Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr are two legendary British boxers who were involved in a golden era.
The rivalry between these two men in the early 1990s is still remembered as one of the greatest in the sport.
Together, they brought British boxing to the mainstream, and their contrasting personalities with Benn the warrior and Eubank the showman helped make them household names.
Their first fight in November 1990 for the WBO middleweight title was a classic in which then-champion Benn took on Eubank in Birmingham in a brutal, high-paced battle, but was stopped in the ninth round.
Their rematch in October 1993 was at super-middleweight and ended in a controversial draw. The same era was defined by plenty of great fights with the likes of Michael Watson, Joe Calzaghe and Carl Thompson, while Steve Collins also twice fought and beat Eubank for the WBO super-middleweight title, and twice beat Benn for that belt too.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine’s Best I Ever Faced feature about both men, Collins admitted it was ‘The Dark Destroyer’ who made the biggest impression with his punching.
“Nigel Benn hit the hardest. I don’t even think Benn knew how hard he hit to be honest (laughs). Nigel caught me flush in the first fight and I thought he had broken all of my teeth and this horrible taste filled my mouth. I actually felt sick to my stomach and nobody had ever hit me like that before.”
Collins retired in 1997 as WBO champion with a record of 21 knockouts from 36 wins with just three losses on the cards.
Benn and Eubank were reunited this year in a different capacity – as fathers watching their sons fight. Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr will run it back in November.
