bankruptcy 288
BBBofC fines 140
birth and early life 90-1, 251
‘boxing is a mug’s game’ 100-1, 105, 143, 291
car and truck collection 136
Celebrity Big Brother contestant 288
charity work 153, 252
counter puncher 94, 112, 122, 155
country gentleman look 109, 135, 153, 170, 252
courage 168, 187, 288, 290
cult of personality 164
eccentricities 8, 136, 172
Eubank–Benn relationship 100, 104-7, 133, 172-3, 214, 218, 225-6, 247-8, 250-4, 273, 278, 295-6, 299
Eubank–Benn similarities 110, 251-2
family background 90, 110
fans of 121, 138
fashion designer 288
fight crowds, relationship with 120, 150, 152, 153, 155, 241, 287-8
gentle and generous side 137, 153, 252
gladiatorial contest with Benn 295
involved in fatal car accident 217
lavish lifestyle 135-6, 141, 289
managers see Hearn, Barry
marriage see Eubank, Karron
martial arts techniques 94
petty thieving 90-2, 95, 251
philosophy of boxing 100-1, 150-1
post-boxing life 288-91
post-fight interviews 129-30, 162, 191-2, 218, 275-6
prospect of Eubank-Benn III 279, 280, 281, 291
purses 93, 111, 130, 228, 243
retirement 287
self-belief 96, 99, 102, 113, 121, 138
self-preservation instinct 203, 216, 233-4
self-promotion 97, 101-2, 152
showmanship 92, 99, 110-11, 119, 121, 164, 172, 251
signs deal with Sky 280-1, 285
‘Simply the Best’ 117
Theroux documentary 288
time in care 91
trainers see Davies, Ronnie
training 95, 111, 149-50, 244-5
turns professional 93-4
v Benn (I - 1990) 110-32, 244, 283
v Benn (II - 1993) 235-6, 242-5, 246-66, 267-80
v Calzaghe 287
v Close 238-9
v Collins 286-7
v dos Santos 104, 106, 111, 119
v Essett 232
v Giménez 233
v Holmes 236
v Jarvis 217-18, 232
v Malinga 215-16
v Milo 165
v Rocchigiani 285, 290
v Sherry 139-40
v Thompson 287, 298
v Thornton 232-3
v Watson (I - June 1991) 143-5, 149-51, 154-61, 162-4, 167, 169
v Watson (II - September 1991) 169, 170-1, 173-4, 175-6, 177-93, 244, 298
v Wharton 286
and Watson’s brain trauma 201, 202-3, 214-15
WBC International middleweight title 100
WBO middleweight title 129, 139
WBO super middleweight title 168-9, 190-1, 201
weight making 113, 149
Eubank, Junior, Chris 99, 289
Eubank, Karron 96, 99, 129, 288
Eubanks, Peter 92, 95, 251
Eubanks, Simon 95, 192, 251
Everett, Alice 207, 208
FA Premier League 43, 153, 227, 228
Faldo, Nick 153
Farhood, Steve 44, 45, 94
Fashanu, John 19, 54
Fashanu, Justin 54
5th Street Gym, Miami 74
Finsbury Park 49, 53-4
football 25, 26, 41-3, 153, 227, 242-3, 282-3
football hooliganism 42-3
Foreman, George 56, 67
v Ali (‘Rumble in the Jungle’) 45-6, 53
v Frazier 230
Francis, Roy 179, 188, 190, 191, 193
Francis, Trevor 26
Frazier, Joe 46
v Ali (‘Fight of the Century’) 54, 109-10, 174, 266
v Ali (‘the Thrilla in Manila’) 87, 174, 266-7
v Foreman 230
Froch, Carl 9, 283
Fury, Tyson 4-5, 9
Futch, Eddie 267
G-Mex Leisure Centre, Manchester 217, 233
Galvano, Mauro 221, 223, 224-5, 235, 237, 240, 255
Ganley, Len 98
Garcia, Jimmy 216-17
Gascoigne, Paul 43, 88, 138, 153
Geldof, Bob 50
Gent, Lou 240-2
Gibbons, Tommy 53
Gibbs, Harry 263, 265, 271, 274, 276, 277
Gilpin, Cliff 36
Giménez, Juan Carlos 233, 292
Graham, Herol 9, 28-9, 55, 68, 70, 76, 103
Grant, Bernie 48-9
Greb, Harry 123
Griffith, Emile 4, 5
Griver, Harry 34
Groves, George 283
Gulf War (1991) 134, 153
Gutteridge, Reg 60, 61, 62, 65-6, 111, 160, 179, 180, 183, 258, 273, 274, 275
Hagler, Marvin 28-9, 47, 57, 75, 80, 146, 161-2, 229
v Hearns 180
v Leonard 29, 161, 227
v Minter 176
Halling, Nick 172
Hamed, Prince Naseem 94, 154, 194, 230, 281
Hamlyn, Peter 76, 196, 197, 199, 211, 296
Hammond, Jerry 32
Harrison, Audley 138, 282
Hart, Colin 48, 81
Hassett, Chuck 263, 265, 271, 275
Hatton, Ricky 283
haymaker punch 22, 184
HBO 227, 228
Hearn, Barry 25, 71, 72, 73, 77, 80, 85, 97-100, 101, 102, 104, 105-6, 108, 112, 115, 117, 118, 129, 130, 136, 142-3, 147-8, 163, 168, 173, 175, 186-7, 198, 201, 203, 215, 225, 230-1, 233, 237, 246, 256, 267, 274, 277, 279, 281, 296-7
Hearns, Thomas 24, 44, 57, 85-6, 167, 229
v Hagler 180
v Leonard 126, 259
Hemsworth, Ross 84
Hillsborough stadium disaster (1989) 42
Holland, Eric 94
Holmes, Lindell 217, 236
Holyfield, Evander 44, 89, 161, 230
v Bowe 187
v Lewis 161
v Qawi 175
homophobia 4-5
Honeyghan, Lloyd 22, 54, 58, 144
Hope, Maurice 7
Hopkins, Bernard 84
Howe, Geoffrey 133-4
Hubbard, Alan 288
Ince, Paul 19, 54, 243
Ingle, Paul 193-4, 195
International Boxing Federation (IBF) 40, 217, 221, 249
Italian boxing 221
ITV 15, 24, 44, 54, 57, 60, 88, 99, 100, 136, 228, 280, 281
Jackson, Julian 29
Jackson, Michael 26, 49
Jacobs, Jim 56
Jarvis, John 217-18
Jeffries, James L. 151
Johnson, Jack 151-2
Jones, Ken 280
Jones Junior, Roy 8, 51, 84, 145, 229
Kalambay, Sumbu 28, 70
Kay, Jack 30
Kaylor, Mark 144, 221
Kearns, Jack ‘Doc’ 53
Keegan, Kevin 26
Kennedy, Ian 212
Kim, Duk Koo 44
King, Don 53, 229-30, 231-2, 246, 254, 255, 259, 274, 278
Laing, Kirkland 33
LaMotta, Jake 174
Langford, Sam 174
Lawless, Terry 33, 144
Leach, Glyn 1, 32, 38, 49, 51, 52, 82, 238
Lee, Don 36, 143
Lennon Junior, Jimmy 257, 274-5
Leonard, Sugar Ray 29, 44, 74, 86, 89, 146, 297
v Durán 174-5
v Hagler 29, 161, 227
v Hearns 126, 259
Lescano, Hector 220
Levine, Harry 33
Lewis, Lennox 51, 95, 154, 161, 281
v Bruno 245-6
v Holyfield 161
Lineker, Gary 138
Liston, Sonny 56
Logan, Anthony 21-3, 27, 63, 96-7, 98
Loughran, Eamonn 281
Louis, Joe 30
Lueshing, Kevin 195, 295
Lurie, Art 162
Lynch, Brian 48, 64, 73
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McCallum, Mike 55, 68, 77, 79, 103, 113, 143, 249
v Watson 70-1, 77-8, 143, 198, 205
McCarthy, Burt 14-15, 16
McClellan, Gerald 50, 108, 168, 294-5, 296
v Benn 210, 292-3
McCrory, Glenn 54
McCrory, Milton 70
McDonnell, Jim 41-2, 68, 118, 127, 155, 157, 160, 163, 179
McEnroe, John 2
McGuigan, Barry 7, 41, 54, 68, 92, 122, 124, 127, 139, 158, 160, 202, 219, 232-3, 248, 274, 280
McIlvanney, Hugh 150, 161, 163, 180
McKenzie, Duke 54
McKenzie, Kelvin 54
McKnight, Joe 37
McMillan, Colin 137-8, 211
McRae, Donald 170
Magri, Charlie 7, 144
Main Events 230
Major, John 134
Malinga, Thulani ‘Sugar Boy’ 215-16, 220, 222, 294
Maloney, Frank 24, 40, 41, 48, 53, 98
Mancini, Ray 44
Mansell, Nigel 153
Maradona, Diego 29
Marciano, Rocky 266
Marsh, Terry 24, 79-80
Matchroom 112, 132, 142, 165-6, 198, 278-9
see also Hearn, Barry
Mayweather Junior, Floyd 9, 227
Mbayo, Mbayo Wa 27, 29, 35
Melfah, Johnny 14, 165
Mendy, Ambrose 18-21, 23, 24, 25, 29, 38, 40, 41, 47, 48-9, 51, 53, 59, 67, 74-5, 83, 84, 88, 89, 103, 105, 108, 114, 115, 116, 118, 147, 148, 209
Midweek Sports Special televised contract signing 103-7, 108, 283
Miles, Keith 96
Miller, Reggie 21, 37, 143
Milo, Kid 100, 165
Minter, Alan 7, 79
v Hagler 176
Monaghan, Kevin 45
Morgan, Lenzie 219
Moro, Frankie 100
Morris, John 200-1
Moughton, Graham 165-6
Mugabi, John 168
Muhammad, Matthew Saad 159
Mullan, Harry 119, 130, 131, 197-8, 289-90
Murdoch, Rupert 231
Nardiello, Vincenzo 238
NEC Exhibition Centre 112-13, 215, 220
Newbon, Gary 27, 28, 102, 114, 129, 136, 137, 141-2, 162, 182, 191, 192, 219, 225, 228, 275, 292
Noel, David 27
Norton, Ken 46, 126
Nunn, Michael 28, 86, 145, 229, 249, 274, 280, 292
O’Connell, Larry 165, 235, 242, 259, 261, 264, 269, 272
Olajide, Michael 36, 80
Old Trafford 1-2, 242-3, 246, 247
Olympic Games 1984 33
Olympic Games 1988 154, 229
O’Neal, Ryan 86
O’Sullivan, Ronnie 97
Owen, Nick 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 119
Owens, Franklin 46
Pacheco, Dr Ferdie 45, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65
Padilla, Carlos 87
Panayiotou, Jake 19-20
Paret, Benny 4, 5
Parker, Darren 96
Pep, Willie 144
Perez, Maximo 272, 274
Piper, Nicky 234-5, 237, 240
Powell, Dean 190, 274
pre-fight insults 109-10, 173-4
Price, David 15
Professional Boxing Association 234-5
Pryor, Aaron 266
Pyatt, Chris 171
Qawi, Dwight Muhammad 175
Quinones, Jose 79
racism 30, 151, 152, 176, 224
Rawling, John 271
recessions 152-3, 166, 231
Reid, Robin 140
Rendall, Jonathan 131, 137
Rickard, Tex 53
ring deaths 5, 44, 171, 197-8, 202, 210, 216
ring wars 4-6, 7-8
Robinson, Sugar Ray 171-2, 174, 229
Robson, Bryan 75
Rocastle, David 19
Rocchigiani, Graciano 285, 290
Rodda, John 112-13, 257, 279-80
‘rope-a-dope’ strategy 46
Rosenthal, Jim 60, 66, 81, 119, 142, 149, 150, 223
Ross, Jonathan 247, 248, 249, 256
Rourke, Mickey 248-9
Rubin, John 162
Ruddock, Donovan ‘Razor’ 175
Ruelas, Gabriel 216-17
Sandu, Umaru 17-18
Saunders, Kevin 292
Schommer, Dan 285
Screensport 99-100, 135
Scypion, Wilfred 47
Secombe, Eric 34, 39, 55, 144, 169
Seconds Out (ITV programme) 15
Selleck, Tom 86
Sherry, Dan 139-40, 215, 220
Showtime 227, 228
Sibson, Tony 17-18, 36, 43, 177
Sims, Robbie 80, 146-7
Sky 9, 10, 57, 138, 153, 172, 227-8, 231, 279, 280-1, 281, 283, 285
Smiley, Ralph 36
Smith, James 23
snooker 97, 99
sparring 48, 74, 76, 93, 95, 103, 111, 223
Spinks, Michael 227
Stackhouse, Ricky 37, 143
Starling, Marlon 22
Steele, Richard 118, 127, 128, 129, 175
Steward, Emanuel 82, 168
Stone, Bradley 210
Storey, Sam 285
Stretch, Gary 140-1, 215
Styles, Kenny 37
Sulaiman, Jose 225
Sullivan, Ray 74, 222
Tate, Frank 43, 177
Taylor, Dennis 97
Taylor, Meldrick 128-9
television
American television 44-5, 227
pay-per-view 10, 45, 226, 227, 279, 282, 283
terrestrial coverage 9-10, 44, 227, 228, 281-2
see also BBC; ITV; Sky
tennis 2-3
Thatcher, Margaret 10, 133, 152
Thatcherism 8, 50, 121, 300
Theroux, Louis 288
Thomas, Paul 220
Thompson, Carl 234, 287, 298
Thornton, Tony 232-3
Tibbs, Jimmy 140, 144, 163, 169, 183, 189, 191, 193, 198-9, 204, 222-3, 240, 243-4, 259, 260, 272, 274, 275, 291, 292
Toney, James 8, 145, 229, 249, 250
Top Rank 75, 80
Trampler, Bruce 75, 89
Trotter, Craig 142
Tucker, Tony 166
Tyson, Mike 11, 44, 56-8, 79, 81, 86, 168, 179, 300
rape charge and imprisonment 138, 200, 226, 230
v Bruno 57-8, 256
v Ruddock 175
v Spinks 227
unbeaten records
pressures of 237-8
Superman complex 17, 237
Valley Parade stadium disaster (1985) 43
Van Horn, Darrin 217
Walters, Winston see Milo, Kid
Warren, Carlton 34
Warren, Frank 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30, 43, 44, 79-80, 99, 194, 197, 212, 230, 256, 258, 279, 280
Washington, Desiree 138, 226
Wasmund, Shaa 290
Watson, Jeffrey 31, 197
Watson, Joan 31, 197, 203-4
Watson, Michael
amateur boxing 32-3
brain trauma 192-3, 195-201, 202-3, 205
charity work 296-7
Commonwealth title 66, 142
completes London Marathon 296-7
court case with Duff 83-4, 142
early life 31-2
on Eubank 143, 148-9, 170-1, 297
family background 31
fans of 60, 151, 162, 185
‘the Force’ 40
friendship with Benn 143, 297, 300
frustrated by lack of recognition 38, 39, 40, 52, 72, 82-3, 85, 115-16, 143, 206, 297
low-key public profile 8, 34, 37, 38, 68-9, 72, 82-3, 143, 300
managers see Duff, Mickey; Hearn, Barry
other employment 34, 38
partner see Zara
post-fight interviews 66
purses 41, 164
recovery and rehabilitation 201, 203-4, 206-11, 296-7
religious faith 31, 197, 208
sues BBBofC for damages 210, 211-13
trainers see Griver, Harry; Secombe,
Eric; Tibbs, Jimmy
training 34, 76, 145, 169, 171
turns professional 34
v Benn 29, 39-41, 45, 46-56, 59-69, 126, 268-9
v Christie 115, 116, 130-1, 142
v Cook 34-5
v Eubank (I - June 1991) 143-5, 149-51, 154-61, 162-4, 167, 169
v Eubank (II - September 1991) 169, 170-1, 173-4, 175-6, 177-93, 244, 298
v Lee 36
v McCallum 70-1, 77-8, 143, 198, 205
Watt, Jim 7, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 144, 146, 160, 163, 179, 180, 186, 224, 259-60, 261, 264, 268, 270, 274
Watt, Steve 197-8
Webb, Ray 76
Wenton, Richie 210
Westwood, Tim 192, 193
Wharton, Henry 280, 286, 291-2
Whitaker, Pernell 259, 274
White, Jimmy 97, 99
Willard, Jess 152
Williams, Sanderline 80
Wills, Harry 174
Wischhusen, John 137, 257
Witherspoon, Tim 23
Wogan, Terry 173
women’s boxing 50
Woodhall, Richie 194
World Boxing Association (WBA) 40, 55
World Boxing Council (WBC) 40, 44
World Boxing Organisation (WBO) 40, 80, 88, 112, 163-4, 167, 168-9, 243
World Sports Corporation 19
Wray, Winston 34
Wright, Ian 19, 54
Yates, Paula 50
Young Ali 202
yuppie revolution 50
Zara (Michael Watson’s partner) 38, 78
The Dark Destroyer – aggression and excitement, Nigel Benn at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, January 1988. © Getty Images
Covering up – Watson took Benn’s best and then fired back. Watson beat Benn after the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round, Commonwealth Middleweight Championship, May 1989. © Bob Thomas/Getty Images
After all the talk Benn and Watson found a mutual respect, which lasts to this day. © Getty Images
Down but not out, Benn floors Eubank. But the challenger came back stronger to defeat Benn in the ninth round. WBO Middleweight Championship at Birmingham NEC Arena, November 1990. © Bob Thomas/Getty Images
The pain in victory and defeat. Barry Hearn (promoter), Eubank and Benn, November 1990. © Michael Fresco/Evening Standard/REX
Neither man ready to give an inch, Eubank vs Benn, November 1990. © Brian Bould/Daily Mail/REX
The Eubank entrance was one of sport’s most iconic moments during the 1990s. Eubank defends the World Middleweight Championship at Earls Court defeating Watson for the first time, June 1991. © Bob Thomas/Getty Images
Eubank vs Watson, WBO Super Middleweight title fight at White Hart Lane, September 1991. © Getty Images
Eubank vs Watson, September 1991. © Andy Hooper/Associated Newspapers/REX
Eubank got the decision in the first fight against Watson, but the critics weren’t impressed. Eubank successfully defends WBO Championship at Earls Court, June 1991. © Mirrorpix
Eubank’s defining moment was quickly forgotten as Watson’s plight became apparent. Eubank vs Watson, WBO Super Middleweight Championship at White Hart Lane.
Eubank won the title after 12th round stoppage which left Watson with irreparable brain damage, September 1991. © Getty Images
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