Steve Collins: What do people here think of him?

[Toney616]

Best wins:
Benn I
Benn II
Eubank I
Eubank II
Accomplishments:
wbc mw champion: 0 defenses
wbo smw champion: 7 defenses

I'm interested in what other people here think of him. Did you think he was a top fighter? Do you think he could of held his own against the other smw champions of his era? etc

Any one know if this fight was ever close to happening?

The champion threw out a challenge to American Frankie Liles, who holds the WBA belt

He said: "There are two ways to get out of a fight - you can either refuse point blank or you can ask for too much money and that appears to be what Liles is doing. But I would take him on in a winner-take-all if necessary."

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/COLLIN...tle-a061199410

[VibesMan]

Best wins:
Benn I
Benn II
Eubank I
Eubank II
Accomplishments:
wbc mw champion: 0 defenses
wbo smw champion: 7 defenses

I'm interested in what other people here think of him. Did you think he was a top fighter? Do you think he could of held his own against the other smw champions of his era? etc

Any one know if this fight was ever close to happening?

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/COLLIN...tle-a061199410

Not a big fan. I think he came along at just the right time to beat the names of Benn and Eubank and then pulled out of the Calzaghe fight.

That would have been a fight of interest.

Whilst capable of structured boxing (vs. Chris Pyatt for example) he turned into one of the most ugly fighter I ever saw after Eubank. Just a marauding, crude yet tough brawler.

Fell short against the best (Kulumbay, Johnson, McCallum).

Only positives I'd give him is the fact we share the same name and when staying at the same hotel ahead of Hatton - Tszyu his agent inadvertantly settled my room and bar bill in error.

**** fighter, great agent.

[Toney616]

Not a big fan. I think he came along at just the right time to beat the names of Benn and Eubank and then pulled out of the Calzaghe fight

I have to agree that, he caught both of those guys at the right time. Benn was shot post G-man, and Eubank was struggling to make weight and had lost his killer instinct after Watson II

That would have been a fight of interest.

True. I think Calzaghe would of beat him by UD

Whilst capable of structured boxing (vs. Chris Pyatt for example) he turned into one of the most ugly fighter I ever saw after Eubank. Just a marauding, crude yet tough brawler.

Havent seen that fight, there were shades of brawling during the last 6 rounds against Mccallum, which brought him some success

Fell short against the best (Kulumbay, Johnson, McCallum).

McCallum is a legend, no shame there
Johnson was the better man, but tainted his victory with his headbutts and low blows. lol at collins elbow smash as well
Kalambay: I havent seen this fight, he was also a top fighter though

Only positives I'd give him is the fact we share the same name and when staying at the same hotel ahead of Hatton - Tszyu his agent inadvertantly settled my room and bar bill in error.

**** fighter, great agent.

lol

[VibesMan]

I have to agree that, he caught both of those guys at the right time. Benn was shot post G-man, and Eubank was struggling to make weight and had lost his killer instinct after Watson II

True. I think Calzaghe would of beat him by UD

Havent seen that fight, there were shades of brawling during the last 6 rounds against Mccallum, which brought him some success

McCallum is a legend, no shame there
Johnson was the better man, but tainted his victory with his headbutts and low blows. lol at collins elbow smash as well
Kalambay: I havent seen this fight, he was also a top fighter though

lol

Absolutely.

[Toney616]

Absolutely.

Shame he didnt get the big fights, none of the fab four wanted anything to do with him

[Sugarj]

Excellent fighter, superbly conditioned and fantastic chin.

The guy who turned up for Eubank 2, would give any super middleweight in history a good brawl. His workrate was pretty startling that night.

That said, he wasn't as charismatic as Benn or Eubank out of the ring, or as easy to watch and he did catch them at the right time.

[VibesMan]

Excellent fighter, superbly conditioned and fantastic chin.

The guy who turned up for Eubank 2, would give any super middleweight in history a good brawl. His workrate was pretty startling that night.That said, he wasn't as charismatic as Benn or Eubank out of the ring, or as easy to watch and he did catch them at the right time.

I'd have to disagree there.

Yes his work rate was superb that night but quality wise I found it very poor.

I think someone like Benn would always have struggled given Collins chin but I think a top class boxer in condition works him right over 9 times out of 10.

[JK1700]

Steve Collins, He was a good fighter. I have only seen his fights with Reggie Johnson, Mike McCallum and the first one with Eubank. Some say he dramatically improved from 92 to 95-97 which were his best years. I will proberbly need to get some of his fights on DVD to judge him properly.

The fight with Reggie was a classic. You should check it out if you havent already. Shame they didnt rematch, they could have done. Overall I think Steve doesnt get much recognition because he never best the best American/World opponents. He's regarded as one of the best European/British boxers but he came up short against the very best. And I rated Benn and Eubank very highly, but the Americans are usually the very best fighters and Steve didnt beat them.

[-CANE-]

Steve Collins, He was a good fighter. I have only seen his fights with Reggie Johnson, Mike McCallum and the first one with Eubank. Some say he dramatically improved from 92 to 95-97 which were his best years. I will proberbly need to get some of his fights on DVD to judge him properly.

The fight with Reggie was a classic. You should check it out if you havent already. Shame they didnt rematch, they could have done. Overall I think Steve doesnt get much recognition because he never best the best American/World opponents. He's regarded as one of the best European/British boxers but he came up short against the very best. And I rated Benn and Eubank very highly, but the Americans are usually the very best fighters and Steve didnt beat them.

I wouldn't say he dramatically improved, he was a solid boxer but nothing special and I think SM was his natural weight. SM allowed him to concentrate on fighting naturally which was to brawl and wear people down. He was physically very strong, stronger than benn and equal to eubank. He had a tremendous will to win and a great chin.

I really do dislike the bloke but I give him credit for his wins over both benn and eubank. Even if he fought the benn that fought mcclellan and a pre watson II eubank he still would of given them both the fights of their lives as much as it pains me to say so.