Toughest world-level fighter you've seen?

[JuicyJuice]

(Joe Grim doesn't count )

Guys like Rocky Marciano, Marvin Hagler, Steve Collins, Wayne McCullough, Jake LaMotta, Tony Zale, Carmen Basilio, Bobby Chacon, Beau Jack, Battling Nelson and Matthew Saad Muhammad spring to mind.

But for me, Chris Eubank may of been the toughest guy. Afterall, the main focus of his training was learning to absorb punches - so he was beaten up pretty much for 15+ years straight! When we think of Eubank we tend to just remember him posturing his way through contests against what were supposedly no-hopers, barely throwing punches, and being a pompous pain in the ass. But I think the man was the ultimate warrior, in terms of technique he did everything wrong but his chin passed the test every single time (and it was tested all the time!), and if you look back at it now he seemed to be quite super-human how he'd keep going back and defending his title almost every six weeks - struggling for his life in the last few days before the weigh-in (with no food or water).

[JuicyJuice]

Eubank says he won an amateur tournament in New York while concussed, he couldn't even remember winning it. He looked back at the handheld video's though. He said he only remembers being hit so hard in his semi-final match that he sensed flickering of white lights, and how it must of been just before his nervous system would be about to seperate itself from his muscles. He had a tough final to get though yet, on concussion mode and at a time when he was so limited in terms of skill that his best hope was all heart!

You later had the Logan fight where he took Logan's best punches and kept fighting back with more, the first Benn fight where he took Benn's best punches and was pissing blood for weeks due to internal damage (and also had a two-inch gash on his tongue, swallowing pints of blood during the fight), the second Watson fight where he took Watson's best punches alnight and came back from the brink of death to produce an uppercut from hell, the Calzaghe fight where he stood in front of Calzaghe and took a battering due to his fractured knee not allowing him to move about, and the Thompson fights two weights up where his eye completely closed both times and he never went down.

That guy was tough. And don't forget that he was pretty much forced to spar four or five times a week when he was in New York for all those years (if he wanted to stay a member of the gym), and that the 'sparring' sessions over there were infact all-out wars (and that Eubank became king of the New York gyms before coming back to England, after incorporating intense stretching into his training and martial arts into his boxing.. and told everybody who would listen when he started taking fights in England that he was a future world champion and prepared to die in the ring trying). Sure, his fighting heart went missing after the Benn 1 and Watson 2 fights but came out again in the end in the Calzaghe, Thompson 1 and Thompson 2 fights. Warrior, and he used to almost kill himself to make weight.

[JuicyJuice]

Also consider Eubank's upbringing and teenage years, he was NOT from the silver spoon society - far from it! He struggled on the streets of Peckham, having to steal food to survive. Then he struggled on the streets of the South Bronx, again often having to steal food to survive. He could of caved in as a person, but remained strong and determined.

[THE REAL NINJA]

why do you always do this ?

[Crumble]

why do you always do this ?

lol, hey JJ did you see Eubank on Big Brothers little brother?, dude is turning into such a publicity whore?

[boxingisKing]

oscar bonavena

[Left2body]

Well one fighter who ended up being tougher than I thought was Machine Gun Kevin Kelly. In a fight against Garner (I believe not positive) he had 1 eye completely shut and the other eye was closing but he fought on and was swinging for the fences when he got a KO.

He showed balls and toughness that I didn't think he had.

[MIKEYTWOFIVE]

dude is turning into such a publicity whore

Uh hasnt he always been? ? Idiot was probably most famous sportsman in europe of early 90's but hardly ever won a fight fair and square.

He had a very average 19-7 amateur record, then went and lost more fights than any 'world level' fighter : Sherry, Watson 1st fight, Thornton, Benn 2nd fight, Rocchigiani, Amaral, Schommer, Collins x 2, Calzaghe, Thompson x 2 and thats just for starters .

He had a good chin though I'll give him that.

[Left2body]

It was actually against Derrick Gainer not Garner. I remember because it was on the undercard for a fight I saw of Roy Jones vs Eric Lucas.

[JuicyJuice]

lol, hey JJ did you see Eubank on Big Brothers little brother?, dude is turning into such a publicity whore?

When was that, man?

And no, he's been trying to hide away from the public eye for years now??