Tag: Chris Eubank

Smith looks to dominate Eubank again

Article first published at gambling.com

Liverpool’s Liam Smith is seeking to confirm his superiority over Chris Eubank Jnr. this weekend at the Manchester Arena in a clash between two veterans in the Middleweight division. It will be a rematch of their fiery contest earlier this year in which Smith upset the odds to break Eubank down and stop the 33-year-old in the 4th round.

Bookmakers view their prospects differently in light of the surprise outcome and Smith, the former WBO Light-Middleweight belt holder, is now a 4/6 favourite to win again and Eubank 7/5 to reverse the result.

Continue reading “Smith looks to dominate Eubank again” →
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Eubank, nostalgia and the glow of the past

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

To each their own. Every generation venerates a new clutch of heroes. My grandfather was born in the era of Jack Dempsey, marvelled at Joe Louis and was a contemporary of fellow Doncastrian Bruce Woodcock, who could fight a bit. His voice whispered through the pages of the books I inherited on his passing in 1984 too, Ali was the best of them all the collection suggested. He was gone before Iron Mike tore through the late 80s and before the seeds of love for the sport he planted blossomed into interest.

For children of the 70s like me, it was all about Tyson; inescapable, unique, intoxicating. But he was also out of reach. Seen through the prism of highlights and delayed screenings. Domestically, it was Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, with a fleeting dose of McGuigan, and a sprinkling of Big Frank.

Continue reading “Eubank, nostalgia and the glow of the past” →
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Benn, Bruno and Nicky Booth, and the lost boys of 2001

Back in 2001, British boxing had meandered into a strange, uncharted hinterland. An odyssey of greed and short-termism in the preceding five years reducing it to a role in the margins, a sporting outcast. Neglected, eroded and far removed from the roaring crowds of the preceding decades. The resurgence of stadium fights had faded to black, dissolving in to the night like the thousands who shuffled, stumbled and strode from the crumbling castles of Wembley and Loftus Road.

Images still lingered in the collective memory. Plumes of warm breath and cigarette smoke drifting on the midnight breeze, the last slurred rendition of ‘Bruno, Bruno’ absorbed by the rattle of taxis and tube trains beneath. In the crowd’s wake, plastic glasses and torn betting slips, the debris of a night, were swept from the aisles. The headaches and penitence of a thousand tomorrows still to unfold for the departing revellers and the fighters they came to see.

Continue reading “Benn, Bruno and Nicky Booth, and the lost boys of 2001” →
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Benn faces a nightmare in pursuit of an ill-advised dream

Sakio Bika

I wrote about Sakio Bika once. He’s the type of prize fighter you perhaps only write about once. Which is not to say he isn’t a boxer of note, or a person of depth and interest, the former Super-Middleweight belt holder has performed at world level for much of his professional career after all.

However, the challenge of defining his fighting style, to fall on the closest cliché boxing has to offer regarding awkward opponents, is hard to look good against.

The news this week that Nigel Benn had convinced himself he can recapture a significant proportion of the fighter he once was brought only one happy thought to mind. I now have a go to phrase to describe Sakio Bika that conveys some of what made him difficult for men as talented as Joe Calzaghe, Markus Beyer and Anthony Dirrell to overcome in their prime. It isn’t catchy, but it gets the job done.

If you’re 55 and planning a return to boxing having not fought in 23 years, the last person you want to fight is Sakio Bika.

Thank you Nigel. Continue reading “Benn faces a nightmare in pursuit of an ill-advised dream” →

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Eubank Junior succeeds and stays in the game

As Jimmy Lennon Junior’s voice filled the night air; his familiar timbre validating the announcement for British and American observers, an expression of relief stretched across the face of Chris Eubank Junior. It proved contagious.

It afforded the famous father’s son, albeit fleetingly, a moment of joy he could not contain and a connection with his audience. One he too often keeps at the end of a persona that is either inherited or derived from the one his father adopted as the antithesis of those he pursued.

Lifted high in to the air by Chris Eubank Senior, a man of increasingly indiscernible age but ever more telling and pointed insight, Eubank Junior soon returned to his customary brooding demeanour.

He would be wise to permit such of the good will extended to his father, and vicariously, to him to permeate his outlook. It may be difference when those fights in the future are closer than this proved to be. Continue reading “Eubank Junior succeeds and stays in the game” →

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DeGale surely too wise for Eubank

Article first appeared at Freebets.net

No title. No eliminator status. The James DeGale versus Chris Eubank Junior fight this weekend is a novelty in the modern boxing era. A contest baked on the purest ingredients of style, reputation and personality.

The bout’s appeal is improved by the salty accoutrement of their long running online spat. Exchanges that took the dislike forged in their conflicting recollections of a six round spar they shared and turned it into a grudge. And grudges sell. Continue reading “DeGale surely too wise for Eubank” →

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Ohara Davies and the part that can’t be played.

‘All the world’s a stage.’

William Shakespeare, As You Like It

It is received wisdom that a first impression takes just seconds to draw and, more often than not, time only confirms it’s accuracy. Fighters, who must exist in a world where self-belief is paramount, can often exude, or wear like a cloak, an exaggerated confidence. It projects a barrier of protection and is intended to unnerve the opponent. A virtual stand off, a falsehood before the actuality of the physical contest.

The manner or tone of this adopted persona is crucial, not only for its authenticity but also because of its impact on the profile of the fighter, their ability to generate interest and, from that essential metric, their prospects of upward trajectory. If one of the biggest sporting businesses in the world, Manchester United PLC, can sign players based on their Instagram following, it isn’t hard to understand the correlation between opportunity and popularity.

One fighter who has chosen the most precarious version of this script; to gamble on the longer odds of creating dislike and contempt to motivate people to watch him fight, is Ohara Davies. Continue reading “Ohara Davies and the part that can’t be played.” →

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Waning Groves succumbs to Smith

George Groves’s journey from l’infant terrible to veteran former champion, as he now is, has taken almost a decade and just a baker’s dozen or two of Saturday nights and no little heartache. As he was bludgeoned to the canvas by Callum Smith last Friday night in the seventh round of their Super Middleweight world title fight, it was impossible not conclude that his career was at an end.

An articulate, thoughtful man who has earned lucratively from his ability to box and promote, it was hard to fathom from whom or where any redemption or source of motivation could be summoned. This jars with the loathing we all have for those who write off fighters as a spent force, or spoiled goods, when they encounter defeat I concede, but more experienced viewers also develop a sense for when a fighter’s appetite for battle has gone. Continue reading “Waning Groves succumbs to Smith” →

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Groves distinguishes himself, and boxing, from the vanity of hype

Twenty out of thirty fight figures in Boxing Monthly thought Eubank would beat George Groves on Saturday night, of the dozen regular writers at Boxing News half drew a similar conclusion and Buncey went for Eubank too. I’ve leaned heavily on those opinions this morning as I wrestled with how close I came to joining them. At the last possible moment, as I watched Gabriel and Michelle interview the two protagonists, my instinct flipped from the hipster pick, Eubank being too quick, too fit and the growing irresistibility of his ‘from the shadow of his father’ narrative to the more obvious, that Groves was simply too big, too clever and hit too hard not to win. And back again.

In the end, at the death as it were, I opted for Groves, just. His presumed method of victory; stay outside, control distance and the pace of the fight with his jab, was hard to be confident in such was the appeal of Eubank’s fast hands, knowing glare and Brook Benton baritone. Adam Abramowitz, an American writer I respect, had inserted a doubt worm too, suggesting that Groves’ boxing ability was being overstated and he had a habit of finding failure when success was abundantly available. Continue reading “Groves distinguishes himself, and boxing, from the vanity of hype” →

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Groves v Eubank Jr. date and venue announced; DeGale still the prize

By J.B. Smithers

Such is the nature of the sport of boxing these days that one has to remember to write George Groves’ name first in any discussion or announcement regarding his World Boxing Super Series Semi-Final clash with Chris Eubank Jr. The tournament has been a huge success in terms of the entertainment provided and threatens to restructure much of what we understand the accepted hierarchy of boxing, it’s matchmaking and promotion, to be too.

The momentum behind Eubank Jr., despite a curiously innocuous period prior to his last two fights, one the quarter-final with Yildirim, is growing. Growing to the point, his name frequently appears to the fore, to the left to use boxing parlance, of releases and public rumination about the bout with Groves, who is, for the casuals who have forgotten, the WBA Super-Middleweight champion. This seemingly trivial faux pas speaks loudly about the potential for Chris Eubank Jr. to transcend, standing on the shoulders of his father and the great names he tangled with, to reach a much loftier and lucrative plateau than the one Groves could reach.

In and of itself, when one considers the enormity of Groves’ rematch with Carl Froch, to believe that is even possible is remarkable. Continue reading “Groves v Eubank Jr. date and venue announced; DeGale still the prize” →

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Tyson Fury, treading a fine line with fans

Tyson Fury chasing David Price

Like many who have witnessed his open three engagements, I’ve warmed to Tyson Fury – he seemed confident but sincere, ambitious but eager to learn. Hennessy Sports’ matchmaking has been encouraging and his name, and the story beneath it, help to garner him a disproportionate amount of exposure.

However, like Audley, Amir and Eubank before him it is easy to see his youthful mischief turning into unlikeable arrogance if he’s not careful.

David Price, who debuts this weekend, is inevitably his latest target of his mischief making.

Continue reading “Tyson Fury, treading a fine line with fans” →
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Buncey’s Boxing Hour Fantasy Fights, really?

HamedFirstly, it is important to point out the irrepressible Steve Bunce was fully aware his selection of the best fantasy fights sent in by viewers wouldn’t be unanimously approved and in the subjective nature of these types of theoretical debates, disagreement is inevitable but come on Steve, Ricky Hatton the bull strong 10 stoner versus Prince Naseem the short featherweight? Surely, there is a better, more realistic fight than that for either man.

Continue reading “Buncey’s Boxing Hour Fantasy Fights, really?” →

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Best of Big Fight Live: Michael Watson, the forgotten gem

watsonA rare treat on ITV4 last night, Jim Rosenthal and Barry McGuigan hosted a wander down memory lane. Using footage from ITV’s impressive archives, action from Hagler v Hearns, Mark Kaylor, Benn, Eubank, Tyson and Hamed were inter-spersed with ‘talking head’ contributions from Colin Hart, John Rawling, Duke McKenzie, a very nervous Ron Lewis from the Times and most treasured of all, Reg Gutteridge. I miss Reg’s wisdom on the mic. However, for me, the biggest thrill was being reminded of Michael Watson’s excellence. Continue reading “Best of Big Fight Live: Michael Watson, the forgotten gem” →

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Boxing: Witter Just Wouldn’t Let It Lie

WitterThe on-going PR campaign being waged by Junior Witter’s irrepressible promotional team, Hennessey Sports  is beginning to take on a life of its own. Perpetual and persistent, the endless supply of challenges made to Ricky Hatton is slowly returning the long-overdue Hatton v Witter clash to the top of most boxing fans’ list of must-see engagements.

True, Hatton’s clash with Jose Luis Castillo takes on greater meaning for the intangible ‘legacy’ to which it seems all boxer’s attribute every matchmaking decision of their career – though precious few selections actually the deliver the validation they claim to crave – and for the lucrative American market for whom Junior Witter represents… Continue reading “Boxing: Witter Just Wouldn’t Let It Lie” →

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