Eubank: 'Hopkins the best pound4pound fighter'

Got this copied / pasted from livefight forum. Some quotes from Dubai Eyre Radio On what boxing meant to him- "I flew to New York in November 1982 when on police bail, having been homeless and with many vices. I beat Nigel Benn in November 1990 for the world championship and had the world at my feet. "Boxing is what I used." On his opposition- "After three fights and three years total boxing I beat one of the toughest fighters in the world, who broke one of my ribs in the 1st round. After just 11 fights I fought and beat Anthony Logan, who was world-ranked and had been inches from beating Nigel Benn - who had 20 fights and 20 knockouts. I landed more punches on Randy Smith than (Michael) Nunn or (Mike) McCallum, two of the world's pound-for-pound best fighters. I was 22. "I fought and beat Michael Watson at his best; I then fought and beat Michael Watson far beyond his best. I got a draw against a great world champion who was truly mixing pre-thought with his power for the first time, which was a potent formula; for the first time I didn't have zonal focus, because I already had that man beat. "I won back-to-back world championship fights against men with 40 and 45 wins in the space of three months. I beat Graciano Rocchigiani in his backyard, I beat Nigel Benn. There was no other world champion from 1990 to 1995. I dodged no man." "I was the one who took the fights no other man wanted. Michael Watson, Graciano Rocchigiani, Joe Calzaghe. I took them because I wanted respect." On why the transatlantic fights didn't happen- "Bob Arum wouldn't let me fight his fighters because he said I had too much of an awkward style. That's on record." "Michael Nunn referred to me as 'poison' on two occasions when asked about fighting me, in May 1990 and April 1993. Roy Jones told me in person in about 2001 that I was the one fighter he feared fighting." On his chances against Roy Jones Jr- "If I fought him twice, 85% I would have beaten him. But my long-term, or even short-term health might have been greatly affected in the process." On changing trainer prior to his rematch draw with Nigel Benn: "I just changed trainer, back to my old New York trainer Maximo Pierret. Since Benn I (first fight with Nigel Benn), I'd settled into a comfort zone that consisted of staying out of range and leaning in with punches, mostly sneak right leads. "I was naturally a right-hand merchant. I brought Maximo in and he tightened me up. If I threw a right hand off the front foot he'd make me do 50 push-ups. "He was a proper skillster trainer. His thing was moving in and working inside; doubling or trebling the jab when possible before moving in, and not using the hook without following it with an uppercut and vice versa. "It probably took me until the following camp to get back into the groove of things properly. The fights where Maximo worked with me in camp right the way through were Benn II, Thompson I, Rocchigiani and Henry Wharton. By far he was the best trainer I had. "I had wanted to get back to boxing correctly, punching correctly and being referred to as a skilful boxer-puncher." "Me and Maximo worked on a bob-and-weave to get in under Benn's right hook and get him out, but Benn held his launches for one, two or three seconds longer than he usually would and the launches he didn't hold were the ones I weren't expecting." On listed trainer Ronnie Davies- "Ronnie Davies never trained me - I trained him. I would say his job title was supervisor." On Herol Graham/managerial situation (question response)- "I put him (Graham) on his back in the 1st round with a right hand - not his backside, his back. That was March 1989. I unemployed Barney (Eastwood) as manager shortly after because it was in front of his eyes and he wouldn't give me what I was worth. Just like beating Anthony Logan was in front of Frank Maloney's eyes and he wouldn't offer me what I was worth. "Barry Hearn is the one who invested, the chancer. I made him millions." On his prime rivals- "I couldn't compete with my rivals - Nigel Benn, Michael Nunn, Gary Stretch. They would routinely hang out at the homes of Hollywood film stars - I'd just go back to Hove to Karron and Christopher." His best-ever opponent- "Michael Watson in our second fight, by far and away. He had the pace of a lightweight and the strength of a heavyweight, and 10 rounds in was still coming at me with blistering clusters of four-punch and five-punch combinations, as he had been all night. "It can be justified he was unbeatable that night. I tapped into the realms of impossibility." The hardest puncher he faced- "Nigel Benn, by far and away. His punching power was beyond human imagination." His best performances- "Watson II, Thompson II and Rocchigiani." On the current best pound-for-pound fighter in the world- "Bernard Hopkins. He's had great success against world champions in his last four fights I believe - boxing abit, fighting abit, punching abit. "I'm not even taking into account his age, which is only a number." More on his opposition/legacy- "What I say is, I say Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson - these men didn't have McCallum and Nunn, Roy Jones and James Toney or the awesome Gerald McClellan to contend with or collect the other belts from. That's what I say. "But these men are rightly considered the greats of the sport, if you can call it a sport." There were also very lengthy responses about his disdain for promoters and after-effects of his tragic fight with Michael Watson. I may post them later. Highly interesting. Eubank on his disdain for promoters- "You know what? I just wanted the basics - accomodation, a wage to pay for food and bills, transport to get to the gym. They (the promoters) couldn't even offer me that. It was pathetic. "The first thing Mickey Duff said to me when I went to see him was 'go and get a job!' He called me the day before he tried signing me over fish and chips and had a fight for me at Wembley that day, so I jumped on the train, jumped on the scales and saw my opponent was a cruiserweight! "If I lost that fight - and I nearly did - my career was in tatters. Not just my career, (but) my life. I'd put everything into boxing. "Then Frank Warren made me travel from Brighton to London every day for two weeks - dodging the train fare each time - and he was never in his office. It lacked professionalism. "I'm sure there are fighters out there now who have talent, (and) maybe even dedication, but are not managed or promoted correctly - if at all. My brothers (Peter and Simon Eubanks) had as much talent as me. When my brothers stopped taking fights they didn't have two pennies to rub together. "I broke the mould. I employed the promoters. I made it on ones own terms." "When our manager Adonis Torres suffered a stroke, most of the fighters at my Bronx gym in the 80s changed gyms but I couldn't afford taxi fares. I worked as caretaker at that gym because I couldn't afford the gym fees. Yet the gym owner was physically poorly so I couldn't get fights on cards for money. "When I moved to Brighton from New York in January 1988, it was a year and a half of turmoil in bedsits and single rooms, working at Debenhams and Wimpy to make ends meet while in full-time training. "It was one big struggle until I met Barry Hearn." Eubank on his lack/loss of killer instinct- "Why I didn't 'go in for the kill' as you say, after Watson II, right? That case was, in accordance with that, I was winning these fights - Michael was winning our fight. Michael went in. Michael got hurt. "My sublimal confidence evaporated outside of the boxing world, in my personal life, with a very unfortunate road accident . No longer did I believe I was invincible after the 8th of February 1992. "Michael was superior to me that night we fought. I was superior on the night to the vast majority of my opponents in my final 22 fights. "There was mental scarring from, in accordance with what happened to Michael. But I couldn't 'go in' with absolute conviction again knowing I wasn't invincible. OK? "That aura of invincibility was left on the roadside. That's what prevented me stopping opponents, not necessarily what is generally considered. "What you have to understand is: I knew the risks of boxing. I was prepared to surrender my life in the four-cornered circle. I knew I could hit with two tons. "You hit not with intent but with objective, your opponent is an object or an obstacle or you won't hit him. That's the life we chose. "Driving a car, you stop at the traffic lights and zebra crossings." What do we think about him rating Hopkins over Pac-man ??