Chris Eubank lost to only three men, but one of them won their fight before he ever stepped into the ring.
Chris Eubank has an impressive resume of 45-5, but despite having five losses, has only been beaten by three men.
Eubank’s first loss came at the hands of Steve Collins, who he fought twice, losing on both occasions. Two fights later, Eubank found himself in a string of three losses, first to Joe Calzaghe, and then twice to Carl Thompson way up in the cruiserweight division.
Only one of these losses was by stoppage, and each fight was razor-close aside from the Calzaghe one, though in a recent YouTube video, Eubank has revealed that one of these men beat him not with his fists, but with his words.
Chris Eubank reveals the insult that caused his world title loss to Steve Collins
On his channel, Call Chris Eubank, the legendary Brit took the following question from a fan:
“What was it like facing the likes of Nigel Benn and Steve Collins and do you ever have the fear of being hurt?”
Eubank responded that he was terrified to fight Benn, but that Collins posed a different kind of fear:
“I didn’t have any fear of getting hurt, I had fear I was going to be fighting someone who wouldn’t feel my punches.”
Eubank pleaded with the audience not to laugh as he explained why he felt this way about Collins:
“Don’t laugh at this, but it was said that when he thinks about me talking, he’s going to think about Donald Duck. As funny as that may seem to you, it got into my head. Apparently, every punch I would hit him with, he wouldn’t feel any pain, because he was under some kind of trance. This was my interpretation.”
He concluded: “Because I wasn’t prepared for what he said to me, which [made him seem like] this untouchable, impregnable [fighter], I wasn’t ready for that. As ridiculous as it may sound to you, it’s what spooked me.”
Eubank, who now serves in a Lousiana police department, lost to Collins in 1995 in a close unanimous decision for his world title and lost again on a split decision in later that year.
Chris Eubank scolds ‘ill-advised’ Conor Benn over inactivity
On the same show, Eubank was also asked about the benefits of staying active as a boxer. In his response, Eubank took the opportunity to scold his son’s future rival, Conor Benn:
“[Activity] helped me, because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. […] I’m going to go specifically to Conor Benn. If you’ve had three fights in three years, someone has ill-advised you.”
He continued: “I was fighting on average five times a year as world champion.”
Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn are set to fight in a huge domestic clash continuing the legacy of their fathers on April 26th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Eubank Sr is not involved in the fight promotion due to not agreeing with the fight on account of the weight discrepancy. Eubank Jr’s rival, Billy Joe Saunders, claims Eubank Sr’s absence is actually due to a fight between him and his son.
Eddie Hearn has bet £1M on his man, Conor Benn, to beat Ben Shalom’s fighter, Eubank Jr.