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The long awaited autobiography of Chris Eubank surfaces a month after Michael Watson published his autobiography. Nigel Benn eclipsed them both by publishing his autobiography (The Dark Destroyer) back in the late 90s. It seems as though there is a drought of biographies and autobiographies about black British sportsmen. Dennis Andries has yet to publish an autobiography. Courtney Fry and David Haye have very little written about them.

The book is made up of almost three autobiographies: Eubank's life up until the victory over Nigel Benn, the Michael Watson saga, and life beyond Watson until the present day. The most interesting of the three is the first part. Everyone wants to know what a boxer goes through in order to win a championship title. The second part should have been a dedicated book on its own to the Michael Watson bouts. These fights were probably the best instalments ever made in British boxing, and yet there were no publications dedicated to the fight. When Blackburn Rovers won the Premiership in the 1994/95 season, Alan Shearer published his diary. When Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1997, Ruud Hullit published his diary. But after the Eubank-Watson fights, no publications were forthcoming. This sin of omission is a reflection of the disregard that the literary world has for black interests, but the law of averages suggest that eventually the balance will be addressed.

The writing betrays a likeable side to Eubank which could have gone in his favour had a biography been published after the Nigel Benn victory in 1990. Clearly, he was not given the opportunity to share his personality with the reading public when he achieved world champion status, and the lack of published material on him has denied him of the acceptance that he desperately craved during his peak. A boxer fights not only because they are skilled at what they do, but also because they assume a new identity when they are in the ring that allows their personality to flourish. They are like actors and singers on stage performing to the public for a basic need: love me and accept me for who I am.

The third part of the book demonstrates that Eubank is a fluent writer with untapped intelligence. He has the capacity to write manuals on boxing for up and coming boxers, as well as contributing to the art of war school of thought. To a certain degree, he is a bit like Bruce Lee who was a philosopher and martial artiste. He wrote books on the art of fighting, and had a lot to contribute to the world's knowledge of martial arts.

The one thing that lets Eubank down is that he cannot decide whether or not he is African, Jamaican or English. Mind you, he is not alone in that dilemma because there is a significant section of the black community who see themselves as Afro-Caribbean rather than English. Clearly, they need more high profile English role models like Eubank to show them that they can be Black and English at the same time.

In conclusion then, the autobiography is accessible to the urban reader as well as the sport enthusiast. There are elements in the book that both Jamaicans and black Brits can relate to.

Contact details:

Email: tootingwriterscircle@yahoogroups.com

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