Steve Collins

Stephen "Steve" Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as "The Celtic Warrior", Collins is the most successful Irish boxer in professional boxing history, having held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles.

Collins' first professional twenty fights all took place in the United States. In 1988 he won the Irish middleweight title, and the regional American USBA middleweight title the following year, defending the latter successfully in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. In his first two world championship challenges, both for the WBA middleweight title, Collins lost split decisions to Mike McCallum in 1990 and Reggie Johnson in 1992. He also challenged unsuccessfully for the European middleweight title in 1992, losing a split decision to Sumbu Kalambay in Italy.

It was not until Collins reached his early 30s that he fulfilled his potential, becoming WBO middleweight champion in his third world title attempt in 1994. The next year, he won the WBO super-middleweight title and defended it seven times before retiring from the sport. Having competed against the best boxers on both sides of the Atlantic, Collins tends to be linked more to an era in the UK during which there was a notable rivalry between British boxers Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn, both of whom he fought and defeated twice.

Professional career

Early years in Boston

Steve Collins won 26 Irish titles as an amateur before turning professional in Massachusetts, US in October 1986. Collins worked out of the Petronelli Brothers gym in Brockton, Massachusetts alongside Marvin Hagler. His debut fight was against Julio Mercado on the undercard of a bill that featured Irish Americans; his future trainer Freddie Roach and the future Fight of the Year winner Micky Ward. Collins beat Mercado by way of knockout in the third round.

In Boston, Massachusetts in 1988, he defeated former Olympian and British Super Middleweight champion Sam Storey to win the Irish middleweight title, then defeated world No. 5, Kevin Watts to win the USBA middleweight title. After reaching 16–0, Collins was outpointed by Mike McCallum he stepped in as a substitute after Michael Watson was injured in training at fought 12 rounds for the WBA middleweight title in Boston in 1990. Collins was supported by a large crowd of Irish Americans as he battled the champion, with the fight being close early on before McCallum started to tire as Collins gained momentum in the later stages to bring a close finish at the end of 12 exciting rounds.

In 1992, Collins lost a disputed points to Reggie Johnson in a closely contested slugfest for the vacant WBA middleweight title (which had been stripped from McCallum because he signed to fight IBF champion James Toney). Collins then lost to Sumbu Kalambay for the European title in Italy, before beating Gerhard Botes of South Africa to win the WBC penta continental trinket in 1993.

WBO middleweight champion

Collins then moved to Belfast under the management of Barney Eastwood before basing himself in England where he joined Barry Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. Alongside him was Paul "Silky" Jones, his sparring partner and good friend who later went on to become WBO light-middleweight title holder. Collins was trained by Freddie King in the Romford training camp.

In 1994, he won a world title by defeating Chris Pyatt by stoppage in five rounds to become the WBO middleweight champion. The following year he relinquished this title without a defence and was having difficulty making the weight. Again as a substitute he moved up to super-middleweight to challenge Chris Eubank for the WBO title after Eubank's scheduled opponent Ray Close withdrew after failing a brain scan.

WBO super-middleweight champion

Collins defeated the previously unbeaten long-reigning champion Chris Eubank in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland in March 1995 to win the WBO super-middleweight title. Collins had enlisted the help of a guru, and they led the press to believe that Collins would be hypnotised for the fight. True to form, Collins sat in his corner and did not move, listening to headphones during Eubanks' ring entrance.

In the rematch, Collins set a fast pace and adopted wild, brawling tactics that Eubank struggled to deal with, and Collins again won a decision. He defended this title successfully seven times, including two fights against Nigel Benn (rtd4 and rtd6).

Collins reportedly stated in the press that he had no motivation left, as he had spent the best part of his career chasing Roy Jones Jr. for a unification fight that had been promised to him many times. Collins is reported to have stated in Boxing World that he had spent so long chasing Roy Jones Jr that money was no longer important; that he would "fight him in a phone box in front of two men and a dog". but the bout never materialised. A fight with Calzaghe would do nothing to satisfy the desire he had for fighting Jones. He then added he wanted to retire on a high note with a good pay day, "Joe is a good up-and-coming kid, but he wouldn't fill a parish church".

In 1999, he announced his decision to come out of retirement to fight Jones. Jones is said to have offered in excess of £3 million for the fight. Collins is said to have been suspicious regarding the money that Jones was offering and said to the papers that "for £3 million I would fight Mike Tyson."

Controversy surrounded the fight, as it was rumoured that Collins would have to fight Calzaghe before a showdown with Jones. Collins had accepted this and started to prepare to fight Calzaghe. In his preparation training for the fight that was never to be, Collins collapsed during a sparring session with Howard Eastman. Although tests and a brain scan didn't find any problems, he decided that it was a warning to make him stop boxing, and he retired for a second time.^[1]

Collins retired in 1997 with his then wife and children to the town of Bangor, County Down, with a record of: W 36 (21 KOs) – L 3.

Retirement

Collins has not entirely faded from the spotlight since his retirement. In 1998 he appeared in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as a boxing gym bouncer. In 1999 he made a cameo appearance in "Sweetest Thing", a music video by U2. On 15 January 2013, at the age of 48, Collins announced plans to fight his longtime nemesis Roy Jones Jr.^[2][3] He went on to appear in a number of exhibition bouts in preparation for the proposed Jones fight.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
39	Win	36–3	Craig Cummings	TKO	3 (12), 1:17	5 Jul 1997	Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
38	Win	35–3	Frederic Seillier	TKO	5 (12), 2:20	8 Feb 1997	London Arena, London, England	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
37	Win	34–3	Nigel Benn	RTD	6 (12), 3:00	9 Nov 1996	NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
36	Win	33–3	Nigel Benn	TKO	4 (12), 2:44	6 Jul 1996	NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
35	Win	32–3	Neville Brown	TKO	11 (12), 0:54	9 Mar 1996	Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Ireland	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
34	Win	31–3	Cornelius Carr	UD	12	25 Nov 1995	Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
33	Win	30–3	Chris Eubank	SD	12	9 Sep 1995	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork, Ireland	Retained WBO super-middleweight title
32	Win	29–3	Chris Eubank	UD	12	18 Mar 1995	Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Ireland	Won WBO super-middleweight title
31	Win	28–3	Chris Pyatt	TKO	5 (12), 2:27	11 May 1994	Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England	Won WBO middleweight title
30	Win	27–3	Paul Wesley	PTS	8	9 Feb 1994	Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England
29	Win	26–3	Johnny Melfah	TKO	4 (8)	22 Jan 1994	King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
28	Win	25–3	Wayne Ellis	KO	9 (10)	30 Nov 1993	Cardiff, Wales
27	Win	24–3	Gerhard Botes	TKO	7 (12)	26 Jun 1993	Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England	Won vacant WBA Penta-Continental middleweight title
26	Win	23–3	Ian Strudwick	TKO	7 (10)	20 Feb 1993	Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England
25	Win	22–3	Johnny Melfah	TKO	3 (8), 2:48	6 Feb 1993	Cardiff, Wales
24	Loss	21–3	Sumbu Kalambay	PTS	12	22 Oct 1992	Verbania, Italy	For European middleweight title
23	Loss	21–2	Reggie Johnson	MD	12	22 Apr 1992	Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US	For vacant WBA middleweight title
22	Win	21–1	Dan Morgan	KO	3	11 Dec 1991	National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
21	Win	20–1	Jean-Noel Camara	KO	3	25 May 1991	Brest, France
20	Win	19–1	Kenny Snow	TKO	3 (10), 3:00	11 May 1991	Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
19	Win	18–1	Eddie Hall	UD	10	24 Nov 1990	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, US
18	Win	17–1	Fermin Chirino	TKO	6 (10)	16 Aug 1990	Sheraton Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts, US
17	Loss	16–1	Mike McCallum	UD	12	3 Feb 1990	Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, US	For WBA middleweight title
16	Win	16–0	Roberto Rosiles	TKO	9 (10), 0:52	21 Nov 1989	Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, US
15	Win	15–0	Tony Thornton	MD	12	16 Jul 1989	Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Retained USBA middleweight title
14	Win	14–0	Kevin Watts	UD	12	9 May 1989	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Won USBA middleweight title
13	Win	13–0	Paul McPeek	TKO	9 (10)	7 Feb 1989	Trump's Castle, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
12	Win	12–0	Jesse Lanton	UD	8	10 Dec 1988	Boys Club, Salem, New Hampshire, US
11	Win	11–0	Muhammad Shabazz	TKO	4 (10)	22 Oct 1988	Boys Club, Salem, New Hampshire, US
10	Win	10–0	Michael Dale	UD	8	30 Jul 1988	Romuva Park, Brockton, Massachusetts, US
9	Win	9–0	Lester Yarbrough	UD	10	26 May 1988	Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, Boston, Massachusetts, US
8	Win	8–0	Sam Storey	UD	10	18 Mar 1988	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, US	Won Irish middleweight title
7	Win	7–0	Bennie Sims	UD	8	9 Dec 1987	Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
6	Win	6–0	Mike Williams	UD	6	20 Nov 1987	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
5	Win	5–0	Harold Souther	UD	8	29 Oct 1987	Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, US
4	Win	4–0	Richard Holmes	KO	1	10 Oct 1987	Attleboro, Massachusetts, US
3	Win	3–0	Richard Holloway	KO	2 (4)	20 Dec 1986	Strand Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, US
2	Win	2–0	Mike Bonislawski	UD	4	27 Nov 1986	Strand Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, US
1	Win	1–0	Julio Mercado	KO	3 (4), 1:55	24 Oct 1986	Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, US	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Steve Collins

• Professional boxing record for Steve Collins from BoxRec
• Steve Collins at the Internet Movie Database