By Lee Callan: Former World Boxing Organization (WBO) middle/super-middle king Chris Eubank, incredibly, believes the cheap-shot sucker punch knockout of Victor Ortiz at the hands of Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr. on Saturday night was a good thing for boxing.
Eubank was renowned for controversy in his own career. He told me, “That Mayweather behaved unsportingly and pushed the boundaries is fantastic for boxing. Things like that definitely help the game. It would’ve pushed boxing forward on all the news stations of the United States, which is great!
“Victor Ortiz also has his part in it, though, for the flying headbutt; a terrific move because it garners attention!
“Controversy helps the business, of that there can be no question. When Mike Tyson bit the ear of Evander Holyfield, for instance, it did far more good than bad for the game worldwide.”
Eubank disagrees with the notion that it was a cowardly act on the part of ‘Money May’. “Cowardly? No, no. This is an extremely hard business – once you step into that four-cornered circle, you are surrendering your life. No matter how good you might be at the art form, you are surrendering your life. No coward steps through those ropes.
“What Mayweather did was actually an act of courage,” he said.
Eubank, however, has little regard for Floyd Jr. as a man, stating “As a person, he lacks dignity, which means he’s not respected. But as a boxer, people should admire his artistic talent and achievement.
“As a man, most would say repugnant or repulsive, (and) not very grown up.”
Regarding the ‘will they, won’t they’ saga of a potential Mayweather/Manny Pacquaio showdown, Eubank admits to rubbing his hands in anticipation. “That is the sort of fight I would travel anywhere in the world to see,” he said.
“Both have won many a world championship contest, have great professional reputations to defend as well as honor of their respective countries, and neither are particularly orthodox in boxing style.
“It is a fight I have tried myself to put on in Dubai.”