Steve Collins 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
Chris Eubank Jr. can stand up to my power and I'll only get better and stronger. I'm ready for a title fight now." On 10 May, at the Olympia in Liverpool, Eubank dropped Polish boxer Robert Swierzbinkski (13-2, 3 KOs) seven times, eventually stopping him in round 7. Eubank was then added to a 7 June card, two days prior to it taking place at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle. It was said that a win would move Eubank closer to a potential grudge match with Billy Joe Saunders, who was challenging for the vacant European title in July. Czech boxer Štěpán Horváth