Fists of fury: the fight that changed the sport forever

As their sons prepare to meet in a hotly anticipated clash, Steve Bunce recalls the first Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank bout which sparked a rivalry that would come to define boxing

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Nigel Benn never took his eyes off Chris Eubank the first time they met in a boxing ring in 1990.

It was a Sunday night at the NEC on the outskirts of Birmingham and British boxing would never be the same again.

It was the night the sport moved from its comfortable black and white tradition to a world of colour and incident.

Both fighters were different and not products of the usual boxing factories; the promoters, managers and high-profile hangers-on were all part of a new business. Barry Hearn (promoter and friend to Eubank) and Ambrose Mendy (hype maestro, adviser and friend to Benn) made the madness happen. It was the start of the fight circus that we now accept; Eubank and Benn meetings were visually and verbally electric – the sons have continued that tradition. The hate was real; Benn admitted it; Eubank still denies it. It all looks so perfect now, choreographed even, but it was all new at the time and raw. Eubank was an enigma, and Benn was a perfect dance partner.

It was chilling being at ringside and so close to the intensity of the two boxers; it was obvious all week in Birmingham that something special was going to happen. There was simply too much on the line, it was always more than a title fight. Remember, neither Benn nor Eubank could be considered the best or even the second-best middleweight in Britain at the time. This was a fight between characters, style, image – and it was between two men with a promise to fight until the bitter end. It was all new, trust me, and the papers loved it.