CHRIS EUBANK, who had starved himself of food and liquid for three agonising days, stared longingly at three large jugs filled to the brim with pineapple juice.
He had them put on a table close to the scales as he waited impatiently to weigh in for his WBC super-middleweight title defence against American Dan Schommer.
After making the 12-stone limit, Eubank raced to the jugs with the speed of a desperate man who had been lost in a desert suddenly coming across a life-saving oasis.
That scenario was played out in Sun City, South Africa, 28 years ago and I’ve never forgotten the sight of Chris, his body dangerously bone-dry through dehydration, gulping down all three jugs without stopping to take a breath.
As a result of putting himself through such a severe weight-reducing process, his performance was well below par and he struggled to outpoint the mundane Schommer.
It was no surprise to me when Eubank last week expressed grave fears at the risk his super-middleweight son Chris Jr was taking by agreeing to get down to 157lbs for his catchweight clash with welterweight Conor Benn at London’s O2 Arena on October 8.
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The Brighton braggart knows only too well from bitter experience how making weight can leave a fighter weak, even hours after rehydrating.
He claims making his boy get down to 157lbs is suicidal and says he will try to get Chris Jr to pull out, saying: “This fight should not be allowed to happen – it is too dangerous.”
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Chris Jr dismissed his father’s concerns about his safety though he did admit having to scale down to 11st 3lbs means he will only be 60 per cent of his best when he faces unbeaten Benn.
To ensure Chris Jr is taking weight off gradually and sensibly, the British Boxing Board of Control have been monitoring him and will continue to do so for the next two weeks.
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In fact, Eubank Sr should be even more concerned about Conor, who is up against a much bigger man with vastly more experience.
Because there is such a marked difference between the size of the two men, precautions are being taken in an attempt to try to make it a more even playing field.
Chris Jr is contracted to have a second weigh-in at 11 o’ clock on the morning of the fight and he won’t be allowed to put on more than 10lbs overnight.
But in the 11 hours before he steps in the ring it is possible he could eat two meals and he will certainly have drunk plenty of water.
Boxing is dangerous enough already without putting extra perilous obstacles in a fighter’s way
Colin Hart
Just one litre of water is equivalent to 2.2lbs and I would very surprised if Eubank isn’t well over a stone heavier than Conor by the time the first bell sounds.
That’s an enormous advantage over such a much smaller opponent.
In this column in July I wrote there must be reservations about the validity of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank’s kids fighting each other and suggested it smacks of a money-making gimmick.
There has never been a more acrimonious rivalry in British boxing history generated by the two battles between their fathers in the 90s – and as expected their heirs’ hostilities have certainly caught the fans’ imagination.
But boxing is dangerous enough already without putting extra perilous obstacles in a fighter’s way.
Teddy Atlas, who was teenager Mike Tyson’s first trainer and one of America’s most respected, once said “Catch-weights are essentially breaking the rules to benefit someone else – a blight on the sport.”
I couldn’t agree more.
