When Chris Eubank Jnr ceded control of center ring, mere seconds into Saturday’s rematch with Conor Benn, Harlem Eubank knew there was something wrong with his cousin.
“That would never have happened in the past,” Harlem told BoxingScene. Eubank Jnr went on to take a pasting as Benn tore strips from the man who had outpointed him only seven months ago. That man was not there, however. This man, the one who was dropped twice in the last round before losing a lopsided decision, was like nothing Harlem had seen before.
“I knew straight away,” Harlem explained. “It’s difficult seeing that happen to someone you know and care about. You don’t want to see certain things; you don’t want to see them take shots; you don’t want to see them take punishment; you want to see them go out on a high; you want to see them finish in style. You want the best for them. So, to see him like that, it was difficult to watch.
“He’s got to go away and deal with everything that he was dealing with outside the ring and let his body heal up. He’s getting older and these repetitive camps, they take it out of your body, they don’t give the body a chance to heal itself. I think he needs some time away from the intensity of training camp to really let the body heal.”
Harlem understandably wouldn’t commit when asked if he thought we’d see his cousin in the ring again. His answer revealed plenty, however: “If he still has the desire, I think he can [fight again] but he can do whatever he wants to do now. He’s achieved a lot in the sport. He’s got to be proud of everything he’s done. He’s put British boxing back to the forefront; I feel boxing has shifted back to Britain from the States and he played a huge part in that. He has the option to do whatever he chooses now.”
Harlem will of course fight again. On Friday, in front of his Brighton hometown fans, he takes on Canadian Josh Wagner, 19-1 (10 KOs), in a 10-round welterweight bout. For 31-year-old Eubank, 21-1 (9 KOs), it will mark the first time he’ll enter the ring with a defeat on his record. In July, in his biggest fight to date, he lost a technical decision to Jack Catterall after the bout was terminated one second into the seventh round due to both fighters nursing deep head gashes.
The contest was roundly criticised for its lack of action but Eubank, who afterwards met some stick for suggesting it was a close fight, has no regrets. “It wasn’t that difficult to come to terms with,” he reasoned. “I’m not one of these guys that’s worried about having an unbeaten record. I want to go in there and fight the best and prove myself against the best. That’s always the mindset; I’m not trying to protect a record. I enjoy fighting and I want to test myself against the best in the world.
“It was a frustrating night. Neither of us got a chance to do what we wanted to do in there. I wasn’t happy with the outcome, and neither was Jack; it was an inconclusive ending to the fight. I come away with a lot of experience, I learnt a lot in the fight, things that can take me forward and make me a better fighter.”
And the biggest lesson was?
“That the fight can end at any time. Make every round count. I got a lot of confidence from it. Being in with a guy like Jack, who has mixed it at the top level, you can feel what they’re capable of and what you’re capable of. I gained a lot of experience and confidence from fighting at that level.”
In the post-fight interview Eubank had said that it was close even though the scorecards read 69-66 (twice) and 69-65. The seventh round, though it did not really exist, was scored 10-10 as per British rules. Now, upon reflection, Eubank accepts that Catterall deserved to win but due to the premature and inconclusive finish, he still doesn’t feel like a loser.
“Yeah, [the decision] was fair,” he said. “If you consider it was only over six rounds and it got cut short, and the scoring was only over those six rounds, of course I understand [why I didn’t get the decision]. Watching the fight, I thought it was a close fight, but I can see how you would score it, maybe, four-two [in Catterall’s favor]. But being in the fight, it felt like an even fight.
“What I was talking about [in the post-fight interview] was that they recruit fighters to score the fight at ringside, so it’s like an entertainment component of the broadcast, and those fighters scored the fight even on the commentary. I was just giving an idea of how it seemed to me, it didn’t feel like a landslide. Watching it back, I wasn’t having loads of success, but neither was my opponent and that’s how I felt in the fight.”
Onwards and upwards, then, for Eubank. He promises to pay “close attention” to 33-year-old Wagner, who is something of an unknown quantity, and insists his career at world level, unlike that of his cousin, is only just getting started.
“I feel very positive. Sometimes people can try to force negativity on you but I’m a fighter who understands that you have to take experiences like that in a positive way; use them, flip them, and go on to have success in the sport. I still expect to be a world champion.”
