Great British rivals Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank share an opponent they could never get the better of.
From an epic first bout to Eubank and Benn’s Old Trafford meeting, the two former champions have shared some iconic moments with one another.
Although Eubank called out Benn in 2015, ‘Simply the Best’ retired in 1998, with a record of 45-5-2. As for Benn, his professional record was 42-5-1, with his last fight coming in 1996.
Despite the two men having lost just 10 fights between them, four of them have come from the same opponent.
Steve Collins has defeated Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn two times each
Former middleweight and super middleweight champion Steve Collins is the only man to defeat both Eubank and Benn.
Facing ‘Simply the Best’ in 1995 for the first time, Eubank was dropped with a body shot in a shock world title fight loss.
The defeat was the first of Eubank’s career, as he dropped his WBO World Super Middleweight title.
Six months later, Eubank would get an opportunity for revenge on the Irish fighter Collins. However, it was once again not to be for Eubank.
Losing a split decision, Eubank failed to regain his world title, suffering a brace of losses to Collins.
Although Eubank would continue to fight after the two losses, he would not regain a world title. Further losses to Joe Calzaghe and Carl Thompson would mean that Eubank retired without becoming a world champion again.
Nigel Benn’s last two fights were against Steve Collins
Retiring in 1996, the last opponent that Benn would take on was Collins.
Having lost his WBC World Super Middleweight title to Thulani Malinga in March 1996, Benn looked to become world champion again by facing Collins three months later.
Competing for the belt previously held by Eubank, Collins would win via a fourth-round TKO due to injury to retain his WBO World Super Middleweight title.
In November 1996, Benn and Collins would rematch. However, it would have a similar outcome. A sixth-round retirement from Benn would make for a brace of losses against Collins.