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Before Eubank-Benn 2 Don King negotiated the contracts so that he would own both the winner and the loser of the fight. After the fight had finished a draw both were free to go elsewhere, and both did.
What I'm wondering is would Don King have based the 2 of them in the US and tried to turn them into big stars there. And could he have been succesful in that?
Chris Eubank especially I always thought would have been able to make a big name for himself in the US. His "Arrogant English Aristocrat" persona would have gone down well in the States in terms of getting him noticed and he had the ring skills to back this up. He lived in New York as a teenager and turned pro in the States, yet he never fought there again after about his fifth fight. Eubank seems to be well repected by American fight fans, but he was hardly the star he could have been.
Nigel Benn had a succesful run while based in America between his losses to Watson and Eubank, going 4-0 and beating Doug De Witt for the WBO Middleweight title and defending it against Iran Barkley. It seems likely he could have built on these early successes and become a true star.
Of course by 1993 they were past their best but they still had a few good years left in them. And Don King didn't have the best reputation for treating his clients right. I'm not sure what Benn did after Benn-Eubank 2, but I know that Eubank signed a massive contract with Sky Sports that made him a lot of money for him to squander. I just wonder if he, and Benn and gone a different way could they have been bigger stars?
What I'm wondering is would Don King have based the 2 of them in the US and tried to turn them into big stars there. And could he have been succesful in that?
Chris Eubank especially I always thought would have been able to make a big name for himself in the US. His "Arrogant English Aristocrat" persona would have gone down well in the States in terms of getting him noticed and he had the ring skills to back this up. He lived in New York as a teenager and turned pro in the States, yet he never fought there again after about his fifth fight. Eubank seems to be well repected by American fight fans, but he was hardly the star he could have been.
Nigel Benn had a succesful run while based in America between his losses to Watson and Eubank, going 4-0 and beating Doug De Witt for the WBO Middleweight title and defending it against Iran Barkley. It seems likely he could have built on these early successes and become a true star.
Of course by 1993 they were past their best but they still had a few good years left in them. And Don King didn't have the best reputation for treating his clients right. I'm not sure what Benn did after Benn-Eubank 2, but I know that Eubank signed a massive contract with Sky Sports that made him a lot of money for him to squander. I just wonder if he, and Benn and gone a different way could they have been bigger stars?
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