid himself would unwittingly contradict and expose the "7 figure offers" nonsense as a lie to Collins in person, on camera, which we'll also have a good laugh at.

The Q & A was obviously a lame PR exercise in which Roid inexplicably was not pressed on any of his ridiculous claims. If anything it only rightly arose more suspicion about Roid.

Note: To explain the imaginary "7 figure offers" lies, Loudunce pathetically invented a scenario in which Roid had "disclosed details" of these fabricated offers to his enablers @HBO (Abraham, DiBella etc) who "PUBLICLY BACKED" him [i.e. his lies] and that there was "not a chance in hell" they would've "authorized" the interview and the lies spouted by Roid & Lampley without these imaginary "details";

"Now if the details that Roy had disclosed hadn't been accurate, there's not a chance in hell they'd have okayed it."

"there's no way Abraham and DiBella would have let Roy conduct a live pre fight interview, had there not been any truth to what Roy had said."

LOL. What a load of sh*t. Loudunce is a complete spastic who lives in a fantasy world and posts more made up imaginary nonsense about Roid Jones online than everyone else combined.

In reality, Roid had simply fed Lampley & co a lie which Lampley asked Roid to repeat during the interview. At this point the HBO bosses were clearly not fully aware what a ducking pathological liar Roid was. But they sure as hell would find out - and they'd make it public. It's not complicated.

...back in the real world, Collins - keen to stay active yet ready to box Jones - again calls out Roid after predictably ending Benn's career in Nov '96;

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And Collins would also make his stance perfectly clear when he was quoted two days before the fight;

"I will take him [Jones] on in Las Vegas at super middle or light heavy, and I believe that such a fight would be a huge money spinner and I would be confident of winning it."

"If Jones wants to challenge me at super middle or light heavy I am ready. I want to fight and beat the best, and if Jones believes he is the best let him prove it," Collins said, with some considerable passion.
- The Irish Times, 08 Nov 1996

Avoiding his super-middleweight rivals, Roid inexplicably jumped up in weight to pick up the first of his bogus light-heavyweight straps to end '96 - the "interim" WBC title - in a pointless, hastily arranged sparring session with the now fat ancient 40 year old Mike McCallum (Fabrice Tiozzo was the actual WBC champion). Jones-McCallum wasn't a title fight of any kind until HBO asked WeBeCrooks to add a label to the fight to help sell such a lame matchup.

Of course Roid was incorrectly announced as the new champion;

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"McCallum was old when I fought him." remarked Collins.

Note: According to Loudunce - i.e. the deluded fanboy narrative - is Roid "had no chance of unifying" @ 168lbs so moved up to 175lbs for a "fresh challenge" (presumably starting with the incredibly stale McCallum), where he would beat imaginary "better fighters" than Collins.

What nonsense.

"No chance of unifying"??? How do these deluded fanboys ever reconcile their fantasy world with what happens in reality? Literally everything Fat Robert has posted on this subject - or will ever post - is wrong. Not only wrong, but utter utter b0llocks. And he's already been parroting this nonsense for years - no matter how many times he gets schooled. Tragic.

More utter nonsense;

"There's no way he could have unified the division. When that became apparent he moved up."
"When he couldn't deal with King, he moved up."

Couldn't deal with King?? LOL.

WTF has King got to do with the Collins duck??

A much more accurate opinion would be that Roid avoided signing with King not because of King himself but because it would've opened the door for Roid to face Jackson, McClellan, Liles, Benn etc with absolutely no excuses for avoiding them, as Roid was ultimately proven to avoid the best opposition whether they were tied to King or not.

Not to mention Roid would eventually work with King without any issues to negotiate a bout with King fighter John 'The Quiet Can' Ruiz.

The Don King excuse is a laughable fallacy if there ever was one.

Roid refused to unify with Collins (or Benn, or Liles). Fact.

...Jones-McCallum took place on the same weekend as the Henry Maske vs Virgil Hill unification bout. An underdog and already viewed as being past his best, Hill would upset the odds vs a below-par Maske - in Germany against the national hero no less - to be crowned the first Lineal light-heavyweight champion since Michael Spinks. Up to this point Roid had talked about - but for whatever reason - refused to box Hill.

"I'm not comfortable at this weight.", said Jones after McCallum. Despite his reluctance to face any rivals @168lbs, Roid remained undecided about whether to return to 168 or remain @175. Collins wasn't concerned either way, as he'd spelled out.

...looking as strong as ever, Collins again calls out Roid on the broadcasts screened on either side of the Atlantic in Feb '97;

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The same month it was reported that Roid was ordered by the IBF to relinquish one of his two titles due to it violating their rules.

 

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Again the Collins camp offered Roid the fight, and again Roid declined - this time using Hill as an excuse while still refusing to actually make the fight with Hill.

Collins would further taunt Jones for his stalling tactics.

In an exact repeat of the nonsense when ducking Benn, Roid - while refusing all offers - would again lie about making an imaginary, lesser $2m offer (compared to Allegedly's £2m+) to Collins back in Nov.

Collins could only laugh at Roid's lies;

IT'S WAR; Words fly over Steve super fight.
Mirror, London
14 Mar 1997

A White Hot war of words has broken out between Steve Collins and Roy Jones - with both world champions accusing the other of ducking out of a unifying mega-match.

Celtic Warrior Collins says Jones will not respond to fight offers from his promoter Frank Warren, despite the fact that the fight would gross far more cash than the double world champ from Florida has ever earned.

Angry Collins said: "I cannot believe what Roy Jones is playing at. He says he wants to fight the best and yet he won't fight me. I have tried countless times to get him into the ring and he is chickening out.

"Whether it is Jones himself or his management playing these games I don't know, but I'm fed up with everyone saying he's the best pound for pounder in the world when he won't even fight me. I beat Eubank, who beat Benn who beat McClellan, so surely I'm the best there is. The Yanks are believing Jones' own hype."

Collins even travelled to Atlantic City two weeks ago for the Sugar Ray Leonard comeback fight in the hope of seeing Jones and persuading him to make the bout.

"I wanted to talk to him face to face because I believe he has honour. He was scheduled to be there, but wasn't when I turned up.

"He has had a very carefully marketed career and because of that a lot of boxing fans wouldn't even recognise him. That's bullsh*t as far as I'm concerned. I have pride in my willingness to fight anybody who comes knocking at my door - and beating them."

Jones, the unbeaten IBF super-middleweight and WBC light-heavy champion, is in training in his home town of Pensacola, Florida, for a fight with Detroit's Montell Griffin later this month.

But it is yet another Jones bout which has failed to attract the imagination of the American public, with less than 3,000 tickets sold in boxing-mad Atlantic City.

Jones, 28, said: "I would love to fight Collins because I rate him as an excellent boxer and I watch all his fights. There is no way he would beat me, but I respect his skills. Maybe one day we will get it together but right now I'm concentrating on my next fight and then I want to take on Virgil Hill.

"If Collins wants to fight me, then fine. But he has to get in the queue.

"I know my managers offered him around $2million last November and Collins refused, saying it was too little money. That shows he's not telling the whole story.

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But American TV are interested. Lou DiBella, a spokes-man for HBO, said: "Collins deserves his chance. Discussions are happening."

After Tiozzo moved up to cruiserweight, Roid was upgraded to full WBC title holder in March and gave up the IBF 168lb belt. Later that month Roid would infamously lose his title when he fouled Montell 'Ice' Griffin in his first defence.

It's unfortunate Roid never had Hill's courage; in Jun '97, Hill - with no fight with Jones in sight - again returned to Germany to defend the world championship and further unify the ABC titles only to be dominated by WBO titlist Dariusz 'The Tiger' Michalczewski. Joke comic The Ring magazine who were Roid's unofficial cheerleading team had no choice but to replace Hill with Michalczewski as #1 in the world at this point. (The Ring had inexpicably stopped recognizing the world champions in each division during the early 90s.)

Note: Loudunce aka Fat Robert pathetically made up a hilarious fake reason for Michalczewski and not Roid challenging Hill and becoming world champion by inventing the scenario of Roid wanting to box Hill after Griffin but "blowing it" by getting himself disqualified against Griffin and having to prepare for a rematch which delayed an imaginary Hill-Jones fight, during which time Michalczewski was able to swoop in and snatch the world championship off Hill from under Roid's nose;

There's just one problem with this lie; Hill-Michalczewski was set before Jones-Griffin even happened.

Loudunce aka Fat Robert must assume everyone is as dumb as he is.

Again, back in the real world;

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Roid's unbelievable lack of drawing power in America was again brutally exposed when the rematch with Griffin in Aug - which Roid won in the first round whilst clearly juiced to the eyeballs - could only manage an incredibly low 90k ppv buys.

Still, with Hill having lost his titles and Roid having no intention of boxing his #1 WBC challenger Michael 'Second To' Nunn let alone challenge the division's new champion Michalczewski, the path was clear yet again for Jones-Collins.

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A more measured, serious piece was then printed in the trade paper Boxing News to announce yet another attempt to make the Jones-Collins fight;

Collins could get it on with Jones
By Claude Abrams
29 Aug 1997

Negotiations for a showdown between Steve Collins, the WBO super-middleweight champion, and Roy Jones, recognized as arguably the finest boxer in the world, pound-for-pound, were formally opened over a week ago as a means to resolve differences between the Irishman and his promoter, Allegedly.

There was a gathering of chiefs - not around a fire, passing a peace pipe - but on the end of a speaker telephone linking Allegedly, the Levin brothers who advise Jones, HBO's senior vice-president Lou DiBella, and Collins. The only absent party was Jones.

Not that Jones wasn't invited, though keeping appointments is not his strong point apparently. The WBC light-heavyweight champion failed to catch a flight on August 14 for an important meeting with HBO bosses and did likewise for a press conference to launch his most recent contest against Montell Griffin. According to Fred Levin, however, Jones has given his blessing for the fight to be made, though finding the money to meet the financial demands of the two participants - even with pay-per-view in Britain and HBO in America - could prove equally as challenging as winning will be for Collins.

Collins and Jones both have an inflated opinion of what the match is worth, certainly if it is to take place in Britain, which is the preferred venue for all concerned. The Irishman is convinced that if the American can be enticed to these shores, the match would sell out the Nynex Arena in Manchester. "I want a fight with Jones," said Collins. "I would like Frank to promote it also. Jones' people would like it to take place in Britain and Frank has done a great job promoting my fights. As far as I'm concerned he is the man to put it on.

"It makes more sense that they come to Britain. Jones is not a great sell in America. He may be a bigger attraction here than in the USA. And I would feel more comfortable at the Nynex, because it is a bit like being at home. But if the fight goes to Las Vegas is it no problem. I must go where the best deal is to make it happen."

Collins and Allegedly were locked into discussions over a week ago, the result of which was that Collins would pursue a match with Jones. Failing that, the Irishman says he would be prepared to tackle the unbeaten, yet untested Welshman Joe Calzaghe, the WBO's mandatory contender.

The row between Collins and Allegedly, says the fighter, was the result of "a breakdown of communication".

But Collins says he told Allegedly what he wanted and that the promoter and accepts and understand his needs.

Only time will tell whether it's financially viable, but one source reported that Jones, whose relations with the Levins has been rumoured to be on shaky ground, wants a minimum of $5m for all future fights.

It is questionable whether Jones will get that for any fight, never mind Collins.

 

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There you have it.

HBO, Roid's handlers, and Roid himself agreed the fight should happen - in the UK if necessary, which would guarantee a big crowd - with Collins prepared to travel wherever he had to to get Roid in the ring - at 168lbs, 175, or a catchweight.

Being a live underdog and having his Irish following both stateside and back home, Jones vs Collins would've been bigger in the US or UK than any of Roids fights circa 95-03, and easily a uk ppv fight which Roid would've received a percentage of.

95-97 Collins was also a better opponent than anyone Jones would face from Toney (1994) to Ruiz (2003).

There was no reason for the fight not to happen and literally no obstacles blocking the fight; they were regarded as the top 2 in the world @168lbs (though Liles would've had something to say about that), Roid was a free agent and on the verge of dropping his WBC title to avoid Nunn (during his prime, Roid avoided all the best southpaws; Liles, Nunn, Rocchigiani, Calzaghe in '00, Tarver in '00 & '02, Jirov).

The only thing preventing the Collins fight was Roid's cowardice.

So he deliberately priced himself out by demanding $5m.

Exposing Roid was easy; all his rivals had to do was call his bluff.

Note: Despite Roid and all of his handlers insisting the Collins fight should happen back then, 20 years later this clueless deluded mentally ill fanboy internet forum loser "Loudunce" who wasn't even following the sport during that time insists Roid had nothing to gain by boxing Collins. LOL. This willfully stupid opinion is just one example of the delusional nonsense Fat Robert will resort to in order to try and defend Roid's ducks;

What a spastic.

By Loudunce logic, Roid's whole resume during that 8+ year run of ducking & cherrypicking post-Toney is meaningless. LOL.

Some more utterly clueless Loudunce quotes on Collins;

"but he [Collins] wasn't a big name, and there was no real demand for the fight."<--- Nonsensical.

"What risk? There was no money involved, no major title, he wasn't a mandatory."<--- Clueless.

"But he had no major title, and didn't bring in any money." <--- DENYING reality. LOL.

"I just don't see how it's such a big deal that Roy swerved him. I believe that Roy fought better fighters, and he looked to fight better fighters than Collins." <--- No. Post-Toney, he did not.

"He beat better fighters than Collins, and he also tried to fight better fighters than Collins."<--- Wrong again.

"But history has shown us that Roy dismissed Collins to pursue better fighters at higher weights."<---biggest load of garbage I've ever read.

"What would Roy have gotten from a Collins fight? A fight with a hell of a tough fighter, for little money and no title. Now if Collins had have held a major title at 168 or 175, then I honestly believe that Roy had've taken the fight." <--- What like he did with McClellan, Benn, Liles, Michalczewski, Rocchigiani, Calzaghe et al? What planet is this joker on? Pure self-delusion. Tragic.

Clueless creepy losers with a bunch of learning disabilities & mental disorders like Loudunce (& HerolGee) shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the internet. Not to mention they're the exact type of p*ssies who wouldn't breath a word of their crap in person because they'd quickly get a smack in the mouth.

I'm also still wondering who these imaginary "better fighters" than Collins were...

Back to reality; doing everything he could to get Roid Jones in the ring to no avail, Collins would arrange a mandatory title defense vs Joe Calzaghe for Oct '97. However, after postponing the bout due to injury two weeks before fight night, Collins tearfully announced his sudden retirement;

Collins announces his retirement
The Independent
03 Oct 1997

Steve Collins, the World Boxing Organisation super-middleweight champion, yesterday announced his retirement from boxing. The Irishman, who had pulled out of his title defence against Joe Calzaghe which was due to take place in Sheffield on Saturday week, made the announcement at the British Boxing Awards ceremony in Bloomsbury, central London.

Collins, accepting the award for Best Overseas Boxer, said: "I don't have the motivation that I once had.

"My only way to carry on was to fight Roy Jones, the WBC [World Boxing Council] light heavyweight champion, but as there is no chance of that happening now, the only route I have is to retire.

"As a super-middleweight, it was a very exciting time with the likes of Mike McCallum, Gerald McClellan, James Toney, Michael Watson, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank.

"I believed I was the best of that group, and with my two world title wins over Benn and Eubank I proved it."

Collins, nicknamed "Celtic Warrior", added: "I would like to thank the British fans for supporting me and promoter Frank Warren, who gave me the chance to further my career, which sadly is now over."

Collins revealed that he had been considering retiring from boxing for a while before finally hanging up his gloves yesterday afternoon. The Irishman said: "It's something I've been thinking over in my mind for the best part of 12 months."

After announcing his decision to quit he told BBC Radio 5 Live: "If you continue in the game without hunger that's when people lose and get hurt.

"I'm quitting while I'm ahead and I'm happy to have achieved all my ambitions.

"The fight that would have kept me in boxing was against Roy Jones. But he has ducked me for two years, even though Frank Warren, my promoter, did everything to make it happen."

The British Boxing Board of Control secretary, John Morris, believes that the bout between Calzaghe and Collins's replacement, Eubank, will now be for the vacant WBO super-middleweight title - rather than for an interim title.

Following Collins's retirement the championship automatically becomes vacant and Eubank-Calzaghe, which was billed as an interim title fight, is expected to now be for the Irishman's belt.

Morris said: "Ultimately it is up to the WBO to make that decision but as far as I'm concerned, and we at the British Boxing Board of Control are concerned, Chris Eubank and Joe Calzaghe will fight for the vacant title."