Joe Calzaghe vs Chris Eubank

Thirteen days’ notice was all that former champion Chris Eubank, who was preparing for an undercard appearance, received for an unexpected attempt to recover his old world title. Steve Collins had withdrawn from his proposed defence against Joe Calzaghe and then retired, leaving the WBO super-middleweight championship vacant. Chris Eubank, already training to box at light-heavyweight on the Sheffield programme, accepted the replacement assignment. Thus, at the sold-out Sheffield Arena on 11 October 1997, a contest arranged in some haste matched the unbeaten Welsh prospect against one of the most experienced British championship fighters of the period.

Calzaghe was 25 years old, weighed 167 pounds and entered with 22 victories, 21 inside the distance. He had won the British title but had never completed 12 rounds, his longest contests having ended in the eighth. Eubank, 31, weighed 168 pounds and brought a record of 45-2-2 together with the experience of 21 world-title contests. He had twice lost to Collins and had not held a championship for more than two years, but his durability, awkward counter-punching and ability to regulate the pace remained considerable assets. Referee Joe Cortez was brought in from the United States.

The balance of the contest changed after only 15 seconds. Calzaghe, attacking from his southpaw stance, drove a straight left to Eubank’s jaw and sent him sliding backwards to the floor. Eubank rose quickly, smiling and acknowledging the blow, but Calzaghe took the knockdown as an invitation to finish matters. He crowded the older man and threw rapid combinations with unusual force, loading up on nearly every punch. Eubank absorbed the assault, countered when openings appeared and reached the bell on uncertain legs. The second round also belonged to Calzaghe, whose hand speed and sustained attack gave Eubank little opportunity to establish the deliberate rhythm on which he normally relied.

By the third, however, the contest had settled into harder work than the younger man had anticipated. Eubank began using short uppercuts to the body whenever Calzaghe rushed inside, making him pay for his constant forward movement. Calzaghe continued to throw more punches, switching between straight lefts, right hooks and chopping blows at close quarters, but Eubank was neither retreating permanently nor allowing himself to be overwhelmed. The former champion’s experience showed in the pauses between exchanges. He would move away, compose himself and then answer to the body when Calzaghe resumed the attack. Paul Thomas awarded Eubank the third, although Dave Parris and Roy Francis preferred Calzaghe.

The fourth was competitive, with Francis marking it even, before Calzaghe regained clear command in the fifth. The two met in a direct exchange and traded heavily without attempting to give ground. Eubank’s legs briefly buckled, but he stayed upright and returned fire. Similar exchanges followed in the sixth. Eubank tried to draw Calzaghe onto the right uppercut, at one stage looking towards the overhead lights before inviting another attack. Calzaghe refused to be discouraged and drove him backwards with clusters of punches to head and body. The pace was costing both men, however. Calzaghe had expended considerable energy after the first-round knockdown, while Eubank was being forced to work more continuously than he preferred.

The seventh became untidy as fatigue intervened. There was more holding, less accuracy and a slower tempo, circumstances that favoured Eubank. All three judges gave him the round. Eubank also collected the eighth on each official card, continuing to counter the advancing Calzaghe and making better use of the periods when the younger man’s output declined. The action became ragged rather than cautious, with both men tired but still willing to exchange. Calzaghe sometimes controlled Eubank’s head with his right glove while working with the left at close quarters, and Cortez repeatedly had to watch the wrestling that accompanied their inside exchanges. No points were deducted.

Calzaghe raised his pace again in the ninth and regained control through activity and physical strength. Eubank’s counters remained dangerous, particularly the right hand and the uppercuts underneath, but he was now relying increasingly on isolated punches. In the tenth, he came forward recklessly and was caught by another left. The blow sent him off balance and caused a glove to touch the canvas. Eubank protested that he had slipped, but Cortez ruled it a knockdown and administered an eight-count. Parris and Francis scored the round 10-8, while Thomas, who did not give Calzaghe the full additional advantage, marked it 10-9.

Eubank pursued the knockout he now required during the final two rounds, advancing behind the right hand and occasionally leading with his head as he tried to force his way into range. His feet crossed as he lunged, and much of his work lacked the accuracy of his earlier counters. Calzaghe was also exhausted, but he continued to attack rather than protect his lead. He accepted several clean right hands in the last round and answered with longer combinations, throwing until the final bell. The closing exchanges were not polished, but they settled any remaining doubt concerning which man had supplied the greater volume and controlled the larger part of the contest.

The decision was unanimous. Dave Parris scored the fight 118-109, Roy Francis 118-110 and Paul Thomas 116-111, all for Calzaghe. The wide totals did not fully express the physical severity of the examination. Eubank had lost clearly, and the two knockdowns were important, yet he had forced an opponent accustomed to early victories through 12 demanding rounds for the first time. Calzaghe left Sheffield as WBO super-middleweight champion and retained that title for more than ten years. Eubank’s standing was also improved by his resistance and late effort, although he would never again win a world championship. The evening established Calzaghe at world level, not because the contest was easy, but because he maintained his pace and purpose after discovering that Eubank could not be removed quickly.

I’ve always regarded this as the night Joe Calzaghe became a world-class fighter. Beforehand, he was unbeaten, quick-handed and knocking over respectable opposition, but nobody knew what would happen when the early finish did not come. Chris Eubank stepped in at short notice after Steve Collins withdrew, yet he was already training and possessed more championship experience than Calzaghe’s previous opponents put together.

Calzaghe flattened him with a straight left after 15 seconds and made the mistake young punchers often make; he tried to finish every exchange with maximum force. Eubank survived, went to the body with those short uppercuts and dragged him into the sort of contest he had never experienced. By the middle rounds, Calzaghe was exhausted, but he kept Eubank working because he understood that allowing him to rest, pose and control the tempo would be dangerous.

The scorecards were wide, although the fight was considerably harder than they suggested. Calzaghe deserved the decision without question, and the second knockdown in the tenth settled matters. What impressed me was not simply his speed or punch output, but his response when both began to desert him. Eubank was past his best, but he was still tremendously durable and tactically awkward. Calzaghe found himself in deep water for the first time and proved he could swim.