Chris Eubank on Development

[coghaugen]

Guy on MMA board interviewed him in Vegas

I went through about nine different trainers as a young man and I kept changing because I wanted to get the best out of myself and wanted to know everything. Different trainers taught me different things.



Andy Martinez taught me the basics for example - how to stand properly, how to punch straight ahead. Then Luis Camacho taught me how to use footwork and how to side-step. Maximo Pierret taught me how to fight inside and how to bob and weave.



Patrick Ford taught me to counter from out of range. Lenny DeJesus taught me to set up leads. Ronnie Davies showed me how to fight a southpaw.



They all brought something to me. That bit of 'extra' came from the martial arts and my own personality.

I actually planned to box in the 1986 Commonwealth Games for Jamaica, but the country pulled out of the Games, so I turned professional to save for tuition, at the time.

A lot of the sparring fights I had in the 1980s with gym fighters like Troy Darrell, Mark McPherson, Matt Farrago, Rod Douglas, Merqui Sosa and Errol Christie - it was like a world championship fight for a vacant title. Taking power aside, they were all better than (Nigel) Benn.



The real fact was that Benn, Nigel, wasn't ready for me; not the other way round. That was the real fact.

I would advise all young fighters to bounce between gyms to get more sparring, and to bounce between trainers to get more knowledge. And the biggest advise is to stay away from vice, if you have aspirations in boxing.

[coghaugen]

If anyone can reach their opponent then they can also land a sharp jab. But I could land two sharp jabs at once when I couldn't reach my opponent and that's what seperated me.

I also learned myself to punch without extending my elbow more than an inch and with virtually no back-pull, and that made it very difficult for opponents to react fast enough.

..............

[bernardotelo]

humm... ??