nice read
Chris Eubank: How I would've beaten a peak RJJ!
Bumping into none of other than former WBO middle/super-middle champ of the 90s (and comical English icon) Chris Eubank in the lobby of the Mayfair Hotel in London was a pleasure in itself.
But the former champ agreeing to discuss his career and boxing opinions with me while sipping warm water with peels of lemon and lime was my wildest expectation for the day!
Q:
Right, Chris! When did you first start boxing?
A: In February 1983 in Jerome Boxing Club in New York City.
What were you doing in New York?
I had lots of Jamaican relatives over there and was living in the apartment of the elderly German lady that my mother worked for as a live-in nurse, having jumped bail from England with prison on the horizon.
My mother put me on the straight and narrow by advising me to attend church, enrol at school and join the local gymnasium - the Jerome Boxing Club.
I quit all forms of smoking, all alcohol, all stealing, all street fighting, all law breaking - wanting nothing other than to please my mother and her Jamaican friends and be 'the good boy.'
What do you remember about your early teaching of the fistic art form?
(Laughs slowly) I like that - The Fistic Arm Form! (Laughs slowly) Frustration!
In what way?
Failure to grasp the techniques. Even the little things that most boxers take for granted, when a trainer would say move right or move left the typical boxer would just move left or right, pushing off their furthest foot from the destination.
I had to stop and think. The idea when you move forward is to push off the back leg, and vice versa. Move right, push off the left leg, and vice versa. If you get caught while dragging your feet, you're going down.
I would have to stop and think, as in it wasn't natural, it wasn't efficient at first. That's just an example.
It took me more than 1,500 sessions to learn how to throw the right hand. Most boxers would just throw it reasonably correctly without thinking within a day or two. Although to be fair I did want it picture-perfect.
Don't get me wrong, I naturally had the speed, accuracy and timing - I mastered the speed ball to a tee within a few weeks and my jab was as solid as my right hand as well as doubled and trebled within a few sessions - it just took a lot of repetition and practice to get the footwork and power.
Was it always an ambition to be a future world champion?
At first, you want glory. In the amateur ranks, I fought for glory and pride. I was young and naïve. It was all about the belts, trophies, medals and bragging rights. I was 17. You grow up.
I took on the very best New York had to offer, and they happened to be the best in the United States and the World as well. Mark Breland as a substitute in which my jab lived with his jab, and Dennis Milton in a four-round gym fight which was declared a draw.
The guys who trained at the Jerome gym included Vince Phillips, who was a future world professional champion who fought Ricky Hatton, and Rey Rivera who was a future Olympian who fought Richie Woodhall.
You become a professional when you have bills to pay and families to feed. You grow up. I was never the very best of the best at the amateur level, so at the professional level why aim to be higher than only equal to the very best out there, which I was.
Why do you believe yourself and Nigel Benn became such big household stars so early on whereas the likes of Steve Collins, Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch had to wait until the end of their careers to gain similar attention?
Myself and Nigel would fight about 12 to 15 fights in a period of about 12 months and change managers and promoters to get more exposure. It's called effort, it's called an earning of what you get. It's quite simple.
Talk to us about your six legendary fights with Nigel Benn, Michael Watson and Steve Collins...
Here were four warriors who had an inner animal. I have a philosophy that if you actually have a superior boxing ability to your opponent, you must be very careful not to humiliate the man, because you then risk bringing out the animal within him, which can be very dangerous.