Chris Eubank Sr was a notoriously proud man and tough competition, but has admitted he is glad he didn’t have to square off with one of his middleweight peers.
With a professional record of 45 wins, including 23 by KO, Eubank Sr remains a defining figure of 1990s British boxing and one of the most flamboyant characters the sport has known.
He reigned as WBO middleweight champion and then up at super-middleweight king and defended his title an impressive 14 times, while his iconic rivalry with Nigel Benn has been continued a generation later through both men’s fighting sons.
Speaking on Call Chris Eubank, the former world champion explained why he has no regrets about not fighting multi-weight ruler and then-middleweight great James Toney.
“I boxed because I wanted respect from my brothers. I was intelligent, so James Toney, if he came into my purview, if he was a number 1 contender for my title I would then have to fight him. Because he was a champion in his own right he was never a contender.
“I wasn’t going to unify against him because I don’t see how I could beat him. I’m glad that Nigel Benn was my advisory, that he was the one, I’m glad it wasn’t James Toney. I wouldn’t have dodged them but I couldn’t see a way to beat James Toney, you can’t beat guys like that, you just can’t beat them.”
Toney was a first-ballot Hall of Famer who held belts from middleweight to cruiserweight during an illustrious career spanning nearly three decades. He employed the famous shoulder roll defence and was known for elite counterpunching ability that made him of the best of his era.
