Exclusive: Gary Newbon relives the night Michael Watson was left fighting for his life
- Kevin Palmer
- 27 May 2021
"If you look at his [Chis Eubank] career after that, he didn't stop too many of his opponents and that was all because of what happened in the Watson fight."
Gary Newbon has recounted the night that ended with Michael Watson suffering life-changing injuries in an epic bout against Chris Eubank.
Newbon was a key member of ITV's broadcast team during an epic period for British boxing dominated by the middleweight trio of Watson, Eubank and Nigel Benn, with the fights between the trio attracting huge television audiences in the days before Sky television and pay-per-view boxing in the UK.
Now Newbon has given Planet Sport his insight into a fight staged at Tottenham's stadium in September 1991, which ended in tragedy as Watson suffered brain injuries that left him clinging to his life.
"The second Eubank/Watson fight was desperate," Newbon said.
"He (Watson) beat Benn in an indoor tent in Finsbury Park in 1989 and I felt he won his first fight against Eubank, even though the points decision went against him.
"He was on the way to winning the second fight at Tottenham before this incredible and tragic ending that left him with such horrible injuries.
"Eubank produced this incredible punch, after getting off the floor. They talk about Tyson (Fury) and his incredible chin after he got off the floor against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas, but Eubank's chin was strong, unbelievable.
"I went to visit him down in Cornwall and he was a fantastic guy. I thought was probably the best of that collection of great British middleweights, but he was never box office like Benn and Eubank were."
Eubank is one of the most controversial and intriguing characters to have ever emerged in British boxing and having worked so closely with him for many years, Newbon suggests he is somewhat misunderstood.
"Chris Eubank is a decent guy," he added. "It depends who you talk to I suppose, but I found him a decent guy.
Strange, a bit difficult sometimes, eccentric, but I admired him as a boxer.
"That (Watson fight) definitely affected him and he was never quite the same. If you look at his career after that, he didn't stop too many of his opponents and that was all because of what happened in the Watson fight."
