BoxRec

CHRIS Eubank has continued his war of words with conqueror Joe Calzaghe by claiming that Calzaghe's claims of being an avoided fighter are 'nonsense'.

The monocled mauler also says he has no sympathy for the man he passed the torch to, that Calzaghe had to wait a decade to get into the spotlight.

He even rips into Calzaghe's claims of greatness.

"Let me explain something to you," he began. "I was not obliged to fight anybody unless they were my No 1 contender.

"I was the man on top, if they wanted to try to knock me off then they had to keep winning, get to No 1 and then I would have had to fight them in a mandatory defence.

"If they wanted it that bad, they would keep winning, if not, they would have to wait until I was ready."

Then the insults to Calzaghe began. "If Joe wanted to fight one of these American fighters that bad, he would have become No 1 contender and then they would have to either fight him or duck him," he said.

"So to suggest Joe has been ducked is nonsensical."

Why did Calzaghe's career never really take off after he gave Eubank the mother and father of kickings?

Eubank thinks he has the answers. "Nobody questions Calzaghe's physical ability, but also required is personality, being philosophical and so on."

Eubank doesn't pity the Italian Dragon. "Joe Calzaghe? He had everything going for him: the looks, the punch, the youth, the style, the name.

"Some of us can only dream of having his looks. So I can't feel sorry for him.

"He's larry loaded! I had to earn my money, I had to work! It was about substance, I had to raise the people in both the positive and negative and find the right blend.

"I had to find the right style to prevent myself from fading, it took time to find the right jodhpurs and boots, (and) the correct degree of sartorialism and so forth.

"Joe has just kept his head down, and is larry loaded through just keeping his head down and grafting. I wish I had it that easy!"

Eubank rubbishes Calzaghe's TV team's claims that he is the greatest British boxer and the noises his promotional team make.

"Greatness is coming back from defeat and winning again. History backs me up on this.

"The greatest fighters are Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvin Hagler. If they didn't come back from defeats they wouldn't be considered near great.

"Sorry, but you don't quit with no losses and expect to be considered one of the greats. It doesn't work like that!

"You can't have it all your own way. When I had (Steve) Collins bleeding and disorientated the second time (second fight), I wouldn't bludgeon him, which means I wasn't of great material.

"Had I won that fight and fought one of these American fighters, say James Toney or Roy Jones - Roy Jones I suppose, and, say, given them their toughest fight, where they were never the same again. Would I not be considered one of the greats? Ofcourse I would."

"The greatest fighters are Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvin Hagler. If they didn't come back from defeats they wouldn't be considered near great.
Sorry, but you don't quit with no losses and expect to be considered one of the greats. It doesn't work like that!

Uh, yes it does.

Eubank should stick to being a stereotype Brit with his monocles and posh talk!

What do you mean Eubank 'lashes out' at Calzaghe? He's not 'lashing out' at all, he's clearly just been manipulated and it printed to make it look that way.

STP wrote:What do you mean Eubank 'lashes out' at Calzaghe?

It was the title of the article..

lvlarc wrote:

"The greatest fighters are Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvin Hagler. If they didn't come back from defeats they wouldn't be considered near great.
Sorry, but you don't quit with no losses and expect to be considered one of the greats. It doesn't work like that!

Uh, yes it does.

Not when you've fought the donuts Calzaghe has it doesn't.

To be honest Eubank hasn't said anything out of order here, the title saying he is lashing out at JC is misleading.

However it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black

Eubank was on a lucrative Sky gravy train, getting gimme defenses like Stretch, Sherry, Jarvis, Amaral, Storey and Schommer for big money, and he was often on the right end of contraversial decisions.

In fairness Reid is the only one that has come even close to beating Joe

And who in their right mind thinks Eubank is posh?

He is as posh as Hula Hoops.

I think a key issues here, frankly, is that Eubank was as bad if not worse than Calzaghe. Sure he had some big fights, but he didn't half fill up the time in between those bigger fights with dross. And, lets be honest, he fought the best in Britain at a time when we were blessed with some decent talent. He wasn't shouting from the rafters for Nunn, Toney, Barkley, Jones Jr, Jackson, McClellan et al, was he now?

Of course, he has some very valid points, and his assessment of Calzaghe's constant whinging is spot on: you want it? Force the issues. In life you have to make things happen, not just sit around looking pretty and hoping a big name will come along and fight you. (The same can be said for Witter).

But, coming from Eubank it's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

Greg Nicholas wrote: CHRIS Eubank has continued his war of words with conqueror Joe Calzaghe by claiming that Calzaghe's claims of being an avoided fighter are 'nonsense'.

The monocled mauler also says he has no sympathy for the man he passed the torch to, that Calzaghe had to wait a decade to get into the spotlight.

He even rips into Calzaghe's claims of greatness.

"Let me explain something to you," he began. "I was not obliged to fight anybody unless they were my No 1 contender.

"I was the man on top, if they wanted to try to knock me off then they had to keep winning, get to No 1 and then I would have had to fight them in a mandatory defence.

"If they wanted it that bad, they would keep winning, if not, they would have to wait until I was ready."

Then the insults to Calzaghe began. "If Joe wanted to fight one of these American fighters that bad, he would have become No 1 contender and then they would have to either fight him or duck him," he said.

"So to suggest Joe has been ducked is nonsensical."

Why did Calzaghe's career never really take off after he gave Eubank the mother and father of kickings?

Eubank thinks he has the answers. "Nobody questions Calzaghe's physical ability, but also required is personality, being philosophical and so on."

Eubank doesn't pity the Italian Dragon. "Joe Calzaghe? He had everything going for him: the looks, the punch, the youth, the style, the name.

"Some of us can only dream of having his looks. So I can't feel sorry for him.

"He's larry loaded! I had to earn my money, I had to work! It was about substance, I had to raise the people in both the positive and negative and find the right blend.

"I had to find the right style to prevent myself from fading, it took time to find the right jodhpurs and boots, (and) the correct degree of sartorialism and so forth.
"Joe has just kept his head down, and is larry loaded through just keeping his head down and grafting. I wish I had it that easy!"

Eubank rubbishes Calzaghe's TV team's claims that he is the greatest British boxer and the noises his promotional team make.

"Greatness is coming back from defeat and winning again. History backs me up on this.

"The greatest fighters are Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvin Hagler. If they didn't come back from defeats they wouldn't be considered near great.

"Sorry, but you don't quit with no losses and expect to be considered one of the greats. It doesn't work like that!

"You can't have it all your own way. When I had (Steve) Collins bleeding and disorientated the second time (second fight), I wouldn't bludgeon him, which means I wasn't of great material.

"Had I won that fight and fought one of these American fighters, say James Toney or Roy Jones - Roy Jones I suppose, and, say, given them their toughest fight, where they were never the same again. Would I not be considered one of the greats? Ofcourse I would."

Eubank fought loads of rubbish fighters in his 'world' title defences....

And what the fvck is he dribblng on about in the bolded text above....I think his mind has lost a major mechanism....

My conclusion is that Eubank is jealous of Calzaghe.

God Chris seems to be unravelling, for god's sake let it lie!

If Calzaghe is Larry loaded, it's because he hasn't spent it all on Jodhpurs!

jamesmcdonnell wrote:God Chris seems to be unravelling, for god's sake let it lie!

If Calzaghe is Larry loaded, it's because he hasn't spent it all on Jodhpurs!

Absolutly... Chris seems drawn to the fact that Joe's made a stack of cash... He needs to get over it and stop these rants about if's, but's n maybe's.... He had a great career and remains a household name as a result... End of.

He's also Jealous of Calzaghe's 'looks.'

I'm not being funny, but since when was Calzaghe a pin-up, the way Chris is panting over him, you'd think he was frigging Brad Pitt...

If any other fighter had said this fair enough, but Eubank of all people was even worse than JC for avoiding Yanks...

Unless you count John Jarvis!

Unlike Benn.....DeWitt, Barkley, Mclennan .......class

And Chris was loaded and pissed it up the wall on suits and his big truck...

Even that poor Karen has left him.

Did you ever see At Home with The Eubanks.....

They had less chemistry than an expelled pupil....

so chris thinks the best way for joe to be considered 'great' is to get beat?

hang on a minute......if joe gets beat, loses his unbeaten record, loses his wbo title in front of 60,000 people on home turf and watches kessler go back to denmark the best of the division, as long as joe then goes on to give an american a tough fight, he will be great?

if chris had never been beaten, you can bet your arse this article would never have come about. all this does is get his name back out there, and as i type this im wondering why im giving him the time of day.

he is a likable guy, and was a terrific fighter and entertainer, but he just comes across now a bit desperate. selling the watson fight online for £10 a pop to line his pockets because he was 'bankrupt'? BS.

eubanks has lost the plot. go and recite some kipling or go and give your lorry a good scrub.

joe is a quality fighter and will prove that against kessler. he has dismantled everything put in front of him, and although there have been some duds in there, he has beaten some quality opposition.........including chris!

Terry D wrote:Doesn't he know that jealousy is a female trait?

Maybe he's had the Brad to Brenda Sex change operation!

QUOTES FROM EUBANKS BOOK


Dodging a fighter is a cardinal sin in boxing and is something I can never be accused of, unlike one such character who came on the scene at the end of my era. Roy Jones, James Toney and Michael Nunn for example. I did not dodge.

Let's use Roy Jones as an example. When people asked me why I wouldn't fight him, I would say to them, 'Never mind the title or my job, a fight like that could take five or six years off my life.' I was well aware of that. He was, pound-for-pound, arguably the best fighter on the planet; in regards to his style, his devastating punching ability, the whole repertoire, he had it.

The rule is that if you are champion of the world for one body, you cannot be the No. 1 contender for another belt. Unless someone was officially the recognised No. 1 contender, I had no professional obligation to face them. With Roy Jones, he was fortunately (and I use that word with the utmost respect) never No. 1 contender. Had he been, I would not have dodged. I would have taken the fight. Would I have won the fight? Highly unlikely. What would have been for sure was that he would have come away from the fight and got hurt, and I would have been hurt probably far more than he was. It would of been a war. Technically we would have been well-matched, so our pure grit would have started to come into play. I believe we both had powerful wills, so I feel that fight would have ended up running on pure instinct. That can be an exceptionally violent occurrence. Interestingly, I was told that Roy Jones was rumoured to have said that the only fighter he had reservations about facing was me. I dont remember any of my critics saying much about that.


One figher I was relieved never to see at No. 1 contender rank was the skilful Herrol Graham. I made it quite clear at the time what I thought of his gift. That fight would never have happened unless he was No. 1 contender, in which case I couldn't dodge. McCallum and Nunn were quality fighters but not like Herrol Graham. You couldn't hit him - he was so evasive, they said in the business, 'you couldn't hit him with a handful of stones.' That was true, he was a grandmaster.

I did say I would not fight in New York. You see, having learned to fight over there, I knew the hunger of the New Yorkers. They were a peculiar type of beast, very hard, relentless fighters who swear by the 'kill or be killed' mentality. Plus, by living in England, I openly admitted to enjoying being a big fish in a small pond. America is a vast pond, with some very dangerous, large fish in there! I needed to make money and there were fighters in New York who were not No. 1 contenders but were very risky to take on. I don't remember actually being offered a fight in New York. If Barry had come to me with the No. 1 contender in New York, I could not have dodged. Ultimately, I would have become accepting of it. But it would have been a very rough and tough night's work.

So, the ultimate measure of a fighter is not dodging. If you do, you lose your standing, your respect, your honour. Don't dodge the No. 1 contender.

Julian Jackson didnt find Herol very elusive lol... and given what we know of how sanctioning bodies work, Ive no time for the excuse that 'he wasnt my no1 challenger' therefore I didnt fight him.... but i didnt dodge him....

what a load of tosh

I found this quite interesting and seem to have read it in a very different way to everyone else here. He's commenting on Calzaghe's career in relation to the comments that the Calzaghe camp have made; he does not compare Calzaghe's achievements with his own (he mentions in both the article and his book extract the respect he had for RJJ and that they didn't fight because they didn't have to and that he accepts he'd have had his arse handed to him if they had have fought).

It seems to me that Eubank is frustrated by Calzaghe more than anything - he was a young champion with the world at his feet, but for 10 years he has talked a good game, without chasing after the things that would back up his own claims.

To me it looks like Eubank has just been asked a load of questions, like why did he 'duck' certain fighters, and then just asked about Joe Calzaghe and other things and only some of the quotes been printed (to make it look like he's 'lashing out' at Calzaghe).

He's more defending himself about the 'number one contender' shit.

101boxing wrote:


joe is a quality fighter and will prove that against kessler. he has dismantled everything put in front of him, and although there have been some duds in there, he has beaten some quality opposition.......

So has Kessler,he has also beaten everything put in front of him