Despite his last name, Harlem Eubank’s path to boxing was unconventional.
In his youth, he played football with Solly March and Lewis Dunk in Brighton, not in the ring. Prior to that, he was a two-time British Junior Karate Champion.
When he was 11 years old, when he returned to Hove after winning gold, he met his uncle Chris Eubank Sr. in the store: “My mother was absolutely delighted with her son’s performance,” he recalled. “You know how moms are – they think: “He did this, he did that” and they think that she will receive positive confirmation.
“She said, ‘He just won the UK Championship – twice in a row.’
“He said, ‘I’ve won 19 world championships.’
“He really turned it off! But I understand – I understood it as a child. My uncle and his brothers, it has always been a difficult love. Although my mother didn’t understand it, I knew that I should always get more from you. Don’t be content with this victory, you can always do better. Even now, he continues to give me advice on my career.
It seems that this career is reaching new heights. This Friday he will take on Miguel Antin in the familiar setting of York Hall, but he already has a world title fight in mind. Perhaps even more intriguing is a future fight involving Conor Benn, whose catchweight bout with Harlem cousin Chris Eubank Jr. fell through after Benn failed two doping tests.
“I think Conor should pick someone his own size,” Haarlem says. I. “I would like to have this fight in the future. We are the same weight, even more than Chris, it makes sense. I would enjoy this fight and I would love to have it.
“Maybe he will fight Manny – Manny retired from the sport. I can’t understand how the fight left you and he had a great career but he’s not the same fighter he used to be. I think it’s better to fight the live opposition. Not someone like Manny, how many years has he been retired?
Of course, the relationship between the Eubanks and the Benns has been personal for decades. They are more interested than most in the outcome of Conor’s story – he recently threatened to sue the British Boxing Council to oversee a suspension and even promoter Eddie Hearn admitted he “lost the plan”.
So Harlem Eubank sat down and watched Benn’s interview with Piers Morgan not once, but twice, looking for signs of innocence – and he thinks he’s found them.
“At first I thought the Piers Morgan stuff didn’t look good,” he says. “I thought silence was the best option. Entering Piers Morgan is like stepping into a lion’s den, and if your story wasn’t waterproof, you wouldn’t be. That alone made me think, “Maybe this boy is innocent.” Who knows?
“But this is a very difficult situation. We need to clean up the sport – it’s a big deal. As boxers, we need to keep this sport clean, it’s a painful business, and we need to clean up all the processes that could contribute to such a scenario. I firmly I believe in the cleanliness of the sport because of the dangers that are present every time you enter the ring.We all know about the dangers, so I emphasize: this sport must be clean.”
After the Benn fight was over, Chris Eubank Jr. turned on Liam Smith instead, only to be stopped in the fourth round. His family partly attributes this to the late change of opponents, but his cousin also believes that the signs were even before the first bell.
“Knowing Chris and seeing him in front of the locker room didn’t feel like a normal Chris to me. Only for the manners and energy that he radiated. So I’m looking forward to this rematch because I think Chris is aware of the threat to him the same way he is now, he’s preparing in a completely different way – and with this preparation we will have a completely different Chris Eubank Jr. . to see.
While Harlem admits he can’t handle the pressure of the Eubank name like Chris Jr., he still believes that opponents like Urusquieta have come to “defeat the dynasty and destroy the odds.”
However, trainer Adam Booth put it best when he singled out his fighter from the rest of the family. “Humble Harlem,” he called it. He laughs when asked how he is different from the elder with the monocle and cane years ago. “The language and mannerisms are very natural, I think that over time he has strengthened some of his character traits. A lot of what you see is what we get… He walks like this along the Brighton waterfront.”
“I think Chris Jr. and I grew up very differently in terms of this dynasty,” he adds.
“Chris Sr. has been hugely successful in the sport and that meant the kids were living this celebrity lifestyle, that’s all they knew from a young age, under the auspices of everything the eldest has achieved, always in the spotlight.
“My father was on the other side of boxing. He had to go the hard way, often with an opponent boxing away from home on the dirtier side of the sport. My upbringing was probably more restrained.”
He may not have inherited much of the courage – he’s enthusiastic about his vegan diet and herbal supplement intake – but he’s not an outcast in the family either.
“There are different elements for everyone,” he emphasizes. “Senior has two sides, a very elegant, significant side of his personality with his clothes, his accessories. At the same time, he is a very spiritual person, deeply immersed in philosophy and poetry, and very proud of his manners and morals.
subscribe to INewsletter Box
boxing tonight Iweekly announcement of Saturday fights – and that’s it now free weekly newsletter. Every week we cover the biggest fights in the UK, US and beyond with exclusive interviews and analysis. IBoxing authors.
you can login Here to get it straight to your inbox on Saturday morning.
Harlem believes this side was present in Sebastian, his cousin and son of Eubank Sr., who tragically passed away in 2021 at the age of 29.
“I think Chris Jr. took on the qualities of the older one and Seb took on that spiritual/philosophical side. I myself had a close relationship with Seb, so I think we have a lot in common. I like clothes and fashion.
“I think that’s a big part of the sport too – a lot of the athletes I look up to polarize the sport not just in the ring but outside of it, whether it’s politics like Muhammad Ali or clothing style. . Having old-style cars.
This is also similar to genetics. Before fighting Steve Collins in 1995, Eubank Sr. rode around the ring on a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Don’t expect a feat like that from a super lightweight, but he already has the eyes to emulate his uncle and win at least one of those 19 world title fights.