Chris Eubank Sr was involved in a golden era of boxing that also included the likes of Joe Calzaghe and Nigel Benn.
It was Benn he beat in 1990 to pick up his first world title, the WBO middleweight belt, and he defended it several times before later moving up a division and drawing in a rematch with Benn, beating the likes of Henry Wharton before losing to Steve Collins and later Calzaghe and Carl Thompson and retiring in 1998.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Eubank picked the best he squared off with and didn’t pick the man most might expect.
“Michael Watson. He had the best blocking ability I’ve seen, and in our second fight kept up the pace of a lightweight with the strength of a cruiserweight for 10 and three-quarter-rounds, which has never been done elsewhere.”
Eubank and Watson were two of Britain’s most talented middleweights but were quite different characters. Eubank was flamboyant and known for his toughness, while Watson was quiet, disciplined and technically brilliant.
Their first fight in 1991 saw Watson challenge Eubank for the WBO middleweight title and lose a majority decision, then their rematch months later for the vacant WBO super middleweight title saw Watson dominate the early rounds.
In the 11th he had Eubank badly hurt and on the verge of a stoppage but Sr landed a huge uppercut that dropped Watson. He got up and came out for the final round but was overwhelmed and the referee stopped the fight.
Watson collapsed shortly after the fight and spent 40 days in a coma and was left with lasting brain damage that led to great reforms in the sport, including mandatory ringside paramedics at every fight.