Very good or great? Volume 4: Chris Eubank

Yeh Eubank would have hammered McCallum, Eubank schooled Watson who ran McCallum close so a ready-made conclusion there really. Hell, they wouldnt have needed to fight it would be s one-sided.

 

And no Eubank doesn't acknowledge that Watson schooled Benn - he always said Watson was lucky Benn fought mindlessly that night and it would never happen again, and how the Benn-Watson fight showed him how to beat Watson, not Benn.

 

I like that about Eubank; he's very straight-up and honest about his career. There are few fighters that are, but he's certainly one of them.

He seems a nice guy. It's easy for us Internet warriors to scream about ducking and all, but for these guys it's about retiring with as much cash and as many braincells possibly left. Can't knock that. But for him to really build a great legacy he would need wins over at least some of the Nunns, Kalambays, Toneys etc that were out there at the time.

 

He stated many times in late '92 and early '93 that he wanted Nunn and Toney. He also stated in '96-'97 that he wanted Jones Jr.

'The reason couldn't be simpler - I didn't get the offers.' - Eubank on why he didn't fight unifications in America

 

'In the event, I lost 19lb in four days.'

'The first six rounds were a breeze, all easy, beautiful. I won them unquestionably.'

- Eubank on the first Watson fight

 

All very good points. Rocky's record would look tremendous with those three wins. Still, his best victory was against the WBC.

Also with the scoring. It would be nice if there was some sort of standerised method but that ain't ever gonna happen.

 

Whatever the reason that the fights didn't come off, he can't be given wins he didn't have.

 

Personally, and this is of course only speculation, the best MW I give Eubank quite a decent chance at beating would probably be Toney. Toney would still be the favourite, though.

 

McCallum is actually known to give his fighters tapes of Eubank to watch and tells them to look at the ring generalship.

 

McCallum and Eubank are actually close friends now since meeting at Tyson's training camp for the Lewis fight where Eubank was a guest and McCallum was taking Tyson on the pads and impressed Eubank. Eubank has strong Jamaican connections.


[url]http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/boxing/1111191/Eubank-caning-em-in-Vegas.html?print=yes[/url]

Together they turned up at Mike McCallum's doorstep in Vegas.

The Jamaican-born McCallum was known as "The Bodysnatcher" when he held the world middleweight title because of his murderous body punching.

Mike told me: "It was over a year ago when Chris arrived to ask me to train his son, who was only 17.

"He made it clear he didn't want me to do the boy any favours because we are friends.

"I was extremely flattered he asked me out of all the other trainers in the world."

 

Eubank was never great, a very good fighter a notch above someone like JMM

 

True. That is one of his best aspects. That's why I give him a decent chance against Toney, who didn't have this as his strongest point IMO.

 

In terms of his lat spread, he certainly is, as a boxer hmmm not so sure

 

No he did not. Frankly no one really wants to fight McCallum unless they have to. Hagler, Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Benitez all of whom could have fought him did not rush to and they were all much better than Eubank.

 

That was 10 years prior!

The thought at the time was that McCallum was there for the taking. Maybe Eubank didn't want him then, if you can read a mind, but his mouth said he did.