Carl Thompson, WBO world cruiserweight champion, defended his title against Chris Eubank
Date: April 18, 1998
Venue: NYNEX Arena, Manchester
Thompson stance: orthodox
Eubank stance: orthodox
When Carl Thompson was stopped in just two rounds by the unheralded Yawe Davis, it was his third loss in 12 fights - one of them by early stopping when contesting the Central Area light heavyweight title. At this point, it seemed his boxing career was going nowhere. But Thompson then went on a run of nine consecutive knockout wins, winning the British and European titles, and earning his first shout at the WBO title. He lost his first challenge to Ralf Rocchigiani after dislocating his shoulder, but won the rematch in October 1997. He was making the first defence of his title against a former WBO middleweight and super middleweight world champion.
Thompson was fairly short for a cruiserweight, at just 6'0" and he suffered several losses by knockout throughout his career. What saved him from being just another brave journeyman was his explosive power, especially his right hand.
Chris Eubank won 19 consecutive world title fights at middleweight and super middleweight. As a middleweight, he was considered a slightly unorthodox, but supremely athletic, boxer-puncher. His approach to boxing appeared to change after winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in a rematch against Michael Watson that left Watson in a coma and with life changing injuries. From then on, Eubank seemed much more reluctant to "finish off" opponents who were clearly not at his level.
After losing to Joe Calzaghe for the vacant WBO title in October 1997 (a fight Eubank took on 11 days notice and had to lose a lot of weight for as he'd expected to be fighting at light heavyweight on the original undercard), Chris Eubank put on 20lb and challenged Carl Thompson, just six months after that gruelling points defeat. What followed was a classic.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Carl Thompson - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/1259
Chris Eubank - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/804
Date: April 18, 1998
Venue: NYNEX Arena, Manchester
Thompson stance: orthodox
Eubank stance: orthodox
When Carl Thompson was stopped in just two rounds by the unheralded Yawe Davis, it was his third loss in 12 fights - one of them by early stopping when contesting the Central Area light heavyweight title. At this point, it seemed his boxing career was going nowhere. But Thompson then went on a run of nine consecutive knockout wins, winning the British and European titles, and earning his first shout at the WBO title. He lost his first challenge to Ralf Rocchigiani after dislocating his shoulder, but won the rematch in October 1997. He was making the first defence of his title against a former WBO middleweight and super middleweight world champion.
Thompson was fairly short for a cruiserweight, at just 6'0" and he suffered several losses by knockout throughout his career. What saved him from being just another brave journeyman was his explosive power, especially his right hand.
Chris Eubank won 19 consecutive world title fights at middleweight and super middleweight. As a middleweight, he was considered a slightly unorthodox, but supremely athletic, boxer-puncher. His approach to boxing appeared to change after winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in a rematch against Michael Watson that left Watson in a coma and with life changing injuries. From then on, Eubank seemed much more reluctant to "finish off" opponents who were clearly not at his level.
After losing to Joe Calzaghe for the vacant WBO title in October 1997 (a fight Eubank took on 11 days notice and had to lose a lot of weight for as he'd expected to be fighting at light heavyweight on the original undercard), Chris Eubank put on 20lb and challenged Carl Thompson, just six months after that gruelling points defeat. What followed was a classic.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Carl Thompson - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/1259
Chris Eubank - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/804
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Sports