IF THERE was a prize for tenacity in sport, a strong contender would have to be Chris Eubank Jr. His impressive victory over Liam Williams in Cardiff last weekend brings the 32-year old to the point of finally challenging for a middleweight world title after 34 fights in a professional career that began all the way back in 2011.
Remarkably, for the bulk of his career, Eubank Jr more or less trained himself in what stands as an astonishing inversion of boxing convention, which holds that a fighter without a trainer is like a dog without an owner, forced to rely on blind instinct, will and luck to survive.
That Chris Eubank Jr managed to do that and more during this extended period is evidence of inordinate mental strength and pride, endowed with such by the example of his old man, whose own physical and mental fortitude earned him a legacy in the sport which still today looms large.
Amid riots, strikes and Thatcher’s Britain, Frank Bruno fought not just for boxing glory, but for a nation desperate for heroes, writes JOHN WIGHT
In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT
As we mark the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, JOHN WIGHT reflects on the enormity of the US decision to drop the atom bombs
From humble beginnings to becoming the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world, Josh Taylor’s career was marked by fire, ferocity, and national pride, writes JOHN WIGHT
