i know they were great charactors for the general public blabla, but do us boxing nuts underrate them?
purists generally rated herol graham and michael watson as better than them, and that may be true, but i still think both nigel and chris were special in a boxing sense.
benn was the most bombastic puncher around at middle, and eubank was the biggest poser around. that's why their first fight tickled the fancy, and because their first fight really was such an epic you tuned in to the second one hoping it could rival it!
both hold alltime records of sorts
nigel benn holds the record for consecutive knockdown stoppages -- 11 (in under nine months to boot!)
chris eubank holds the record for most distance world title wins -- 11 (in under 3.5 years to boot!)
both were the winners of probably the greatest knockdown drag out dramatic (and tragic) brawls in the history of the fight game -- eubanks-watson 2 and benn-mcclennan.
benn obv fought the better opp, demolishing doug dewitt and iran barkley on the broadwalk and the strip live on abc and itv, and beating mcclennan who was fresh off a devastating first-round win over julian jackson in an mgm grand main event.
but eubank's opp really isn't too shabby either -- benn x 2, watson x 2, lindell holmes (beat frank tate for ibf title and was beating van horn before body shot ko, herrol graham's best career win as cutsstoppage), graciano rocchigiani (never lost ibf title, went on to be robbed against dariusz m and beat michael nunn for wbc) in his german backyard (!), tony thornton, henry wharton, steve collins (won first fight!).
benn was 22 - 0 with 22 ko's
eubank was undefeated in 43 fights
i honestly think we underrate them!
benn and eubank.
Benn and Eubank were both marvelous fighters, mate ;) Their wins over Rocchigiani and McClellan were terrific wins. Their rematch was a terrific fight excluding Jim Watt's commentary. Their first match set the tone for British Sport's greatest decade, with Frank Bruno, Paul Gascoigne, Linford Christie, Lennox Lewis, Ian Wright, John Barnes, Paul Ince and Tessa Sanderson all in the front row - inspired, and Naseem Hamed wanking over the ring entrances and how nice the WBO belt looked.
Frighteningly, on Friday March 15th 1985, Chris Eubank lost in the semi-finals of the New York Golden Gloves (at Madison Square Garden) on the American Broadcasting Company, and on Saturday March 16th 1985, Nigel Benn lost in the semi-finals of the London ABA's (at York Hall) on the British Broadcasting Company, both at 156lbs/71kg (to Joseph Henry and Rod Douglas, respectively). It sent shivers down my spine when I found this out.
Frighteningly, on Friday March 15th 1985, Chris Eubank lost in the semi-finals of the New York Golden Gloves (at Madison Square Garden) on the American Broadcasting Company, and on Saturday March 16th 1985, Nigel Benn lost in the semi-finals of the London ABA's (at York Hall) on the British Broadcasting Company, both at 156lbs/71kg (to Joseph Henry and Rod Douglas, respectively). It sent shivers down my spine when I found this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezW9q35x0MCrew2 wrote:EUBANK
Hang on a minute,is this actually true?STP wrote: Frighteningly, on Friday March 15th 1985, Chris Eubank lost in the semi-finals of the New York Golden Gloves (at Madison Square Garden) on the American Broadcasting Company, and on Saturday March 16th 1985, Nigel Benn lost in the semi-finals of the London ABA's (at York Hall) on the British Broadcasting Company, both at 156lbs/71kg (to Joseph Henry and Rod Douglas, respectively). It sent shivers down my spine when I found this out.