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  • Fighting Back: The Michael Watson Story (2001)
  • TV Movie | 60 min | Documentary
Fighting Back: The Michael Watson Story (2001)
TV Movie | 60 min | Documentary
Little did Michael Watson know that when he stepped into the ring on 21 September 1991 to fight Chris Eubank for the World Boxing Organisation Super Middleweight title, it was a fight that would nearly cost him his life. Ten years on, ...See moreLittle did Michael Watson know that when he stepped into the ring on 21 September 1991 to fight Chris Eubank for the World Boxing Organisation Super Middleweight title, it was a fight that would nearly cost him his life. Ten years on, Fighting Back - The Michael Watson Story, tells of his remarkable recovery from the brink of death and features his first public meeting with Eubank. The programme includes interviews with Michael, Chris Eubank, Michael's friends and family, the surgeon Peter Hamlyn and referee Roy Francis, who talks about the fight for the first time. Boxing journalist Steve Bunce, who was ringside at White Hart Lane on the night, says: "This is a guy who should be dead. "He is the boxer who came back from the dead that remains an absolute established medical fact. "He should not have made any recovery according to all of the medical experts that have peered inside his head." Michael fought Eubank twice. In the first fight, the judges controversially awarded the fight to Eubank, even though commentators considered Michael the clear winner. Uppercut In the rematch that followed, Michael was less than four minutes away from taking the world title after knocking his opponent down in the 11th round. But when Eubank rose, with just 20 seconds of the round remaining, he caught Michael with an uppercut. Watson fell, caught his head on the ropes and was eventually left with severe brain damage. Michael was allowed to come out for the final round before referee Francis stopped the bout with the stricken fighter against the ropes taking further punishment. That meant it was more than 30 minutes after the fight ended that he received oxygen and some two hours before he was wheeled into an operating theatre. He subsequently claimed that the British Boxing Board of Control was liable for the brain damage he suffered and in December 2000 won the ensuing court case. Written by Steve Bunce See less
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Director
Neil Blewett
Writer
Neil Blewett
Editor
Peter Norrey
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Release date
Sep 13, 2001 (United Kingdom)

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