Christopher Livingstone Eubanks (born
August 8, 1966), known as Chris Eubank, is a British former professional
boxer. He held the WBO middleweight and super middleweight titles,
scoring victories over six world champions in a career that spanned
thirteen years, and is ranked by BoxRec as the third best British
super middleweight boxer of all time. A slick, awkward and unorthodox
fighter, Eubank had natural athleticism, coupling speed and one-punch
knockout power used together with ease.
He was a world champion
for over five years, undefeated in his first ten years as a professional,
and remained undefeated at middleweight. His world title contests
against fellow Britons Nigel Benn and Michael Watson helped British
boxing ride a peak of popularity in the 1990s, with Eubank's eccentric
personality making him one of the most recognizable celebrities of
the period.
In his final years of boxing he challenged then-up
and coming contender Joe Calzaghe in a bid to reclaim his WBO super
middleweight title, with a victorious Calzaghe later claiming that
it was the toughest fight of his whole career. Eubank's last two fights
were against WBO junior heavyweight champion Carl Thompson, both of
which were brutal encounters. In the rematch, Eubank was stopped for
the first and only time in his career.
Eubank is credited for
his bravery in the ring, in which he was able to take considerable
amounts of punishment from power punchers en route to his victories
and defeats, and for this he is said to have an iron chin.
Early
life
Christopher Livingstone Eubanks (later opting to remove the 's'
from his surname), one of the sons of Rachel Scollins, was born on
August 8, 1966, in Dulwich, South London, and spent his early days
in Jamaica (from two months old to six years old). On his return to
England, he lived in Stoke Newington, Dalston, Hackney and then Peckham,
in a largely impoverished environment.
He attended Northwold
Primary School in Upper Clapton, Bellingden Junior School, and then
Thomas Calton Secondary School in Peckham, from where he was suspended
eighteen times in one year and then expelled, despite claiming he
was gallantly trying to protect other children from bullies. Some
time was spent at Orchard Lodge Regional Resource Centre, Anerley,
in 1981. When he was 16, his father sent him to New York in the U.S.
to live with his mother in the tough South Bronx district.
Boxing
career
Eubank made a fresh start in New York, battling drug, alcohol
and shoplifting addictions to attend church and school. In his spare
time he trained at the Jerome Boxing Club on Westchester Avenue, following
in the footsteps of his boxing elder brothers (twins, Peter and Simon
Eubanks) back in England. Eubank became obsessed with boxing training
and went to the gym every day, even working as caretaker to pay his
way. He won the 1984 Spanish Golden Gloves Tournament and also got
to the semi final stage of the main Golden Gloves tourney at Madison
Square Garden at age 18.
He writes in his autobiography that
his drive to succeed in boxing came through his drive to become an
accepted individual, largely caused by subjective bullying from his
elder brothers.
He made his professional debut at the Atlantis
Hotel and Casino against Tim Brown, shortly after his 19th birthday.
although his next 10 fights went largely unnoticed, then in February
1989 he made brief headlines in defeating Jamaican Anthony Logan in
an undercard match to a Nigel Benn headlined show. Benn was arguably
the biggest rising star in European sport at the time and Logan had
come closest to beating the power punching Benn in what was Benn's
most memorable clash to date. Eubank had already made Brighton in
England his adopted hometown and set his sights on Benn, believing
he could beat him.
