Chris Eubank, still a Knob?

thesquireofbanwell

My personal view on this individual,given his previous behaviour with all manner of things including;motors,dress,opinions
and probably other things that I have been ambivalent to!
After seeing him on the TV earlier today though he is my current hero due to his behaviour and observations both at the boxing involving his son last Saturday and subsequently.
I am most impressed and have changed that opinion completely. Am I alone?

finchy

A relative of mine knows him quite well. She says he's actually a really nice man in private, very friendly and polite. His pretentiousness is probably just an act.

I didn't know about the fatal accident though.

EDIT: He also once spent over a million pounds of his own money converting a building into a shelter for the homeless. Not too bad.

tangled_metal

It's not a fatal incidence BTW. The opponent to Chris Eubanks junior is in an induced coma. He had a bleed in the brain that is not being operated on last I heard. The induced coma is probably a medical technique to allow the patient to recover better.

Eubanks senior had an act when boxing and afterwards. He's a good boxer who was involved in a fight that was not controlled in a way to protect the boxers. Sport is entertainment but sports like boxing has the potential for serious harm to happen to the competitors. Back in.senior's day they allowed a fight to go too far and didn't have adequate medical support. That resulted in serious harm to Senior's opponent. That had an emotional effect on him. I believe that he genuinely had concerns for his son's opponent. Everything that he has done and been like in.the past I've forgotten about. I now see him as someone who's got genuine concern for boxer welfare. Respect is due IMHO.

He also comes across as someone different to his boxing day's persona. I can easily believe he's a nice guy. Time for boxing to listen, time to stop the entertainment sooner if there's uneven level of performance in a bout. Boxer safety should be more to the fore.

DeVlaeminck

Always liked him, even in his career post Watson there were times when I (and others) felt he held back when on top for fear of hurting an opponent and lost some big fights because of it and Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank shows he's not afraid to make fun of himself.

slowmart

Snr was a showman and the public perception put backsides on seats to either watch the gobby guy get knocked on his backside or for support. In that respect he raised his profile and got people talking which was the aim.

SNR has faced adversity in his life and faced some hard and sobering questions as a consequence of his actions and is still there standing up and for that I find commendable. Having your son follow you into the profession must have bought a myriad of feelings but that's between the them, what was clear was the respect his son had for his father in the interviews.

I never considered Eubank a knob but he's shown a side to him the public didn't know existed and the most damning aspect to this story is the response from the boxing authorities and their refusal to face facts.

DeVlaeminck

Difficult one for boxing though, from what I've heard (didn't see the fight myself) it wasn't a clear cut case of a fight that should have been stopped, there was a well known fighter on Radio5 today who didn't think the ref was at fault at all.

I find it hard to enjoy watching boxing these days, attending a live show put me off it somewhat as the brutality comes across that much more when you are ringside and since suffering a cycling related head injury I just don't like to see people potentially inflicting the same on each other for sport.

seanoconn

Eubank seems decent enough but a couple of incidents cloud my opinion. He ran over and killed a road worker on the A23 because he was driving carelessly and he put two women in hospital with burns when he let off a wonky firework into a crowd of people on Brighton beach. Both accidents, but you can avoid killing and maiming if you put a bit of thought into what you're doing.

mitchell_inman

Saw both Eubanks on Channel 4 news last night and thought that they handled themselves with more dignity and respect than the idiot asking all sorts of questions to try and get a sensational comment.

gethinceri

always liked him. Intelligent and polite, often ridiculed for his non-conformism.

tangled_metal

Without a doubt Eubanks Snr is among the ranks of the intelligent boxers. IIRC there were a few with real intelligence back when Snr was boxing. I always appreciated his intelligence and that he was a decent self promoter. Like his attempt to drive his American big rig down downing street. It gets headlines. It gets bums on seats and tv viewing figures for your rights. Which gets you a bigger share of the pot.

Now he's not about that promotion of the business. It sounds like he's followed many retired boxers of note into a coaching or mentoring role. I believe he'll be good at that. If he's not careful he could become a figurehead from among the sport for improving boxer safety. He's already been in the news about that and I can't see his angle on what he's been saying in interviews. Perhaps I'm naive and missing his self promotion but I think he's standing up for boxing safety without significant or direct personal benefit in his mind. Credit towards him for that.

VTech

Slowmart wrote:

Snr was a showman and the public perception put backsides on seats to either watch the gobby guy get knocked on his backside or for support. In that respect he raised his profile and got people talking which was the aim.

SNR has faced adversity in his life and faced some hard and sobering questions as a consequence of his actions and is still there standing up and for that I find commendable. Having your son follow you into the profession must have bought a myriad of feelings but that's between the them, what was clear was the respect his son had for his father in the interviews.

I never considered Eubank a knob but he's shown a side to him the public didn't know existed and the most damning aspect to this story is the response from the boxing authorities and their refusal to face facts.

We agree,
He was an awesome boxer in an era of real tough opponents, far greater than those of todays standards.
He knows everything about the sport and is a great guy, he does a lot for others without the need for the publicity some seek. He also helps youngsters off the streets and into sport to get them to view life in a different way than they would otherwise view it.
Ive always admired him, he is a true showman and only a few have come through this sport with such grace, the heavyweight version being Lennox Lewis.

motogull

seanoconn wrote:

Eubank seems decent enough but a couple of incidents cloud my opinion. He ran over and killed a road worker on the A23 because he was driving carelessly.

Was that not his brother?

He is a funny sort, and I can see why people never liked him but I always enjoyed the show he put on.

seanoconn

Motogull wrote:

seanoconn wrote:

Eubank seems decent enough but a couple of incidents cloud my opinion. He ran over and killed a road worker on the A23 because he was driving carelessly.

Was that not his brother?

No, Chris Eubank.

Frank the tank

I've not heard his comments, but, I have always liked the man. When he was in his pomp, he was totally honest about why he was in boxing.

hamish_mctavish

No-one who has mastered the art of walking backwards can ever be considered a knob

Garry H

VTech wrote:

Slowmart wrote:

Snr was a showman and the public perception put backsides on seats to either watch the gobby guy get knocked on his backside or for support. In that respect he raised his profile and got people talking which was the aim.

SNR has faced adversity in his life and faced some hard and sobering questions as a consequence of his actions and is still there standing up and for that I find commendable. Having your son follow you into the profession must have bought a myriad of feelings but that's between the them, what was clear was the respect his son had for his father in the interviews.

I never considered Eubank a knob but he's shown a side to him the public didn't know existed and the most damning aspect to this story is the response from the boxing authorities and their refusal to face facts.

We agree,
He was an awesome boxer in an era of real tough opponents, far greater than those of todays standards.
He knows everything about the sport and is a great guy, he does a lot for others without the need for the publicity some seek. He also helps youngsters off the streets and into sport to get them to view life in a different way than they would otherwise view it.
Ive always admired him, he is a true showman and only a few have come through this sport with such grace, the heavyweight version being Lennox Lewis.

Agreedx2

A great boxer from a great period in boxing. Just look at the quality of those he fought, and hardly any of them went undefeated.

pblakeney

I am torn. He acted the knob, and I hated that character.
However, he carried it off, and most importantly, backed it up. You have to admire that.

Frank the tank

PBlakeney wrote:

I am torn. He acted the knob, and I hated that character.
However, he carried it off, and most importantly, backed it up. You have to admire that.

I'm not torn, but I understand, as I don't like arrogance. In his pomp he was arrogant but it was backed up with ability, he was world champion.

He never made out boxing for him was anything other than a way to a better way of life, nothing about "noble art" f**k all like that. Boxing was a means to an end, and he was very good at it.