Herol Graham wasn't better, and collins was a better supermiddle, not middle. Even then, that's up for debate, he caught Eubank and Benn at the right time. So really, only Eubs and Watson were better.
Benn was the most accomplished fighter out of all those guys. His head to head record against them is subpar, but he had a better career than all of them.
eubank owned him their first fight when they were both at their peak. eubank also KOed watson. benn got KOed by watson. benn also quit against collins while eubank did considerably well in both fights.
And Watson. You can't just make a case for Eubank, it would be impossible to make a case against Eubank.
well collins got taken to school by a very experienced mccallum and i think reggie johnson could've outboxed benn with appropriate officiating in hand. collins whupped benn twice. made him quit like a bitch. i dont think any version of benn would've beaten collins.
Eubank won the first fight against Benn decisively, but the second fight was probably Benn's in truth. Watson completely outsmarted Benn, who did NOT quit, btw. He was fucked- he completely punched himself out trying to beat Watson's head off. Watson completely rope-a-doped him. Watson was arguably the best of the lot. He fucked Eubank up in their first fight and was completely screwed by the judges. He should have won by about 4 rounds :dunno: The second fight was an even bigger schooling until Eubank hit him with possibly the most horrible uppercut I've ever seen. If He'd missed, that fight was done. Eubank hit him with virtually everything he had left in his body. Collins fought Benn when he was done and dusted. The McClellan fight finished Benn as a top fighter- he couldn't muster anything like that sort of ferocity again. A prime Benn would have been a 50-50 shot to beat Collins IMO. And he (Collins) sure wasn't a middleweight. Herol is one of my favourite ever fighters, but he was not as good as Benn. No chance. MTF
I'm sure he would have gone on to have the best career had he not got caught by that uppercut that not only cost him the fight, but permanently damaged him. As it is, Benn's career accomplishments were more impressive.
I agree, McCallum was probably just a notch (maybe two?) better than all those fighters. As it is, he did far better against Collins and Watson than either of those other two, and he also beat Graham, who the other two somehow never did fight.
More accomplished than Eubank? That's a very questionable statement IMO. I'd reckon Eubank was a champion for longer than Benn ever was, and beating an unbeaten Rocky Rocchigiani IN GERMANY was as impressive an achievement as any of Benn's, including Benn's win over McClellan. Plus, Eubank came extremely close to winning a cruiserweight title when well past his best (some people will say Thompson was lucky to win both fights with Eubank)... at the same stage in his career, Benn was simply folding to Steve Collins, who Eubank had twice lasted the distance with.
Yup. If Watson was the best of the lot (and he was, not just IMO but in Benn's and Eubanks' also), then McCallum is clearly a level above all of them. He handled Michael pretty comfortably before stopping him late- something Benn never came near to doing and something Eubank only did landing the Hail Mary of all Hail Mary's after being beaten around the ring for a combined total of 23 rounds first.
:nono: Benn beating McClellan to near death having started a near 4-1 underdog and being smashed through the ropes inside two minutes of the first round was a greater achievement than anything Eubanks did. That said, the rest of your post is valid. Benn was a fantastic puncher, but he was not a particularly accomplished BOXER. Eubanks was better, as proven in their first fight. So was Watson, as proven in their fight. Generally speaking (and I don't really count the Collins' fights because Benn was shot to bits by that time), if Benn couldn't break an opponent in half, then he struggled or lost. The same couldn't automatically be said for Eubank, Watson OR Collins.
this my friend is fact. especially us geordies, wor pet. it's all canny like, apart from those fucking brummies. they can all die.