Chris Eubank

Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998.

Eubank, was born on 8 August 1966, in Dulwich, South London, to Rachel Scollins.

From when he was two months old until the age of six, he was raised in Jamaica.

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, Bellenden Junior School, and then Thomas Calton Secondary School in Peckham, from where he was suspended 18 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.

Eubank made a fresh start in New York, where he trained at the Jerome Boxing Club on Westchester Avenue, following in the footsteps of his elder brothers (twins, Peter and Simon Eubank) back in England.

Eubank became obsessed with boxing training and went to the gym every day, 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 aged 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.

Although his next 10 fights went largely unnoticed, in February 1989 he made brief headlines in defeating Jamaican Anthony Logan in an undercard match to a Nigel Benn-headliner.

Benn was a rising star at the time and Logan had come close to beating him.

Eubank now made Brighton in England his adopted hometown and set his sights on Benn, believing he could beat him.

He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the third best British super-middleweight boxer of all time.

He reigned as world champion for over five years, was 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 recognisable celebrities of the period.

In his final two 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 a "granite" chin.

His son, Chris Eubank Jr.., is also a professional boxer.

After a string of stoppage victories following a dominant 10-round decision over American gatekeeper/journeyman Randy Smith, Eubank captured the WBC International title in 1990 against Hugo Corti.

Later in the year, he knocked out Renaldo Dos Santos in precisely 20 seconds (including the 10-count).

Eubank won the WBO middleweight title against Nigel Benn (and the odds) in a classic encounter that was later released on DVD: a gruelling battle which ended when Benn (ahead on points, but only narrowly) was stopped on his feet near the end of round 9.

Eubank would defend the title successfully against Dan Sherry (in a fight cut short by a headbutt, for which Eubank was penalised 2 points but still won on points over the 9 completed rounds), fellow Briton Gary Stretch and fellow Briton, Michael Watson, fighting him to a narrow 12-round majority decision in Eubank's favour.

This concluded Eubank's career as a middleweight, with a 28–0 record.

A rematch with Watson for the vacant WBO super-middleweight title took place in September 1991, in which Watson suffered a near-fatal injury.

Eubank was behind on all scorecards after 10 rounds, and was knocked down 18 seconds from the end of the round.

He rose from the canvas (being given only a standing four-count instead of eight) to unleash a devastating uppercut to Watson's jaw right at the end of the round, knocking Watson's head and neck backwards into the ring ropes.

The bell sounded to end the round as soon as Watson was up from the count.

It was still obvious to all observers – and to Eubank himself – that he needed a knockout to win: and early in the 12th, with Watson still visibly shaken, the fight was stopped with Watson under a flurry of punches from Eubank.

Soon after the fight Watson collapsed in his corner.

His condition may have been worsened by delay in receiving medical attention: there was no ambulance or paramedic at the event and after eight minutes on the ring floor, Watson was attended by doctors wearing dinner jackets, arriving late.

Following the fight, Eubank contemplated quitting the sport.

Commentator Reg Gutteridge said, in the moment, he had, "never seen a more dramatic end to a world title fight".

Eubank later reflected on the aftermath: "I lost my finishing instinct in the ring – I couldn't finish fights any more. However, I needed to work and so I carried on and I won most of my fights on decisions. And I blamed myself, after all, it was me who threw the punch."

Eubank was particularly noted for his confidence, concentration, composure, and extravagant behaviour, and antics that included a vault over the top-rope into the ring before each fight.

His trademark theme tune was Tina Turner's "Simply the Best".

He made his professional debut at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino against Tim Brown, shortly after his 19th birthday.