A boxing rivalry so intense that their sons got to copycat it 35 years later, yet the original is simply the best. That the preening, poetry-spouting, monocle-sporting, Jodhpur-wearing Eubank would irritate the rough-and-ready ex-squaddie Benn was hardly surprising. But the depth of the animosity was remarkable.
Eubank, who refused to even look at his foe, demanded “some parliamentary procedure” – but there would be none shown in the ring on fight night. Benn’s ferocity forced the unbeaten but untested underdog to fight fire with fire. Eubank, swallowing blood from a badly cut tongue, rose from a knockdown in the eighth round to stop Benn in the ninth and take his WBO title.
In truth, the two Britons, who came from tough upbringings, had more in common than they cared to admit. But Eubank’s disdain for his profession – “a mug’s game” – antagonised Benn. Their 1993 rematch, which drew 43,000 people to Old Trafford and 16.5 million viewers on UK television, ended in a draw.
It was their final in-ring fight but the two have made up, then fallen out again, several times since. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Drive to Survive would give its right axle for a modern-day Formula One feud this bitter.
The motor-mouthed, hot-tempered Piquet once referred to his fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna as “a São Paulo taxi driver”. Yet Piquet’s dislike of his 1986-87 teammate Mansell raised his insults to the Shakespearean. Mansell understandably bristled at such appalling language and the pair focused so much on their own battles throughout the 1986 season that Alain Prost snuck in to claim the drivers’ championship.
In 1987, the moustachioed Mansell won six races to Piquet’s three, yet the latter was rarely off the podium and lifted his third world title. It was their final season as teammates but bridges have been built in retirement. After several TV appearances together, Piquet conceded that in terms of titles: “I should have won in 86, he should have won in 87.” Sir Alex Ferguson v Arsène Wenger, Brian Clough v Don Revie, Diego Simeone v anyone – manager rivalries are a rich tapestry.
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