BoxRec

Roy Jones at a 1996 press conference:- "Chris gets nothing from me. When I was coming up trying to make a name for myself he wouldnt give me a shot. OH but now hes at the end of his career he thinks he can make some money off Roy?? I dont think so"

International Sport, January 14, 1999

McGuigan believes Collins is silly to climb back in ring with Jones
by Rita O'Reilly
FORMER champion boxer Barry McGuigan yesterday said it was "foolhardy and silly," of Steve Collins to go back into the ring to fight Roy Jones.
Collins accepted that there was "a bit of truth" in claims that he is coming out of retirement to make money to keep up his standard of living, but he said he had always promised he'd don his boxing gloves again if a Roy Jones bout was in the offing.
McGuigan told Joe Duffy on RTE Radio's Liveline yesterday: "I think he's being foolhardy, I think he's silly taking a fight of this magnitude now. I take my hat off to him and I admire his courage...but I think he's being foolish."
Collins has credibility to gain, courage to show and money to pick up from fighting the WBC light-heavyweight champion, McGuigan admitted. But he's also got a lot to lose and he's up against an exceptional fighter, the Sugar Ray Leonard of the nineties.
In his heyday Steve would have had trouble going the distance with Jones.
"He is very quick-handed, very fast on his feet and has great hand-eye co-ordination, he's a banger.
"Boxing is about continuity, it's about keeping going, you can't give up for two years, especially if you're the type of fighter that Steve has always been.
"There's no secrets about Steve's style. He grabs the centre of the ring, he plants his feet in the middle and pitches his toes into the canvas and lets you have it.
"There's no subtleties about his style. He's an aggressive comeatcha type fighter and those are the type of fighters that Roy Jones loves." McGuigan said Jones's fleet footedness and speed meant he likes guys to come at him because then he can display his fabulous hand speed and his power.
"Steve is normally a very wise guy, I just don't think he's being very wise here," he said.
He did not think Collins, who won nine world title fights in a row before his retirement, will be able to recapture his sharpness.
"Each dog has his day. We all have a shelf life," McGuigan, who now works as a commentator for Sky Sports, said.
"This is a dangerous game, let's not forget that. He could get hurt, there's no doubt about that."
McGuigan, who retired at the age of 29, accepted his advice might fall on deaf ears. "He's laughing the whole way to the bank and I'm delighted for him and I hope he earns a fortune in it," he said of his compatriot's decision.
But Steve Collins said he had always said he would come out of retirement if he got the Roy Jones fight. "And why not?" go back into the ring, he asked.
"I believe I still have what it takes to beat Roy Jones," he said, adding that he would not go through any warm-up fights prior to the big bout, likely to take place in April.
And he said he still hasn't finalised the deal on exactly how much he will be paid for the fight : "The Rio Hotel in Las Vegas hope to stage the fight on April 17th, its opening night, but I'm hoping that a promoter over here will bring the fight back to Europe."
Both Sky and ITV have shown an interest in bringing the fight to Britain or Ireland, and Collins said he hoped a deal would be done by the end of the week.
He rejected the question mark over his decision as people being negative.
"What I've heard is a lot of opinions from people who I've not requested opinions from," he told Joe Duffy.
"The only opinion that would make any difference to me either way would be the opinion of my wife," he added.
And Collins accepted there was a little bit of truth in the claim that he is going back into the ring to keep up his standard of living, including the cost of keeping his 11 polo horses.
"Unfortunately, I've got involved in a hobby which is probably more expensive than bird-watching or fishing," he said, but ruled out selling some of his stock.
"If anything, I would like to buy better horses," Collins said.

Collins was shocked into retirement
TRAINER Jimmy Tibbs has revealed that former world champion Steve Collins has been shocked into retirement after he collapsed during a sparring session on Monday.
The 34-year-old Irishman has decided to call it a day after falling face down on the canvas during a work-out with British middleweight champion Howard Eastman at the Lennox Lewis gymnasium in London.
Within minutes of the collapse, Collins, who has not boxed since July 1997, was rushed to hospital where he received tests and a brain scan which have given him the all-clear.
The former world middle and super-middleweight champion was set to return to the ring next month after nearly two years on the sidelines.
But Tibbs said: "When Steve got himself together after they had done the tests and he had been given the all-clear, we all agreed that the best thing for him to do was to stop boxing.
"I was delighted when he told me that he wouldn't be boxing any more. He said that he believed it was a warning for him and he needed that to make him stop boxing.
"He needed something like that to shock him into retirement. He's not skint and it's the right decision. Steve had said at the Press conference for his comeback that he wasn't coming back for the money.
"To see a tough guy like Steve Collins collapsing to the canvas like that was very frightening."
Collins was due to contest a non-title bout on the supporting bill to Joe Calzaghe's WBO super-middleweight defence against Rick Thornberry in Cardiff on June 5.
He had then lined up an autumn clash with the Welshman in an attempt to regain his old world title, with the Celtic Warrior promised a shot at WBC light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones if he won.
It is understood that Collins has returned home to Dublin where it is expected he will formally announce his retirement after a career in which he enjoyed epic victories over the likes of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank.
Eastman's trainer Ronnie Davies said: "I was terrified when I saw Steve falling forward onto the canvas.
"The strange thing is that I didn't see a punch land on Steve. But Howard said that before Steve collapsed he had caught him with a right on the top of the head.
"If there was a punch it couldn't have been that hard because we had told them to take it easy and they were wearing 18-ounce sparring gloves."
Collins won the WBO super-middleweight title in March 1995 by outpointing Eubank. He made seven successful defences, including a repeat victory over Eubank and two against Benn.
Collins' promoters, Sports Network Europe, said he was due to leave hospital yesterday evening. A spokesman yesterday afternoon said: "Steve Collins would like it to be known he is sitting up in bed and will be discharged from hospital later on today."

Greg Nicholas wrote:Collins wanted 5 million from HBO who laughed him off.. when FW offered him a couple of hundred grand to fight unknown JC he laughed that off and went hiding for a while.. then he got the RJ fight on after climbing into the ring after his fight with Richard Frazier in Pensacola and cussing him out, also cussing him out at the post fight presser and RJ said to Lou Dibella do what it takes to get SC in with him.. Collins would get his 5 mill because a Vegas casino agreed to put up the money for its opening night + ITV were bidding big money, but then he set up camp and got KTFO by Howard Eastman in sparring so called it off..

Eubank said on his Talk Radio show in summer 99 that he'd been offered 5 million dollars to fight Jones Jnr in Vegas and turned it down.. he also turned down 4 mill pounds from SKY/Barry H to fight RJ in Wembley Stadium with Naz H-Derrick Gainer on the under..

Crew2 wrote:I THINK EUBANK CAN FIND A WAY TO BEAT JONES AND TONEY, HE MADE OPPONENTS LOOK WORSE THAN THEY WERE DUE TO HIS AWKWARD STYLE AND HAD SO MUCH GOIN FOR HIM, AND WAS LEAGUES BETTER THAN THE LIKES OF A COLLINS OR A BENN BAR WORKRATE/BEING WEIGHT DRAIEND

IF YOU LOOK ATH THE EUBANK WHO FOUGHT WHARTON, THAT EUBANK LOOKS UNBEATABLE ALBEIT AGAINST A ONE DIMENSION OPPONENT, HE THREW PUNCHES FOR THE WHOLE 12 ROUNDS AT HANK WHARTON WITH MIND BLOWING ACCURACY ND SHARPNESS, EVERY SHOT OF THE BOOK, SLOW MO COULDNT DETETC HIS JAB ( WHICH LEFT HANKS EYE LIKE A BLACK BALOON AFTER 2 ROUNDS ) AND FLURRIES OF COMBINATONS THAT LOOKED UNSTOPPABLE. PEOPLE FORGET THAT PEOPLE WERE SAYING JONES V EUBANK AFTER THAT WOULD OF BEEN 50-50 BEAUTIFUL

BAR THAT EUBANK WAS ALWAYS JUST OUT OF DISTANCE AND THE REGULAR EUBANK JONES WOULD STRUGGLE WITH JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, JONES NEEDS AN OPPONENT IN DISTANCE TO LAND HIS FAST, REFLEXED SHOTS FROM ANY ANGLE. JONES WOULD HAVE TO JUMP IN AND TAKE CHANCES OR HE'D GIVE THE FIGHT AWAUY

TONEY WAS A SHORT DISTANCE FIGHTER AND I THINK EUBANKS JAB WOULD HAVE BEEN A WINNER FOR HIM IN THAT ONE