Sporting Q&A: Chris Eubank

What is your earliest sporting memory? Watching Muhammad Ali fight George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle on our old black-and-white television in 1974. Who was your sporting idol? I used words of inspiration. When did you take up boxing? When I moved to New York when I was 16. What is the pinnacle of your boxing career? The Watson II fight. I quit and won a fight I couldn't win. It also put a ghost to rest. In my last amateur fight in Madison Square Garden I felt that I couldn't beat my opponent and actually bit him out of frustration. I'd never been so ashamed. In the Watson II fight I felt I couldn't win but wanted to take my beating like a man, instead of reacting like a child. You fought a prime Nigel Benn, prime Michael Watson, prime Steve Collins and a young Joe Calzaghe. Who was the best? Michael Watson in the Watson II fight. You were a great world champion but never universally recognised as No. 1. Is this something you regret? No because my lover fell pregnant. When you hold your son in your arms for the first time, no championship belts can come close to that. Before that, I wanted to be No. 1. Before I fell in love, I wanted to be No. 1. even more. Do you feel you could have fought better opposition in your reign? There was no other world champion from 1990 to 1995. I fought Graciano Rocchigiani in his backyard, he had 35 fights and 35 wins, a world champion in his own right; 6-feet-3 and a southpaw. Tony Thornton was a top drawer operator from 1990 to 1995 and No. 1. contender. Nigel Benn was a world champion in his own right. I gave Michael Watson a rematch. Watson was the real champion. He pasted me, and I want the world to know it. He outfought me, he had more skill, he outboxed me, he outmanoeuvred me. If I thought that I fought the best opposition of any super middleweight in world history, I wouldn't say so because one wants to remain with a sense of humility. What about the other belts? Lets say I fight Mike McCallum at 11 stone, six pounds and he comes on strong in the 10th round and he stops me on body shots. There's still a mortgage at this point and I have a pregnant wife and a son. Lets say I make 11 stone, six pounds and I fight Julian Jackson in Las Vegas and I give myself six rounds to knock him out, and he knocks me out; and I'm tied to Don King. You understand? I was a winner. What about James Toney and Roy Jones, Jnr.? I fight James Toney, and they have to carry me out. Or I fight James Toney, and then I fight Roy Jones, and there is eight or nine years taken off my life. That's missing out on my great grandchildren. I was a world champion in my own right, just like James Toney was and just like Roy Jones was. They were never No. 1. contenders, otherwise I would have fought them. I couldn't physically remove political barriers to fight these men, but it's a good job I didn't. That's the point. What sort of legacy do you feel you left in your chosen sport? The way to break into the legendary ranks is to win the fights the public say you can't. Like Muhammad Ali did against George Foreman. To be a legend of your own time, you have to do what people think you can't, and I did that time and again. For generations to come, I broke records and set standards. What is your most memorable sporting moment? At the 2000 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, Muhammad Ali received a Personality of the Century award; I was sitting next to Lennox Lewis at the time and I said that Ali was such an inspirational man. Ali then put his hand on my arm, and I just froze. For the first time in my life, I was speechless. Presenter John Inverdale said that it took someone like Ali to shut up Chris Eubank. Who are the 10 greatest boxers since Sugar Ray Leonard? Have there been 10 great boxers since Sugar Ray Leonard? What was the secret of your success? The Monday morning after every fight I went straight back to the gym. What is your favourite piece of sporting memorabilia? The only thing I collect is £50 notes.