Steve Collins vs Chris Eubank 2

Steve Collins retained the WBO super-middleweight championship by a split decision over Chris Eubank at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork on September 9, 1995, repeating the victory he had gained six months earlier at Millstreet. A crowd of approximately 20,000 filled the stadium and gave Collins the support expected for an Irish champion making his first defence. Collins weighed 167 pounds and Eubank 167½. Ismael Fernandez was the referee. The return had been demanded because their first meeting, although won unanimously by Collins, contained knockdowns of both men and left Eubank believing that he had surrendered his championship through insufficient activity rather than being conclusively mastered.

Eubank had been unbeaten in 43 contests before Collins defeated him in March. He returned with first-round stoppages of Bruno Godoy and Jose Ignacio Barruetabena, but neither contest offered preparation for the pressure Collins intended to apply. The champion abandoned much of the measured boxing he had used at Millstreet and adopted a rougher, more direct method. He crowded Eubank, swung from unusual angles and worked continuously to prevent the challenger from setting his feet. Eubank preferred room to draw a lead, counter sharply, and admire the effect before beginning again. Collins denied him that room from the opening bell.

The first four rounds established the pattern. Collins advanced behind an irregular jab and followed with hooks from both hands, frequently driving Eubank towards the ropes. Not all of the champion’s punches landed cleanly, but his activity prevented Eubank from controlling the tempo. The challenger produced the more accurate single blows when Collins came within range, yet he waited too long between attacks and repeatedly surrendered the initiative. Collins was willing to take a counter to keep moving forward and made the contest physical at close quarters. All three judges awarded him each of the opening four rounds, giving him a substantial advantage before Eubank had settled.

The fifth was more evenly contested. Eubank began using his jab with greater authority and found openings for the right hand as Collins entered. Judge Genaro Rodriguez gave the round to Eubank, while Paul Herman and Aaron Kizer preferred the champion’s greater industry. Eubank improved further in the sixth and received the round from all three officials. His punches were straighter and more economical than Collins’s wider work, and for a time he succeeded in making the champion run into counters. Collins nevertheless continued advancing and refused to allow Eubank a comfortable passage. The challenger could win individual exchanges, but he still had to fight at a pace and distance chosen by Collins.

There was little separation between them through the seventh and eighth. Collins continued forcing his way inside while Eubank attempted to check him with uppercuts and short rights. The judges divided over the seventh, Herman awarding it to Collins and the other two to Eubank. During the eighth, a long, looping left from Eubank opened a cut beside Collins’s right eye. The wound provided the challenger with a target and represented his first visible success of consequence, but Collins did not retreat or alter his method. Herman scored the round for Eubank, Kizer gave it to Collins, and Rodriguez marked it even.

Collins restored some control in the ninth by maintaining his pressure and keeping Eubank occupied. Rodriguez and Herman scored for the champion, while Kizer favoured Eubank. By then the effort required to sustain Collins’s pace was beginning to show, and Eubank’s corner urged him to exploit the champion’s fatigue. Trainer Ronnie Davies twice slapped Eubank across the face between rounds in an effort to increase his urgency. The challenger responded in the tenth, landing the cleaner punches as Collins’s movements became heavier. All three judges awarded Eubank the round, bringing him back into a contest which had appeared to be slipping away during the first half.

Eubank mounted his strongest attack in the 11th. His right uppercut repeatedly caught Collins as the champion came forward, and several heavy blows to the head left the Irishman visibly shaken. A more cautious fighter might have held or moved away, but Collins continued to force himself into the exchanges. Even when hurt, he pushed Eubank backwards and made him seek relief against the ropes. The challenger landed the more damaging punches and won the round on every official card, but he could not produce the sustained combination needed to bring the contest to a conclusion. Collins’s refusal to yield prevented Eubank from taking complete command at the moment when the champion was most vulnerable.

The final round brought another determined effort from Eubank. Collins was tired and still carrying the cut beside his right eye, while the challenger knew that the early rounds had left him requiring a strong finish. Eubank attacked with rights and uppercuts, attempting to force the decisive breakthrough which had escaped him in their first contest. Collins absorbed the blows, answered whenever possible and remained in front of his opponent rather than attempting merely to reach the bell. Rodriguez and Herman gave the 12th to Eubank, while Kizer awarded it to Collins. There were no knockdowns and no point deductions, but the closing rounds had reduced what appeared an appreciable early lead into a narrow decision.

The announcement of a split verdict caused a moment of anxiety among Collins’s supporters before the result produced a great roar around the stadium. Herman and Kizer each scored 115–113 for Collins. Rodriguez returned 115–114 for Eubank. The decision was close on the official cards, although many at ringside considered Collins a more comfortable winner because his aggression had governed so much of the contest. Eubank had landed the cleaner punches and finished strongly, but he had again allowed too many early rounds to pass without sufficient work. Collins imposed himself through persistence, physical pressure, and a willingness to keep exchanging when tired or hurt. It was his first successful defence of the WBO title and Eubank’s second consecutive defeat. The former champion announced his retirement the following month, although he would return to the ring less than two years later.

I always thought Steve Collins beat Chris Eubank more clearly in the rematch than the official cards suggested. Eubank landed the cleaner single punches, especially those right uppercuts late on, but boxing isn’t won by standing around waiting for the perfect opening. Collins took charge and made Eubank fight at a pace he disliked.

The first fight had been tactical, with Collins using the hypnotism story to get inside Eubank’s head. This time he got inside his chest. He crowded him, roughed him up and threw punches from awkward angles. Plenty missed, but the pressure stopped Eubank setting his feet and producing those sharp counters that made him such a difficult champion.

Eubank hurt Collins in the 11th and finished strongly, but once again he left himself too much work. That was always the frustration with Chris: tremendous reflexes, a granite chin and real power, but too many quiet spells.

The split decision made it sound debatable. For me, it wasn’t. Collins deserved the win because he dictated how the fight was fought. Eubank had the prettier moments; Collins did the harder, more consistent work.