Eubank says he was holding Calzaghe up!

Chris Eubank responding to 'If you were around in the 70s, you wouldn't have won a British title and in America would have only been an 8-round fighter.' "Oi, listen, right. I came up the hard way. I came through the amateur ranks and learnt my business in New York gyms, and I came up the hard way, I didn't come off Olympic Games - I wasn't invested in until four years into my professional career. "I served my apprenticeship correctly. I fought the journeymen like Winston Burnett, Franki Moro and Randy Smith, who had taken rounds off anyone and everyone but took none off me, and I fought the prospects, like Michael Justin and imports that included good Frenchman Jean-Noel Camara, who were no contest. "Nobody saw that, and the reason nobody saw that is exactly why I say I came up the hard way. "As a 10-fight novice I took on a big name, world class fighter. After 20 fights I fought for my world top-ten ranking, and I was there on merit. "I beat boxing's hardest pound-for-pound puncher for the world title in 1990. I defended it against Michael Watson, said to be in the best shape of his career, and beat him clearly. "Watson's defence the night he fought (Nigel) Benn was staggeringly exceptional, and it took one of boxing's greatest-ever body punchers to undo him. I was slotting in head punches that Benn and (Mike) McCallum couldn't, despite Watson's defence still being staggeringly exceptional. "I moved up and fought him again. I didn't need to. I could have fought for one of the other titles by the end of the year, (against) far lesser fighters. In our rematch, Watson was three times the man he was in our first fight and my hand was still raised. I beat the best super middleweight ever in the most important super middleweight fight in history. "Magnanimously, I gave Benn a rematch when I didn't need to - I didn't need him. I'd already beaten this man, I had him beat. "The magnanimity I showed in actually giving him a rematch is something I'm not given enough credit for, because in my mind the job was already done. "I fought a German who was 35-0, 6ft1 and a southpaw, a former and future world champion in his own backyard. "I went into Steve Collins's backyard with my belt in tow, (and) beat him, (and) would have definitely and most certainly stopped him in the 10th round if not for certain issues. "I fought Calzaghe when nobody else would - came out of retirement and moved down from cruiserweight on a weeks notice, and I had him (Calzaghe) asleep on my chest. He's one of boxing's greatest-ever champions. "Then I move up two weight divisions and beat the WBO cruiserweight champion. "Three world middleweight title defences in six months, 14 super-middleweight defences in three calender years, (and) beat three southpaws in the same year. Where's my respect? "I'm not saying your right or your wrong in what you said, but, oh, forget it, man." I haven't seen that Eubank-Calzaghe scrap for a long time, but I don't remember Calzaghe being 'gone', and it was right at the death as well if I remember Someone look at it again