The Profile
The fighter beyond the highlight reel.
Steve Collins won world titles at middleweight and super middleweight in the 1990s, an era when British and Irish boxing was dominated by the names of Benn, Eubank, Barn Burning, and Collins. He fought all of them at various points. His two wins over Chris Eubank in 1995, when Eubank was the unbeaten champion nobody expected to lose, are among the most celebrated upsets of the decade.
The psychological dimension was part of the Collins style. He convinced the press before his first Eubank fight that he had been hypnotised to feel no pain, a claim that was either inspired gamesmanship or a genuine confidence technique depending on which version of the story you prefer. Either way, it worked, and he took the fight to Eubank in a way nobody else in the division had managed.
He retired undefeated as world champion in 1997, which is a rare achievement in professional boxing. Post-retirement, he has worked in boxing promotion, acting, and the after-dinner speaker circuit. His events combine the fights with the stories about the men who fought them, and he is one of the more articulate speakers on what the mental game of professional boxing actually looks like from the inside.
“I did not have to beat Eubank. I had to convince him I was going to beat him. The rest of the fight looked after itself once he started believing it.”
Career highlights
- WBO middleweight champion, 1994
- WBO super middleweight champion, 1995
- Two victories over Chris Eubank
- Two victories over Nigel Benn
- Retired undefeated as champion, 1997
First hand
Steve Collins at Steam
Steve spoke at Steam in February 2024. The fight-by-fight breakdown of the first Eubank fight is one of the most technical and gripping pieces of boxing analysis any of our guests have sat through.