Eubank Slates Warren, Hails Hopkins

[coghaugen11]

In a recent foreign radio conversation, he says about Warren, "allegedly made me travel from Brighton to London every day for two weeks - dodging the train fare each time - and he was never in his office. It lacked professionalism."

And Hopkins he chooses as the best pound for pound fighter in the world, saying, "He's had great success against world champions in his last four fights I believe - boxing abit, fighting abit, punching abit. I'm not even taking into account his age, which is only a number."

LINK

[Greg Nicholas]

Chris seems a little silently bitter towards the praise Calzaghe gets these days.. i.m.o..

[EddieShredder]

He might have a point with Hopkins mind, if Hopkins had got the decision against Calzaghe (not entirely unrealistic ) his last 4 fights (wins) would be;

Pavlik
Calzaghe
Winky
Tarver

Thats as good a form as anyone else at the moment...

Didn't get the decision though, so irrelevant I guess...

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

He might have a point with Hopkins mind, if Hopkins had got the decision against Calzaghe (not entirely unrealistic ) his last 4 fights (wins) would be;

Pavlik
Calzaghe
Winky
Tarver

Thats as good a form as anyone else at the moment...

Didn't get the decision though, so irrelevant I guess...

I had BHOPs winning plus Pacquaio shouldn't really have got the decision against Marquez. If BHOPs was a LW he'd surely school Pacquaio - thats the original meaning of P4P, the term was originally made to say 'If Robinson was a HW he'd beat everyone', I reckon Dawson may have too much youth for Hops though

Eubanks is doing his usual blowing his own trumpet job in the interview, have to forgive him as hes entertaining as ever though

[THEBUTCH]

it's boxers like Eubank and Hopkins that turn fans away from the sport. Eubank, set the blue print for shitty world title challengers and Hopkins for the most god awful viewing.

Only one true Light heavy amongst that last 4....Tarver, who blows hot and cold. Winky and Pavlik out of their divisions and Calzaghe beat Hopkins.

[whiskey]

I had BHOPs winning plus Pacquaio shouldn't really have got the decision against Marquez. If BHOPs was a LW he'd surely school Pacquaio - thats the original meaning of P4P, the term was originally made to say 'If Robinson was a HW he'd beat everyone', I reckon Dawson may have too much youth for Hops though

Eubanks is doing his usual blowing his own trumpet job in the interview, have to forgive him as hes entertaining as ever though

I agree with all that 8)

[Autobarn]

He might have a point with Hopkins mind, if Hopkins had got the decision against Calzaghe (not entirely unrealistic ) his last 4 fights (wins) would be;

Pavlik
Calzaghe
Winky
Tarver

Thats as good a form as anyone else at the moment...

Didn't get the decision though, so irrelevant I guess...

I had BHOPs winning plus Pacquaio shouldn't really have got the decision against Marquez. If BHOPs was a LW he'd surely school Pacquaio - thats the original meaning of P4P, the term was originally made to say 'If Robinson was a HW he'd beat everyone', I reckon Dawson may have too much youth for Hops though

Eubanks is doing his usual blowing his own trumpet job in the interview, have to forgive him as hes entertaining as ever though

On the night I had Hopkins winning, probably cos I was so disappointed in the fight itself. On further viewings, I have Joe just outworking him. Hopkins landing beautiful single shots, but taking too long between shots, and just getting mugged out of it. Joe showing a bizarre awkward intelligence to score those lead left crosses. Hopkins was so defensive you'd think it was Tommy Hearns or Julian Jackson throwing at him, not Slapper Joe! I think that was a terrible fight to take for the US debut though it ended up working out & the gain was there i.e. Ring Mag title. I would have had Joe go to America for previous fights instead of milking the titles vs Manfredo and Bika.

Pac-Marquez was so close though wasn't it? In Britain we usually like the fine boxer and in America - where the fight took place, where all the money comes from - like like the wild attacking fighter. I like Marquez as the winner for both those fights though, as he combines boxing and fighting like few others.

[Autobarn]

He might have a point with Hopkins mind, if Hopkins had got the decision against Calzaghe (not entirely unrealistic ) his last 4 fights (wins) would be;

Pavlik
Calzaghe
Winky
Tarver

Thats as good a form as anyone else at the moment...

Didn't get the decision though, so irrelevant I guess...

But the Winky fight was dreadful. Honestly, that was not boxing, rds 2-11. It was 2 guys hugging and leaning on each other. Hopkings won the 1st and 12th easily enough though. Hopkins is remarkably still a top 10 p4p'er, however 3 of those 4 you name came up in weight and 3 of those 4 looked soft and not settled at the weight (light heavy or catchweight).

Darchinyan's on a great run (Arce, Mijares, Kirilov), JM Marquez on a great run (Casa, narrow loss to Pac, Barrera, Juarez), Vazquez on a great run (2-1 v R Marquez, wins over Jhonny Gonzalez, Ivan Hernandez, Oscar Larios), Pac's on a great run (DLH, D Diaz, Marquez, Barrera, a little break wth Solis, Morales, Larios, Morales, a break vs Velazquez, Morales...)

[banjo]

I refuse to accept the Winky fight as a top win for Hopkins, Winky was way above his natural fighting weight in that fight.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

I refuse to accept the Winky fight as a top win for Hopkins, Winky was way above his natural fighting weight in that fight.

Winky was huge at 154, couldn't make weight anymore and was a good sized MW who deserved the decision over BHOPs 'conqueror' Taylor. BHOPs spent his career at MW and they fought at a catchweight, Winky was also favourate and P4P top3. Ideally the fight would have been a 160lb defense pre-Taylor but at least it happened and BHOPS has fought EVERYONE OF NOTE from 154-175, which most can't say

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

He might have a point with Hopkins mind, if Hopkins had got the decision against Calzaghe (not entirely unrealistic ) his last 4 fights (wins) would be;

Pavlik
Calzaghe
Winky
Tarver

Thats as good a form as anyone else at the moment...

Didn't get the decision though, so irrelevant I guess...

I had BHOPs winning plus Pacquaio shouldn't really have got the decision against Marquez. If BHOPs was a LW he'd surely school Pacquaio - thats the original meaning of P4P, the term was originally made to say 'If Robinson was a HW he'd beat everyone', I reckon Dawson may have too much youth for Hops though

Eubanks is doing his usual blowing his own trumpet job in the interview, have to forgive him as hes entertaining as ever though

On the night I had Hopkins winning, probably cos I was so disappointed in the fight itself. On further viewings, I have Joe just outworking him. Hopkins landing beautiful single shots, but taking too long between shots, and just getting mugged out of it. Joe showing a bizarre awkward intelligence to score those lead left crosses. Hopkins was so defensive you'd think it was Tommy Hearns or Julian Jackson throwing at him, not Slapper Joe! I think that was a terrible fight to take for the US debut though it ended up working out & the gain was there i.e. Ring Mag title. I would have had Joe go to America for previous fights instead of milking the titles vs Manfredo and Bika.

Pac-Marquez was so close though wasn't it? In Britain we usually like the fine boxer and in America - where the fight took place, where all the money comes from - like like the wild attacking fighter. I like Marquez as the winner for both those fights though, as he combines boxing and fighting like few others.

Actually I was happy Pac won but had Marquez a point up at the end, thought Pac did more damage but Marquez bagged more rounds

Watched Joe-Hops 3 times and had Hops winning each time, the punches were just so much more effective fro BH where JC scuffed, missed, hit gloves.

Even if you have BHOPs losing, so what, Marquez lost to Chris John, Pacman, Norwood and I had him losing to MAB. Pacman probably should have lost 1 or 2 to JMM, another to an old Morales. Hell maybe Chris John should be P4P no1

[banjo]

I watched Hopkins v Calzaghe twice scored it once to Hopkins, once to Calzaghe and rather than put myself through the misery of watching one of the worst "world" title fights in my living memory for a third time I'm saying it was a draw.

[coghaugen11]

Got this copied / pasted from livefight forum.

Some quotes from Dubai Eyre Radio


On what boxing meant to him-

"I flew to New York in November 1982 when on police bail, having been homeless and with many vices. I beat Nigel Benn in November 1990 for the world championship and had the world at my feet.
"Boxing is what I used."





On his opposition-

"After three fights and three years total boxing I beat one of the toughest fighters in the world, who broke one of my ribs in the 1st round. After just 11 fights I fought and beat Anthony Logan, who was world-ranked and had been inches from beating Nigel Benn - who had 20 fights and 20 knockouts. I landed more punches on Randy Smith than (Michael) Nunn or (Mike) McCallum, two of the world's pound-for-pound best fighters. I was 22.



"I fought and beat Michael Watson at his best; I then fought and beat Michael Watson far beyond his best. I got a draw against a great world champion who was truly mixing pre-thought with his power for the first time, which was a potent formula; for the first time I didn't have zonal focus, because I already had that man beat.


"I won back-to-back world championship fights against men with 40 and 45 wins in the space of three months. I beat Graciano Rocchigiani in his backyard, I beat Nigel Benn. There was no other world champion from 1990 to 1995. I dodged no man."


"I was the one who took the fights no other man wanted. Michael Watson, Graciano Rocchigiani, Joe Calzaghe. I took them because I wanted respect."




On why the transatlantic fights didn't happen-

"Bob Arum wouldn't let me fight his fighters because he said I had too much of an awkward style. That's on record."


"Michael Nunn referred to me as 'poison' on two occasions when asked about fighting me, in May 1990 and April 1993. Roy Jones told me in person in about 2001 that I was the one fighter he feared fighting."




On his chances against Roy Jones Jr-

"If I fought him twice, 85% I would have beaten him. But my long-term, or even short-term health might have been greatly affected in the process."




On changing trainer prior to his rematch draw with Nigel Benn:

"I just changed trainer, back to my old New York trainer Maximo Pierret. Since Benn I (first fight with Nigel Benn), I'd settled into a comfort zone that consisted of staying out of range and leaning in with punches, mostly sneak right leads.

"I was naturally a right-hand merchant. I brought Maximo in and he tightened me up. If I threw a right hand off the front foot he'd make me do 50 push-ups.

"He was a proper skillster trainer. His thing was moving in and working inside; doubling or trebling the jab when possible before moving in, and not using the hook without following it with an uppercut and vice versa.

"It probably took me until the following camp to get back into the groove of things properly. The fights where Maximo worked with me in camp right the way through were Benn II, Thompson I, Rocchigiani and Henry Wharton. By far he was the best trainer I had.

"I had wanted to get back to boxing correctly, punching correctly and being referred to as a skilful boxer-puncher."

"Me and Maximo worked on a bob-and-weave to get in under Benn's right hook and get him out, but Benn held his launches for one, two or three seconds longer than he usually would and the launches he didn't hold were the ones I weren't expecting."




On listed trainer Ronnie Davies-

"Ronnie Davies never trained me - I trained him. I would say his job title was supervisor."




On Herol Graham/managerial situation (question response)-

"I put him (Graham) on his back in the 1st round with a right hand - not his backside, his back. That was March 1989. I unemployed Barney (Eastwood) as manager shortly after because it was in front of his eyes and he wouldn't give me what I was worth. Just like beating Anthony Logan was in front of Frank Maloney's eyes and he wouldn't offer me what I was worth.

"Barry Hearn is the one who invested, the chancer. I made him millions."




On his prime rivals-

"I couldn't compete with my rivals - Nigel Benn, Michael Nunn, Gary Stretch. They would routinely hang out at the homes of Hollywood film stars - I'd just go back to Hove to Karron and Christopher."




His best-ever opponent-

"Michael Watson in our second fight, by far and away. He had the pace of a lightweight and the strength of a heavyweight, and 10 rounds in was still coming at me with blistering clusters of four-punch and five-punch combinations, as he had been all night.

"It can be justified he was unbeatable that night. I tapped into the realms of impossibility."




The hardest puncher he faced-

"Nigel Benn, by far and away. His punching power was beyond human imagination."




His best performances-

"Watson II, Thompson II and Rocchigiani."




On the current best pound-for-pound fighter in the world-

"Bernard Hopkins. He's had great success against world champions in his last four fights I believe - boxing abit, fighting abit, punching abit.

"I'm not even taking into account his age, which is only a number."




More on his opposition/legacy-

"What I say is, I say Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson - these men didn't have McCallum and Nunn, Roy Jones and James Toney or the awesome Gerald McClellan to contend with or collect the other belts from. That's what I say.

"But these men are rightly considered the greats of the sport, if you can call it a sport."




There were also very lengthy responses about his disdain for promoters and after-effects of his tragic fight with Michael Watson. I may post them later. Highly interesting.



Eubank on his disdain for promoters-

"You know what? I just wanted the basics - accomodation, a wage to pay for food and bills, transport to get to the gym. They (the promoters) couldn't even offer me that. It was pathetic.

"The first thing Mickey Duff said to me when I went to see him was 'go and get a job!' He called me the day before he tried signing me over fish and chips and had a fight for me at Wembley that day, so I jumped on the train, jumped on the scales and saw my opponent was a cruiserweight!

"If I lost that fight - and I nearly did - my career was in tatters. Not just my career, (but) my life. I'd put everything into boxing.

"Then allegedly made me travel from Brighton to London every day for two weeks - dodging the train fare each time - and he was never in his office. It lacked professionalism.

"I'm sure there are fighters out there now who have talent, (and) maybe even dedication, but are not managed or promoted correctly - if at all. My brothers (Peter and Simon Eubanks) had as much talent as me. When my brothers stopped taking fights they didn't have two pennies to rub together.

"I broke the mould. I employed the promoters. I made it on ones own terms."

"When our manager Adonis Torres suffered a stroke, most of the fighters at my Bronx gym in the 80s changed gyms but I couldn't afford taxi fares. I worked as caretaker at that gym because I couldn't afford the gym fees. Yet the gym owner was physically poorly so I couldn't get fights on cards for money.

"When I moved to Brighton from New York in January 1988, it was a year and a half of turmoil in bedsits and single rooms, working at Debenhams and Wimpy to make ends meet while in full-time training.

"It was one big struggle until I met Barry Hearn."


Eubank on his lack/loss of killer instinct-

"Why I didn't 'go in for the kill' as you say, after Watson II, right? That case was, in accordance with that, I was winning these fights - Michael was winning our fight. Michael went in. Michael got hurt.

"My sublimal confidence evaporated outside of the boxing world, in my personal life, with a very unfortunate road accident [reference to the vehicle Eubank was maneuvering causing the death of a roadworker]. No longer did I believe I was invincible after the 8th of February 1992.

"Michael was superior to me that night we fought. I was superior on the night to the vast majority of my opponents in my final 22 fights.

"There was mental scarring from, in accordance with what happened to Michael. But I couldn't 'go in' with absolute conviction again knowing I wasn't invincible. OK?

"That aura of invincibility was left on the roadside. That's what prevented me stopping opponents, not necessarily what is generally considered.

"What you have to understand is: I knew the risks of boxing. I was prepared to surrender my life in the four-cornered circle. I knew I could hit with two tons.

"You hit not with intent but with objective, your opponent is an object or an obstacle or you won't hit him. That's the life we chose.

"Driving a car, you stop at the traffic lights and zebra crossings."








What do we think about him rating Hopkins over Pac-man ??

[Greg Nicholas]

He does tend to exaggerate.. 'tapped into the realms of impossibility'

[THEBUTCH]

Dodged no one ? Utter crap!

[Autobarn]

I finally got a clean copy of John-Marquez and I can see the controversy. Marquez just did far too much. John scoring classy cameos but not enough. It wasn't even a properly prepared or sharp Marquez. He didn't have proper training facilities, I don't think he'd got to Indonesia in good time, the whole card was nearly scrapped due to lack of money...JMM would stop John in America.

Also had JMM edging Norwood, but JMM was disappointing considering it was his 1st world title and how long he'd been waiting. As Abrams said, it was hard to see the fuss about JMM at that time.

MAB fight, to me, was where JMM finally got it right. The right amount of boxing, the right amount of aggression. Just a bit sharper and more intense. MAB lost himself 2 pts by hitting JMM when down in that classic 7th round.

Though I have Joe beating Hopkins, I am glad not everyone's unanimous on it because it wasn't great and it didn't lead to anything particularly interesting. It stops many of us from saying, "You know what, we've just witnessed one of the best careers ever..." While Joe had beaten good fighters (Lacy, Kessler), Hopkins was his 1st p4per and though he got the nod, he just went and cashed out for the easy money (wise career move but hardly a legendary thing to do) v RJJ.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

I finally got a clean copy of John-Marquez and I can see the controversy. Marquez just did far too much. John scoring classy cameos but not enough. It wasn't even a properly prepared or sharp Marquez. He didn't have proper training facilities, I don't think he'd got to Indonesia in good time, the whole card was nearly scrapped due to lack of money...JMM would stop John in America.

Also had JMM edging Norwood, but JMM was disappointing considering it was his 1st world title and how long he'd been waiting. As Abrams said, it was hard to see the fuss about JMM at that time.

MAB fight, to me, was where JMM finally got it right. The right amount of boxing, the right amount of aggression. Just a bit sharper and more intense. MAB lost himself 2 pts by hitting JMM when down in that classic 7th round.

Though I have Joe beating Hopkins, I am glad not everyone's unanimous on it because it wasn't great and it didn't lead to anything particularly interesting. It stops many of us from saying, "You know what, we've just witnessed one of the best careers ever..." While Joe had beaten good fighters (Lacy, Kessler), Hopkins was his 1st p4per and though he got the nod, he just went and cashed out for the easy money (wise career move but hardly a legendary thing to do) v RJJ.

I haven't seen it but most people who saw the fight gave it to John. Marquez can make all the excuses he wants. Only saw highlights of Marquez-Norwood, but remember Norwood put Marquez down and rolled allot of the shots. As for the Barrera fight, Marquez was hitting gloves all night or missing, while Barrera scored those flush shots and should have got the win, scorecords agreed and signed days before the event. I think Marquez is good at what hes good at but is flattered by Paquaio rather than been great in his own right

I would have wanted JC-BH 2, despite most not liking the first I think it needed a score settling, think BH is more offensive in the rematch too

[Autobarn]

Marquez-Norwood was controversial. I think Cortez made some kind of bad call, whether it was a point deduction for a minor infraction, or a knockdown call that wasn't a knockdown. It doesn't matter anyway, as Marquez got a lot better.

Check out the John fight. I don't think there are any excuses. John boxed well but was pretty comprehensively outworked by an off form Marquez. When I got my clear copy of the fight, I gave John every benefit of the doubt, and it was impossible to see his win.

Marquez was drilling Barrera with big shots. I don't see that he was missing all night. Barrera was very fluid and relaxed but not quite matching the pace. MAB's last stand, the last big thing he did in his entire career in fact, was the KD, and then he cheated by hitting JMM on the floor - and still JMM outlasted him! Marquez is definitely a great in his own right. That rematch with Pac was the highest level 2 way stuff of recent times (IMO), an epic, regardless of who got the nod. Add to that a stoppage of Casamayor, world titles at 3 weights, lots of convincing wins over good fighters (Polo, Jaca, Jandaeng, Juarez, Medina, Gainer, Peden) and it's hard to argue against him being one of the very best. He definitely bloomed late and has been brilliant, better than ever since the "loss" to John, and is going into another dangerous fight, Juan Diaz, very soon. You can't ask for much more than that.