Tweet
If he wins his fight against Corti and if Benn and/or Watson win world title fights the following month
Yeah if I do manage to win this fight and they win their fights,I'd love to have a world title shot against Benn or Watson at Hove in the summer. But that sounds almost too good. Benn is a bully,and when I was a kid I remember notoriously protecting other children from bullies. I've wanted to fight him for two years,Benn.
Early boxing memories
I was used as a punching bag when I started out at the Jerome Boxing Club in the fall of 1982,but I got better and better with each battering. The club didn't have a welterweight so they told me to starve myself and sent me at short notice,I lost six of my first eight amateur fights in the Bronx Junior League in February 1983,and another loss in March 1983. But then a guy called Maximo Pierret learned me how to box,and I won the Empire State Games three years in a row as a welterweight and the spanish version of the Golden Gloves in 1984 as a super-welterweight. I was abit of a star in Westchester where I lived,I loved the attention. My picture was in the local papers and there were write-ups and,I was getting the respect that I had always craved back home.
Another quote
I had a reputation around the gyms of New York,and a big reputation around the gyms of the Bronx. I was a gym fighter from the age of 16,but when I was 19 and 20 other gym fighters would pay me 10 dollars to have three rounds to try and deck me. People didn't like me because I was English. If they decked me they'd get their money back. I did this when I was 19 and 20,when I was walking around at 12 stone. Sometimes it was light-heavyweights and cruiserweights but they could hardly lay a glove on me,ofcourse I'd get caught but I was too proud to go down. You know,nobody has ever managed to deck me.
About his early career
I had no intention to make a career out of boxing. My first four professional bouts were to help pay my mothers bills,I had another bout after failing my exams to help pay for the flight back to England. I trained at Gleason's Gym for my first four professional bouts,Maximo and my new trainer Pat Ford took it in turns who stepped into the ring after each round - I did the same with Ronnie and Brendan Ingle when I fought Carlos Da Silva in South Yorkshire. There were some English fighters spending some time at Gleason's Gym,John Beckles and John Ellis. I don't know which one of them told Barney Eastwood about me,but Eastwood paid me to work as a sparring partner for Herol Graham and Fidel Castro Smith in April 1987. I made Smith look bad and was told that I did better against Herol than anybody had and,in the end,guys like Ronnie,Keith Miles and Leigh Wicks talked me into having a go at making a career out of boxing and I scored a first-round knockout which turned heads.
Another quote
To be honest,it seems more difficult sparring most of the guys over here and I think it's because the traditional English style is for them to be upright,moving backwards and forwards. I'd say aggression is almost alien here compared to what I was used to. I've never been aggressive in the ring,and that's actually why I liked it more over in New York. You see,I prefer somebody to come charging at me because I can put the counters on and make them look ******. That's why I'd like to fight Benn more than Watson.
Another quote
I've never lost a round in my life where I've got my jab working.
Asked why he calls boxing "brutal" and a "mugs game"
The truth is that I love boxing,it's in my blood. I love the philosophy and the art of boxing,mastering every punch and learning the craft has taken me years and years worth of training. However,I dislike the actual business of boxing. On how fighters are used and eventually disgarded by promoters,abit like puppets. I've already walked away from the sport twice in the last two years,last year I trained for a Commonwealth title eliminator against James Cook but when I turned up at the arena they gave me some novice with five losses to fight instead. I waited a few months and the Cook fight wasn't happening,I didn't want to hang around and started thinking of what to do with my life. Yes Matchroom invested in me and Barry is cool for that but,I'm telling you,the real reason I came back is because this is in my blood. Yes it's a barbaric,diabolical game we're in,but I like the art of it.
Eubank was training hard at Bethnal Green for this Corti fight,his record at the time was 20 wins from 20 fights and this was a make or break fight for him.
Yeah if I do manage to win this fight and they win their fights,I'd love to have a world title shot against Benn or Watson at Hove in the summer. But that sounds almost too good. Benn is a bully,and when I was a kid I remember notoriously protecting other children from bullies. I've wanted to fight him for two years,Benn.
Early boxing memories
I was used as a punching bag when I started out at the Jerome Boxing Club in the fall of 1982,but I got better and better with each battering. The club didn't have a welterweight so they told me to starve myself and sent me at short notice,I lost six of my first eight amateur fights in the Bronx Junior League in February 1983,and another loss in March 1983. But then a guy called Maximo Pierret learned me how to box,and I won the Empire State Games three years in a row as a welterweight and the spanish version of the Golden Gloves in 1984 as a super-welterweight. I was abit of a star in Westchester where I lived,I loved the attention. My picture was in the local papers and there were write-ups and,I was getting the respect that I had always craved back home.
Another quote
I had a reputation around the gyms of New York,and a big reputation around the gyms of the Bronx. I was a gym fighter from the age of 16,but when I was 19 and 20 other gym fighters would pay me 10 dollars to have three rounds to try and deck me. People didn't like me because I was English. If they decked me they'd get their money back. I did this when I was 19 and 20,when I was walking around at 12 stone. Sometimes it was light-heavyweights and cruiserweights but they could hardly lay a glove on me,ofcourse I'd get caught but I was too proud to go down. You know,nobody has ever managed to deck me.
About his early career
I had no intention to make a career out of boxing. My first four professional bouts were to help pay my mothers bills,I had another bout after failing my exams to help pay for the flight back to England. I trained at Gleason's Gym for my first four professional bouts,Maximo and my new trainer Pat Ford took it in turns who stepped into the ring after each round - I did the same with Ronnie and Brendan Ingle when I fought Carlos Da Silva in South Yorkshire. There were some English fighters spending some time at Gleason's Gym,John Beckles and John Ellis. I don't know which one of them told Barney Eastwood about me,but Eastwood paid me to work as a sparring partner for Herol Graham and Fidel Castro Smith in April 1987. I made Smith look bad and was told that I did better against Herol than anybody had and,in the end,guys like Ronnie,Keith Miles and Leigh Wicks talked me into having a go at making a career out of boxing and I scored a first-round knockout which turned heads.
Another quote
To be honest,it seems more difficult sparring most of the guys over here and I think it's because the traditional English style is for them to be upright,moving backwards and forwards. I'd say aggression is almost alien here compared to what I was used to. I've never been aggressive in the ring,and that's actually why I liked it more over in New York. You see,I prefer somebody to come charging at me because I can put the counters on and make them look ******. That's why I'd like to fight Benn more than Watson.
Another quote
I've never lost a round in my life where I've got my jab working.
Asked why he calls boxing "brutal" and a "mugs game"
The truth is that I love boxing,it's in my blood. I love the philosophy and the art of boxing,mastering every punch and learning the craft has taken me years and years worth of training. However,I dislike the actual business of boxing. On how fighters are used and eventually disgarded by promoters,abit like puppets. I've already walked away from the sport twice in the last two years,last year I trained for a Commonwealth title eliminator against James Cook but when I turned up at the arena they gave me some novice with five losses to fight instead. I waited a few months and the Cook fight wasn't happening,I didn't want to hang around and started thinking of what to do with my life. Yes Matchroom invested in me and Barry is cool for that but,I'm telling you,the real reason I came back is because this is in my blood. Yes it's a barbaric,diabolical game we're in,but I like the art of it.
Eubank was training hard at Bethnal Green for this Corti fight,his record at the time was 20 wins from 20 fights and this was a make or break fight for him.
Comment