CHRIS EUBANK w rsf 12 MICHAEL WATSON
September 21, 1991; White Hart Lane, London
WHAT happened to Michael Watson in the aftermath makes it terribly difficult to champion this gruelling battle. But the rematch between Chris Eubank and Watson provided breath-taking drama and underlined for future generations what is at stake every time two boxers enter the ring. Perhaps that’s why this unforgettable war deserves its place among the most important to ever take place on British soil. Watson, convinced he should have beaten his nemesis three months before only to be adjudged the loser, boxed the fight of his life before clinging desperately to it as brain trauma changed him forever. In the same way that this bout is so hard to talk about, the phenomenal performance of Eubank is often overlooked. If ever anyone doubts what a tremendous fighter he was need only look again at this.
DID YOU KNOW? Talking to Boxing News in 2014, Eubank’s trainer Ronnie Davies reflected: “To this day we have never spoke about it. We never talk about it. After that, he was scared about putting himself through it all again – if he got an opponent into trouble he wanted the referee to stop it, he didn’t want to have to do it himself.”
WATCH OUT FOR: The skill and courage, the drama and tragedy; a lesson to all about the best and worst of our sport.
