Eubank vs McClellan (both primes)

[keithmoonhangover]

I'm taking Eubank by late stoppage.

[stevieb_8006]

a what weight do u consider eubanks prime at? Middle or super? I'd say prob eubank, cast iron jaw that could possibly break geralds heart. also, pre-watson he could stretch people out. (Eubank def at super middle). What a press conference that wouldve been!!!!!!! "twhis man iz a barbarian etc..."

[milpool]

McClellan would probably get a little frustrated with Chris and might make a few mistakes. He'd expect to bomb him out but would soon realise that Eubank is a strong, granite jawed warrior.
Eubank wouldn't be without his problems though and would probably have a couple of rounds when he'd try to take a breather and let Gerald in.
It wouldn't be anything like the wars of Eubank v Ben I or Benn v McClellan but it would be an intriguing clash.

As stevieb mentioned, the Press Conference and build up would be worth watching even if the fight turned out to be a stinker!

[thepocketrocket]

Yes, the Eubank who was given fits by Dan Sherry,Ray Close and Watson (who was McCaullum fodder) would surely have beaten McClellan.

Seriously, Eubank took too much time off for McClellan to be brought in to a war...G-Man tees off on him and stops him on his feet in the tenth

[tommo100]

press conference would be t.v gold,probably better than the fight
mcclellan exhausts him self trying to bomb eubank out,eubank takes g-man out with an overhead right,executing a perfect game plan

[thepocketrocket]

Or Eubank loses at least eight rounds but the WBO judges let him keep the title, due to them lacking credibility and wanting a visible champion

[keithmoonhangover]

Or Eubank loses at least eight rounds but the WBO judges let him keep the title, due to them lacking credibility and wanting a visible champion

I hear you about the judges. Styles make fights and Eubank didn't struggle with guys who came forward.

[stevieb_8006]

Yes, the Eubank who was given fits by Dan Sherry,Ray Close and Watson (who was McCaullum fodder) would surely have beaten McClellan.

Seriously, Eubank took too much time off for McClellan to be brought in to a war...G-Man tees off on him and stops him on his feet in the tenth

i hear what ur saying, but eubank did tend to rise to theoccasion when he fought a name. he'd put in much more spirited performance.

[thepocketrocket]

Stylistically Eubank always had to be forced to fight. This was never anything to do with Watson, this is an excuse. Eubank liked to fight at his own pace and that 'cost him' on numerous occasions. Now bring someone like Benn in and he would up his work rate, he would have to. The sdme would happen with McClellan...Eubank would come to fight.

Still, G-man would be too strong and powerful to let Eubank into the fight. McClellan was having brain issues, yet he was still beating Benn before the tenth. A Fit G-Man took Benn out and would wear iron-chinned Chris down.

I apologise for the flippant nature of my earlier posts. The level of revisionism on Eubank is awful, people seem to think he was incredible and it gets on my nerves. Even as a youngster I would get sick of every three months hearing Simply The Best, to be followed by a challenger getting shafted whilst Eubank remained champion. Every fighter gets the good decision once every while, but the judging in Eubank fights was systemic, up to the point of blatant corruption.

But Eubank was a warrior, no doubt about that

[Bricks]

I'm taking Eubank by late stoppage.

Excellent matchup Keith.

Its a very interesting matchup although Chris would never have taken it unless the money was right or he had no more viable less riskier options.

I think eubanks was a tougher more durable guy than Benn. I cant see Mclellan knocking him out for all his firepower. I cant see Chris being stopped either. By the same token I dont see how Chris has too much to stop Gerald marauding over him.But i cant see gerald beating on Chris for twelve rounds his stamina wasnt that great and eubanks never stopped trying altho his killer instinct was lacking after 1991. So in other words something has to give and that means something happening that we havent seen of either man....

I think what gives is after absorbing a terrific pounding early on and even being on the floor a couple of times Eubanks comes on strong his sense of fear for himself igniting the long shelved killer instinct , as mclellan fades late and manages to stop mclellan.

[JC]

Stylistically Eubank always had to be forced to fight. This was never anything to do with Watson, this is an excuse. Eubank liked to fight at his own pace and that 'cost him' on numerous occasions. Now bring someone like Benn in and he would up his work rate, he would have to. The sdme would happen with McClellan...Eubank would come to fight.

Still, G-man would be too strong and powerful to let Eubank into the fight. McClellan was having brain issues, yet he was still beating Benn before the tenth. A Fit G-Man took Benn out and would wear iron-chinned Chris down.

I apologise for the flippant nature of my earlier posts. The level of revisionism on Eubank is awful, people seem to think he was incredible and it gets on my nerves. Even as a youngster I would get sick of every three months hearing Simply The Best, to be followed by a challenger getting shafted whilst Eubank remained champion. Every fighter gets the good decision once every while, but the judging in Eubank fights was systemic, up to the point of blatant corruption.

But Eubank was a warrior, no doubt about that

Eubank does seem to be a bigg beneficiary of rose tinted vision. People often focus on the handful of tear-ups he was in and forget how frustrating he was for much of the time.

[stujones]

I think Eubank's issue of not being able to fight for 3 minutes of every round might have been a problem.

I don't think G Man would have KO'd him.... so it would have been interesting.

[thepocketrocket]

Stylistically Eubank always had to be forced to fight. This was never anything to do with Watson, this is an excuse. Eubank liked to fight at his own pace and that 'cost him' on numerous occasions. Now bring someone like Benn in and he would up his work rate, he would have to. The sdme would happen with McClellan...Eubank would come to fight.

Still, G-man would be too strong and powerful to let Eubank into the fight. McClellan was having brain issues, yet he was still beating Benn before the tenth. A Fit G-Man took Benn out and would wear iron-chinned Chris down.

I apologise for the flippant nature of my earlier posts. The level of revisionism on Eubank is awful, people seem to think he was incredible and it gets on my nerves. Even as a youngster I would get sick of every three months hearing Simply The Best, to be followed by a challenger getting shafted whilst Eubank remained champion. Every fighter gets the good decision once every while, but the judging in Eubank fights was systemic, up to the point of blatant corruption.

But Eubank was a warrior, no doubt about that

Eubank does seem to be a bigg beneficiary of rose tinted vision. People often focus on the handful of tear-ups he was in and forget how frustrating he was for much of the time.

Exactly J-C

[palooka]

Eubank was a very frustrating boxer to watch; he weren't always in entertaining bouts. He was very strong as a middleweight and hit very hard; also very game. McClellen was very big for a middle but I think Eubank would have beat him,probably on points but it depends where the fought.

[Syntax Error]

I can envisage McClellan bouncing big shots off Eubank's titanium chin & getting frustrated because he couldn't budge the Briton, but I think McClellan would prevail on points as Eubank often didn't do enough in fights.

He got away with it against lesser opponents, but he'd never get away with it against someone like McClellan.

[jamesmcdonnell]

As said on here already, Eubank was a big occasion fighter, he never failed to turn in a performance when he was up against someone who he knew was dangerous - look at the two wars with Carl Thompson.

Eubank could be underwhelming against opposition he wasn't afraid of, but when push came to shove, he would turn it on against men he knew could hurt, or worse, permanently injure him.

I don't see anyone stopping Eubank at MW or SMW, he was a beast of a man, and even after taking one hell of a pounding from Watson, and absorbing a wicked shot, he got right back up and produced an unbelievable shot.

It would have been a war late on. I think Chris would have survived the early onslaught, and then would have taken Gerald into deep waters, remember, that before Benn, Gerald had never been beyond 8 rounds. I believe that Eubank had the stamina, the chin and the heart to take him to uncomfortable places. I would have made it a very even fight, and one which Eubank may well have had to have produced a come from behind KO to win - but you would not put that past him even against a monster like G-Man

[stujones]

As said on here already, Eubank was a big occasion fighter, he never failed to turn in a performance when he was up against someone who he knew was dangerous - look at the two wars with Carl Thompson.

Eubank could be underwhelming against opposition he wasn't afraid of, but when push came to shove, he would turn it on against men he knew could hurt, or worse, permanently injure him.

I don't see anyone stopping Eubank at MW or SMW, he was a beast of a man, and even after taking one hell of a pounding from Watson, and absorbing a wicked shot, he got right back up and produced an unbelievable shot.

It would have been a war late on. I think Chris would have survived the early onslaught, and then would have taken Gerald into deep waters, remember, that before Benn, Gerald had never been beyond 8 rounds. I believe that Eubank had the stamina, the chin and the heart to take him to uncomfortable places. I would have made it a very even fight, and one which Eubank may well have had to have produced a come from behind KO to win - but you would not put that past him even against a monster like G-Man

Good post, I think its a difficult question cause I'm not sure we ever really saw McClellan in his prime so very hard to judge. The Benn fight was the first time he was asked to go some serious rounds at a serious pace. Sadly we would never know if McClellan had the experience to pace himself. Eubank always struggled to go 3 minutes of every round - but I could also envisage McClellan possibly punching himself out going for the KO. McClellan showed enough in the Benn fight, that with pacing he could comfortably do the 12 rounds against a fighter who didn't like to fight for the 3 minutes - but you'd have to wonder if he would do a "Matt Macklin" and just go at a crazy pace and get found wanting down the stretch.

Your post got me thinking actually about Eubank..... I was going to respond to your bit about "Chris always putting in the performances when up against it" with a suggestion that he didn't look impressive in the Collins rematch, and surely he knew the task at hand there.... but then I got thinking more (and this moves completely off the question) but has there been a fighter who has so consistently performed worst in rematches than Chris. Outstanding in Benn 1, possibly a tad lucky in Benn 2, Had Collins out on his feet in fight 1, lost a wide decision in fight 2. Okay he got a KO against Watson in fight 2, but up until that point he did much better in fight 1. He did slightly better in Ray Close rematch - I personally thought he won the first Thompson fight, he got stopped in the rematch.

[coghaugen11]

I don't see McClellan touching Eubank with his flicking jab or long overarm right. Eubank would frustrate him all night to his customary points win.

Mc struggled enough with Dennis Milton, Ralph Ward and Sanderline Williams, but a slick master like Eubank?

[THEBUTCH]

Eubank never boxed a single world class American in their prime and with good reason.

It all went wrong in the end for McClellan against Benn, but it's often styles that dictate the outcome and McClellan was an excellent boxer, who knew how to relax and and of course carried bombs in either hand. I think it would have been a bad night for Chris if they ever had met.

[THEBUTCH]

Eubank never boxed a single world class American in their prime and with good reason.

It all went wrong in the end for McClellan against Benn, but it's often styles that dictate the outcome and McClellan was an excellent boxer, who knew how to relax and and of course carried bombs in either hand. I think it would have been a bad night for Chris if they ever had met.

[THEBUTCH]

Eubank never boxed a single world class American in their prime and with good reason.

It all went wrong in the end for McClellan against Benn, but it's often styles that dictate the outcome and McClellan was an excellent boxer, who knew how to relax and and of course carried bombs in either hand. I think it would have been a bad night for Chris if they ever had met.

[coghaugen11]

Ronnie Essett and Tony Thornton were world-class, Lindell Holmes still looked sharp, and they were of American nationality.

[keithmoonhangover]

Eubank never boxed a single world class American in their prime and with good reason.

It all went wrong in the end for McClellan against Benn, but it's often styles that dictate the outcome and McClellan was an excellent boxer, who knew how to relax and and of course carried bombs in either hand. I think it would have been a bad night for Chris if they ever had met.

You could say the same about McClellan. Mugabi and a nearly blind Jackson?

[DavidPayne]

GMc beats him but hell he'd know he was in a fight.

[JC]

I can envisage McClellan bouncing big shots off Eubank's titanium chin & getting frustrated because he couldn't budge the Briton, but I think McClellan would prevail on points as Eubank often didn't do enough in fights.

He got away with it against lesser opponents, but he'd never get away with it against someone like McClellan.

Eubank had a great chin but I doubt it was that impregnable.