CHRIS EUBANK, pristine as ever in his mock aristo garb, refused to confirm that he had lost money on his bizarre come back fight in Cairo on Saturday night and then indicated that the remainder of his career would be played out in similarly exotic settings in the Middle East and at EuroDisney in Paris.
After a year away from the business, it is plain that the Lord of Brighton is again "taking the mickey." There was certainly a touch of cartoon absurdity about his bout against the toweringly inadequate Luis Dionisio Barrera, a 33 year old Argentine who took the full count on his knees 42 seconds into the fifth round after Eubank decided the show was over and sank a crippling right hand into his victim's ribs.
He had appeared more charitable than cautious in not finishing off Barrera much earlier. As copromoter with the former London property developer Khalid Karrar, however, Eubank also had an obligation to provide his bemused audience with their first taste of professional boxing - a conflict of interest he resolved in the time honoured fashion of showing his hand picked opponent more respect than those who have been knocking him out on a regular basis lately.
Eubank insisted that, while he had been over ambitious in trying to fill the impressive 27,000 seater Heliopolis sports centre (it actually holds 25,000) there were "18,000 spectators at least".
More objective estimates put the attendance at around 10,000 and a good two thirds were military and police personnel drafted in to fill the gaps, although Eubank insists they were there to cheer on one of their own number fighting as an amateur on the under card.
If the gentleman has this pulling power, he should immediately turn professional. Pre fight ticket prices for British consumption ranged from £675 to £75; local tariffs meanwhile were no more than £13 for general punters. The only live television coverage was given free to the state run local channel and Eurosport have paid probably no more than £20,000 for a delayed screening tomorrow night.
"The money is irrelevant," Eubank insisted, expecting us to believe that he had ignored the most sacred rule in the business. He had said before the bout: "My match will be enigmatic, I promise you. I have never let the people down yet.
Afterwards he continued to gloss over the facts. "He was a good boxer, very clever, and his left and right hooks were hard. I did not want to leave my chin open and get knocked out.
"I felt the crowd was very warm towards me and I was able to make a good performance. They appreciated the difference between the performer and the human being, which is something that the British public, ill informed by the media, had trouble width.
"Now the show goes on. We will move to Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and EuroDisney."
He had not selected an opponent. It probably won't be Roy Jones Jnr. And Eubank will not be rushing back to a British venue; he might never fight in his own country again, he said. A handful of his stalwart supporters, who had paid substantially more for their tickets than the locals, bridled at the criticism of their hero, but it is inescapable that Eubank's trick of earning huge money for fights that are essentially bogus as contests no longer works.
TV executives are not prepared to pay £1 million a time to see Eubank walk through a smoke cloud, jump over the ropes, then pose, strut and fiddle his way through a boring fight against an opponent who is usually older and smaller and known only to a small circle of friends in a boxing backwater in South America.
Eubank on the other hand, does not want to risk the hell of another Nigel Benn or Michael Watson experience - which reluctance makes his lingering presence in the unforgiving environment of professional boxing a commercial nonsense. ITV and Sky rejected his offers and there is minimal TV money for sport in the Middle East.
He can hardly rely on ticket sales in a region of the world where £1 to see a football match is the norm. Sponsorship by government agencies is Eubank's only apparent lifeline and, after Saturday night's showing, his friends in Cairo will be examining the receipts with a critical eye.
Eubank was not animated by the prospect of a big fight. Instead he spoke ludicrously of how Barrera had been a "good test". Barrera, who has now lost five in a row, four inside the distance, provided a sad and chubby spectacle. He had already admitted he expected to lose and did his best to live up to his prediction as, in between a few token swings, he clung to the much bigger Eubank like a drowning man.
They were both announced as weighing 12st 6lb, a marvel of physiology, as the prescribed loser, at 5ft 7in, and fighting at light heavyweight for the first time, looked like he could have fitted in Eubank's pocket. Before the fight. Eubank's trainer of nine years, Ronnie Davies, joked that they would fight on the moon "except there's no atmosphere". For many, the joke is wearing thin.
