Pinks Mag 003

CHRIS EUBANK
JUNIOR
V
CHRIS EUBANK
SENIOR
DRIVE, DETERMINATION & DEDICATION
CHRIS EUBANK SR
Eubank was born on 8 August
1966, in Dulwich, South
London, and spent his early
days in Jamaica (from two
months old to six years old).
On his return to England, he
lived in Stoke Newington,
Dalston, Hackney and then
Peckham, in a largely
impoverished environment.
He attended Northwold
Primary School in Upper
Clapton, Bellingden Junior
School, and then Thomas
Calton Secondary School in
Peckham, from where he was
suspended eighteen times in
one year and then expelled,
despite claiming he was
gallant ly t rying t o prot ect
ot her children from bullies.
Some time was spent at
Orchard Lodge Regional
Resource Centre, Anerley, in
1981. When he was 16, his
father sent him to New York in
the U.S. to live with his mother
in the tough South Bronx
district. He made a fresh start
in New York, battling drug,
alcohol and shoplifting
addictions to attend church
and school. In his spare time
he trained at the Jerome
Boxing Club on Westchester
Avenue, following in the
footsteps of his boxing elder
brothers (twins, Peter and
Simon Eubanks) back in
England. Eubank became
obsessed with boxing training
and went to the gym every
day, even working as caretaker
to pay his way. He won the
1984 Spanish Golden Gloves
Tournament and also got to
the semi-final stage of the
main Golden Gloves
tourney at Madison Square
Garden at aged 18. He writes
in his autobiography that his
drive to succeed in boxing
cam e t hrough his drive t o
becom e an accept ed
individual, largely caused by
subject ive bullying from his
elder brot hers.
He made his professional
debut at the Atlantis Hotel and
Casino against Tim Brown,
shortly after his 19th birthday.
Although his next 10 fights
went largely unnoticed, then in
February 1989 he made brief
headlines in defeating
Jamaican Anthony Logan in an
undercard match to a Nigel
Benn-headlined show. made
brief headlines in defeating
Jamaican Anthony Logan in an
undercard match to a Nigel
Benn-headlined show. Benn
was arguably the biggest rising
star in European sport at the
time and Logan had come
closest to beating the
power-punching Benn in what
was Benn's most memorable
clash to date. Eubank had
already made Brighton in
England his adopted
hometown and set his sights
on Benn, believing he could
beat him. After a string of
impressive stoppage victories
following a dominant 10-round
decision over American
gatekeeper / journeyman
Randy Smith, Eubank captured
the WBC International title in
1990 against Hugo Corti. Later
in the year, he knocked out
Renaldo Dos Santos in
precisely 20 seconds (including
the 10-count)
WBO m iddlew eight
cham pion
Eubank won the WBO
middleweight title against
Nigel Benn (and the odds) in a
classic encounter that was
later released on DVD
(pictured left): a gruelling
battle which ended when Benn
(ahead on points, but only
narrowly) was stopped on his
feet near the end of round 9.
Eubank would defend the title
successfully against Dan
Sherry (in a fight cut short by a
headbutt, for which Eubank
was penalised 2 points but still
won on points over the 9
completed rounds), fellow
Briton Gary Stretch