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Delving into the boxing mind of legendary English fighter Chris Eubank Sr
Chris Eubank Sr & Jr have arrived in Las Vegas to train side-by-side with Floyd Mayweather Jr & Sr for four weeks, as the Mayweathers prepare for the biggest fight of Floyd Jr's life against Manny Pacquaio.
I caught up with Chris Sr as the Eubanks visited Vegas's Top Rank gym on Thursday.
Firstly, Chris, the megafight everyone is talking about, Mayweather and Manny, how do you see it playing out?
I feel Floyd can fight in more than a few styles, and I feel Manny can only fight in and out and straight ahead. Floyd can fight those styles but also side-to-side, straight back, off the ropes, statically; every which way. When Floyd goes back, Manny can only come forward, because if he moves out Floyd will reach him beyond Manny's range. When Floyd goes at him, Manny has to counter and he prefers to lead off his shots.
Advantage Mayweather in every way, I mean you look at Manny and his countering, the only ones he does really I think is kind of like a right hook counter as a southpaw, but Floyd doesn't jab or hook from a high guard or bring that left back high. If Floyd goes circular and dips and rolls and, you know; Manny Pacquaio will have the same problems he had with the movement of Juan Manuel Marquez.
It's just one fighter who can do more. And that's a big thing of boxing, to be the complete fighter. Very few are. I was. Floyd is.
The way I see a Pacquaio victory is if Floyd stays in a stationary position trying the family's unique defensive stature to lure Manny in, of which he would lure Manny in but Manny could be lured in without actually throwing punches, he could be feinting to keep Mayweather from throwing and switching his foot positions to open Mayweather up and open up with two or three quickfire shots and switch again. If it patterns like that, Pacquaio wins every minute against anyone who stands in front of him like that.
But Floyd Mayweather is too smart and too complete to just stay with him. Both Floyd Mayweathers are too smart.
Do you feel your son can one day be involved in a huge occasion like this?
If he has the opponents. He has the X-Factor does Christopher but I don't see anyone else at middleweight or super-middleweight with an X-Factor like Junior. I had Nigel Benn, and we brought the glamour of Vegas to Birmingham and Manchester; attracting half a billion viewiers, way beyond that of any Vegas fight. I had Graciano Rocchigiani who was front page news in Germany, as I was in England. It takes two to tango. Ricky had Floyd. Joe had Bernard Hopkins.
I hope somebody with the 'it-factor' surfaces for my son.
What are your recollections of your fights with Michael Watson in 1991?
Michael Watson was a defensive puzzle to solve a lot like Floyd Mayweather from a stationary point of view. He had the best guard in boxing, he blocked most of Mike McCallum's punches and McCallum was one of the best pound-for-pound American-based fighters in history. Nigel Benn, the most dangerous puncher in the world, could land basically nothing.
I knew I had more natural punching accuracy than anybody with head shots, so slotted in leads and slipped in counters where I saw fit and got out of the pocket as fast as humanly possible. I mixed up staying in range and using reflexes as fast as humanly possible with staying marginally out of range allowing him to fall short, kept him guessing, moved around him and basically won the first five or six rounds with consummate ease before my legs went numb through dehydration. I deserved the decision.
In the second fight, Watson was three times the fighter he was before. He was three times stronger than he was in our first fight, fought at a pace three times faster than he had against McCallum, and threw clusters of short shots to the body and head from different angles as he rolled up-close, blocking, slipping and changing angles and cutting any gaps I formed, constantly. He took heavy shots and kept coming, all night.
I won because I was beaten into a state of controlled madness. But I was never the same. I lost my finishing instinct. If you watch me in the first Benn and second Watson fights, and against Stretch, Corti and even Logan, I don't stop punching until the referee steps in or I hear a bell. Against Wharton and the first Collins and first Thompson fights, I threw away stoppage victories. I also knew in there that if I took one step back and threw one right uppercut in the last second against Calzaghe, he would've gone; but at what cost.
When would you say your fighting peak was?
I was disabled in the second half of the first Watson and second Collins fights and in my last three fights because my legs were gone. My legs were knotting up on me in the first Watson and second Collins fights through dehydration, and my knees required cortisol injections later in my career when I couldn't even do roadwork.
So I would say the Benn fights and the fight in Berlin, and maybe the Tony Thornton fight; because this Thornton was an extremely solid fighter who gave James Toney a close fight before retiring, when Toney was America's pound-for-pound top fighter.
Do you feel a draw in the Benn rematch was a fair result?
It was a fair result but it could've gone Benn's way, in that if it was awarded to Benn then he'd of deserved it. He gave it his all that night - his fitness and stamina was otherwordly because to duck, slip, bob and weave in nearly every second of 12 rounds should hardly be possible, if at all. He was so non-rythmically unskilled that I couldn't time him, couldn't nail him down, and tired greatly through hitting O2.
But I showed the faster hands, sharper combinations and better foot movement and jabbed much more and pinned him on the ropes much more, and he had a point taken for ungentlemanly conduct, so I got my draw.
Do you feel boxing would be a better sport if there was only one governing body and one champion per weight class?
Absolutely. The world champion should be 'the' world champion, not one of four world champions of a particular weight. There are different champions signed to different promoters and different promoters affiliated with different television stations, and so the rights to the fights are what are these political barriers that you find.
I couldn't fight a fighter associated with Don King when I signed directly with Sky TV, the first fighter ever to do so to a TV broadcaster direct - setting a standard of course, as they then did it in Germany and with Naz in the States, following my lead. The reason being is because SKY at the time were not associated with Don King's network until his business partner Frank Warren took his stable to SKY.
James Toney lost just as I started the SKY deal, so I then couldn't make that particular match, as I couldn't while I was still on ITV due to affiliations.
So slack needs to be cut some times. I came from New York and Nigel Benn was a much bigger young star in England than any in America other than Mike Tyson. Benn knocked out Iran Barkley in one round for one version of the world championship, (Barkley) who was New York's number one fighter and who probably drew with Roberto Duran and Michael Nunn for the other versions of the world championship in his previous two fights!
I drew with Nigel Benn for two versions of a world title, a man I had already defeated, and then beat Graciano Rocchigiani, who was never defeated for another version and later defeated Nunn, who held the remaining version! You can cut in different ways, but the fair way is to say that we were all the middleweight and super-middleweight champions of our own right and pound-for-pound in the best weight divisions in boxing. So we were all pound-for-pound equal best in the world.
Who do you see as the next British or European boxing star other than your son?
I don't see any other than my son because I don't see whats in them. You can have charisma, but can you fight? I don't mean superficial things like speed of hand and speed of foot, I mean can you take a solid blow to the pretty face and keep coming as strong? That's first and foremost. Some can, and those that can usually don't actually have the extra flavouring to go with it, they don't have the star appeal or personality. Finding the blend of both is something where it's very very few, really. Junior has it.
I'm not aware of others. George Groves? Can James DeGale take a beating? I doubt it, I hope he proves me wrong.
I had the crap beaten out of me by Davey Moore, Dennis Milton, Milton Guest, Johnny Walker Banks, Richard Burton and Kevin Bryant - all of New York's unbeatable gym fighters - when I was still learning how to throw a punch properly. You can't have it all your own way or you won't truly learn, and you'll cave in down the line.
Chris Eubank Sr & Jr have arrived in Las Vegas to train side-by-side with Floyd Mayweather Jr & Sr for four weeks, as the Mayweathers prepare for the biggest fight of Floyd Jr's life against Manny Pacquaio.
I caught up with Chris Sr as the Eubanks visited Vegas's Top Rank gym on Thursday.
Firstly, Chris, the megafight everyone is talking about, Mayweather and Manny, how do you see it playing out?
I feel Floyd can fight in more than a few styles, and I feel Manny can only fight in and out and straight ahead. Floyd can fight those styles but also side-to-side, straight back, off the ropes, statically; every which way. When Floyd goes back, Manny can only come forward, because if he moves out Floyd will reach him beyond Manny's range. When Floyd goes at him, Manny has to counter and he prefers to lead off his shots.
Advantage Mayweather in every way, I mean you look at Manny and his countering, the only ones he does really I think is kind of like a right hook counter as a southpaw, but Floyd doesn't jab or hook from a high guard or bring that left back high. If Floyd goes circular and dips and rolls and, you know; Manny Pacquaio will have the same problems he had with the movement of Juan Manuel Marquez.
It's just one fighter who can do more. And that's a big thing of boxing, to be the complete fighter. Very few are. I was. Floyd is.
The way I see a Pacquaio victory is if Floyd stays in a stationary position trying the family's unique defensive stature to lure Manny in, of which he would lure Manny in but Manny could be lured in without actually throwing punches, he could be feinting to keep Mayweather from throwing and switching his foot positions to open Mayweather up and open up with two or three quickfire shots and switch again. If it patterns like that, Pacquaio wins every minute against anyone who stands in front of him like that.
But Floyd Mayweather is too smart and too complete to just stay with him. Both Floyd Mayweathers are too smart.
Do you feel your son can one day be involved in a huge occasion like this?
If he has the opponents. He has the X-Factor does Christopher but I don't see anyone else at middleweight or super-middleweight with an X-Factor like Junior. I had Nigel Benn, and we brought the glamour of Vegas to Birmingham and Manchester; attracting half a billion viewiers, way beyond that of any Vegas fight. I had Graciano Rocchigiani who was front page news in Germany, as I was in England. It takes two to tango. Ricky had Floyd. Joe had Bernard Hopkins.
I hope somebody with the 'it-factor' surfaces for my son.
What are your recollections of your fights with Michael Watson in 1991?
Michael Watson was a defensive puzzle to solve a lot like Floyd Mayweather from a stationary point of view. He had the best guard in boxing, he blocked most of Mike McCallum's punches and McCallum was one of the best pound-for-pound American-based fighters in history. Nigel Benn, the most dangerous puncher in the world, could land basically nothing.
I knew I had more natural punching accuracy than anybody with head shots, so slotted in leads and slipped in counters where I saw fit and got out of the pocket as fast as humanly possible. I mixed up staying in range and using reflexes as fast as humanly possible with staying marginally out of range allowing him to fall short, kept him guessing, moved around him and basically won the first five or six rounds with consummate ease before my legs went numb through dehydration. I deserved the decision.
In the second fight, Watson was three times the fighter he was before. He was three times stronger than he was in our first fight, fought at a pace three times faster than he had against McCallum, and threw clusters of short shots to the body and head from different angles as he rolled up-close, blocking, slipping and changing angles and cutting any gaps I formed, constantly. He took heavy shots and kept coming, all night.
I won because I was beaten into a state of controlled madness. But I was never the same. I lost my finishing instinct. If you watch me in the first Benn and second Watson fights, and against Stretch, Corti and even Logan, I don't stop punching until the referee steps in or I hear a bell. Against Wharton and the first Collins and first Thompson fights, I threw away stoppage victories. I also knew in there that if I took one step back and threw one right uppercut in the last second against Calzaghe, he would've gone; but at what cost.
When would you say your fighting peak was?
I was disabled in the second half of the first Watson and second Collins fights and in my last three fights because my legs were gone. My legs were knotting up on me in the first Watson and second Collins fights through dehydration, and my knees required cortisol injections later in my career when I couldn't even do roadwork.
So I would say the Benn fights and the fight in Berlin, and maybe the Tony Thornton fight; because this Thornton was an extremely solid fighter who gave James Toney a close fight before retiring, when Toney was America's pound-for-pound top fighter.
Do you feel a draw in the Benn rematch was a fair result?
It was a fair result but it could've gone Benn's way, in that if it was awarded to Benn then he'd of deserved it. He gave it his all that night - his fitness and stamina was otherwordly because to duck, slip, bob and weave in nearly every second of 12 rounds should hardly be possible, if at all. He was so non-rythmically unskilled that I couldn't time him, couldn't nail him down, and tired greatly through hitting O2.
But I showed the faster hands, sharper combinations and better foot movement and jabbed much more and pinned him on the ropes much more, and he had a point taken for ungentlemanly conduct, so I got my draw.
Do you feel boxing would be a better sport if there was only one governing body and one champion per weight class?
Absolutely. The world champion should be 'the' world champion, not one of four world champions of a particular weight. There are different champions signed to different promoters and different promoters affiliated with different television stations, and so the rights to the fights are what are these political barriers that you find.
I couldn't fight a fighter associated with Don King when I signed directly with Sky TV, the first fighter ever to do so to a TV broadcaster direct - setting a standard of course, as they then did it in Germany and with Naz in the States, following my lead. The reason being is because SKY at the time were not associated with Don King's network until his business partner Frank Warren took his stable to SKY.
James Toney lost just as I started the SKY deal, so I then couldn't make that particular match, as I couldn't while I was still on ITV due to affiliations.
So slack needs to be cut some times. I came from New York and Nigel Benn was a much bigger young star in England than any in America other than Mike Tyson. Benn knocked out Iran Barkley in one round for one version of the world championship, (Barkley) who was New York's number one fighter and who probably drew with Roberto Duran and Michael Nunn for the other versions of the world championship in his previous two fights!
I drew with Nigel Benn for two versions of a world title, a man I had already defeated, and then beat Graciano Rocchigiani, who was never defeated for another version and later defeated Nunn, who held the remaining version! You can cut in different ways, but the fair way is to say that we were all the middleweight and super-middleweight champions of our own right and pound-for-pound in the best weight divisions in boxing. So we were all pound-for-pound equal best in the world.
Who do you see as the next British or European boxing star other than your son?
I don't see any other than my son because I don't see whats in them. You can have charisma, but can you fight? I don't mean superficial things like speed of hand and speed of foot, I mean can you take a solid blow to the pretty face and keep coming as strong? That's first and foremost. Some can, and those that can usually don't actually have the extra flavouring to go with it, they don't have the star appeal or personality. Finding the blend of both is something where it's very very few, really. Junior has it.
I'm not aware of others. George Groves? Can James DeGale take a beating? I doubt it, I hope he proves me wrong.
I had the crap beaten out of me by Davey Moore, Dennis Milton, Milton Guest, Johnny Walker Banks, Richard Burton and Kevin Bryant - all of New York's unbeatable gym fighters - when I was still learning how to throw a punch properly. You can't have it all your own way or you won't truly learn, and you'll cave in down the line.
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