Tina Turner's song "Simply The Best!" blasts out as the brash upstart donning yellow and red leaps over the top rope to a chorus of boo's. He strutted. He postured. And he somehow always managed to find a way to keep his title. He held his chest high. He put a smug look on his face. He used slow-paced patience in his posturing. And he spent a lot of his time looking down his nose at ringsiders. 'Simply The Best' was his motto, not without reason, he claimed to be the best fighter in the world and challenged anybody to prove him wrong - only they wouldn't fight him.
Chris Eubank was a very special addition to British boxing. In the public eye, the celebrity Eubank comes across as being provocative, lispingly verbose, dapper, haughty and overly pretentious, as well being very eccentric, expensively dressed and not too adverse to the odd poetic quotation. Everybody knows about his wearing of jodhpurs, his use of a monocle, his carrying of a cane and his driving of a truck. But for me, that is not the real Chris Eubank. The Chris Eubank that I loved to watch while I was growing up was the sharp-dressed boxer - 'Simply The Best'. The man who kept winning just as everybody expected him or wanted him to lose.
He was charasmatic, he was super-confident, and he was controversial. But above all, from 1988 to 1994, I remember sitting watching Eubank fights live on terrestrial ITV at prime time (and later in his career on Sky Sports) and just marvelling at what a good boxer, entertainer and showman he was. Despite the emergance since then of the likes of Naseem Hamed, who projected themselves in a similar way, I feel that Chris Eubank was a genuine one-off, and the void left in British boxing when he retired is one that is still left largely unfilled.
I feel it's due to conduct an interview with Eubank about his BOXING career, to focus on Eubank the BOXER, because after all it was BOXING that brought this unique man into the public eye.
Eubank was over the hill already when Calzaghe beat him. Anyways Eubank whould never be use as measuring stick as how good or overrated that Calzaghe guy. Eubank was pretty good boxer, not a great fighter.
If you say so :)
Eubank was over the hill already when Calzaghe beat him. Anyways Eubank whould never be use as measuring stick as how good or overrated that Calzaghe guy. Eubank was pretty good boxer, not a great fighter.
You know Juy, its okay for a boxer to lose a fight and still be considered a great boxer. You should remember that before you make excuses for every Eubank defeat. ;)
Excuses?? Everybody knows that Eubank was just used as a gatekeeper that night, he came out of a two-year retirement with just seven days notice and had to lose 25lbs bodyweight in under a week. He stood no chance no matter who his opponent was. And it's common knowledge that Eubank in his prime would rape Calzaghe to pieces over and again.
He just brawled and brawled and brawled against a severely weight-drained and over-the-hill Eubank who was so dehydrated and took the fight at such short notice that his whole body was aching on the ring walk.
You know Juy, its okay for a boxer to lose a fight and still be considered a great boxer. You should remember that before you make excuses for every Eubank defeat. ;)
My boy gave your boy a lesson in boxing that day in 1997.
:D Calzaghe proved nothing that night and it remains his best win! He just brawled and brawled and brawled against a severely weight-drained and over-the-hill Eubank who was so dehydrated and took the fight at such short notice that his whole body was aching on the ring walk.
Benn vs. RJjnr and Eubank vs. RJjnr could easily of happened ... RJjnr was Benn's mandatory around December 1992 upto around May 1993 ... Eubank was RJjnr's mandatory around May 1995 up to when he retired in Septmeber 1995
No I disagree Eubank was not a great fighter but a very good fighter. He was an enigmatic crap who had a great chin but little above average power. He carried bigger mouth than bigger hands. True he is among the finest British boxers but if their best boxer is transplanted English, that is not much to say.
There's always one who has to spoil it :)
No I disagree Eubank was not a great fighter but a very good fighter. He was an enigmatic crap who had a great chin but little above average power. He carried bigger mouth than bigger hands. True he is among the finest British boxers but if their best boxer is transplanted English, that is not much to say.
I'd like to see Benn at his best against Jones and Eubank at his best against Jones. They would be phenonimal fights.
We only have Jones to blame though for dodging Benn at the start of 1993, that had fight of the century written all over it :(
with Muhammad Ali, and with Don King, and with Michael Watson, and with his truck (the largest in Europe, ofcourse).
click here: www.chriseubank.tv/miscphotogallery.htm
If you want a good video,
check out 'Chris Eubank - Simply The Best' with Reg Gutteridge:
http://i6.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/4f/6d/ee_1_b.JPG
It features some footage of Eubank winning the NYC Golden Gloves final in 1984, it also features some footage of his early fights in Atlantic City, and then some highlights Vs Stretch, the whole fights Vs Watson 1 and 2, and some highlights Vs Malinga, Vs Jarvis, Vs Esset, Vs Thornton, Vs Giminez. It was released at Christmas 1992.
Also, man, another video that was released, at Christmas 1990, was called 'The Rise of EUBANK' also with Reg Gutteridge. Barry Hearn talks about Eubank's unique personality and how he catches attention, and that he started promoting Eubank after the Logan fight. The video features highlights of all of Eubank's fights in the UK from 1988 right upto the Milo fight - including footage of Eubank with his trainer Ronnie Davies at the Brighton gym, then it starts the build-up to the Benn fight including the 20 second KO of Dos Santos. It finishes with the whole of the Benn fight and the video literally cuts off to finish when Benn is stopped as Eubank turns around and looks to the heavens.
Eubank in his prime..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2830&item=5220665906&rd=1#ebayphotohosting
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2830&item=5220023774&rd=1#ebayphotohosting