THE career of Harlem Eubank, 20-0 (8 KOs), has been a curious one to date, regularly showcasing impressive skills but being moved carefully and seemingly bypassing the traditional domestic route to success.
Now, having underwhelmed in a scrappy affair last time out, Eubank is faced with one of the toughest campaigners in the division in Tyrone McKenna, 24-5-1 (7 KOs), who is sure to bring the fight to the undefeated southerner atop a solid undercard.
George Groves protégée Lucas Roehrig, 2-0 (2 KOs) appears for the third time in three months as he aims to maintain his strong start with a third straight stoppage against Argentina’s Camilo Castagno, 4-9 (1 KO), who has been knocked out just twice in his nine defeats.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Tom Welland, 7-0 (4 KOs), has proved himself to be one of Britain’s top prospects and delivered the goods when headlining a card at the Brentwood Centre last month, becoming the third fighter to defeat Michael Ramabeletsa, 18-22 (8 KOs), inside of the distance.
Here, Welland takes on Tanzania’s Ally B Lubanja, 5-1-2, in the featherweight division for what will be Lubanja’s second trip to the United Kingdom, having lost a 10-rounder against Jimmy Lee last June.
Another man that Wasserman are tipping for future success is Newcastle-born super-welterweight Dan Toward, 5-0 (4 KOs), who is tasked with German-based Ugandan Muzamiru Kakane, 8-1-1 (5 KOs), as Toward attempts to build on an eye-catching 2024.
The 23-year-old lefty entered the professional ranks as a 10-time national amateur champion and has looked every inch of that pedigree thus far, but Kakande’s draw with Hajji Muhis in December should serve as a warning that the man nicknamed ‘The Real King Kong’ is travelling to Old Blighty with the ambition of causing an upset.
In the co-main, two-time world title challenger and Irish boxing poster boy Michael Conlan, 18-3 (9 KOs), makes his comeback, after many doubted whether he would continue in the sport after consecutive knockout defeats to Luis Alberto Lopez and Jordan Gill during 2023.
After 15 months away, ‘Mick’ returns to face India’s Asad Asif Khan, 19-5-1 (5 KOs), in what should ultimately prove to be a comfortable night’s work for the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist and 2015 amateur world champion.
Finally, Harlem Eubank will take centre stage after upping the level of his opposition over the last couple of years. He hopes to deliver a display similar to his last appearance in his hometown of Brighton rather than his last overall.
In late 2023, the now 31-year-old dazzled under the spotlight of his homecoming event to stop Germany’s Timo Schwarzkopf and thrust himself into the conversation for fights amongst highly rated rivals such as Conor Benn and Adam Azim.
However, those fights failed to materialise during 2024, and Eubank underwhelmed after the 12-month lay-off in a dull, scrappy affair against Nurali Erdogan, in November, for what was Eubank’s welterweight debut after struggling to make the super-lightweight limit.
Now Eubank will fight at 147lbs for a second time but the man in the opposing corner is one far less forgiving than Erdogan, as Belfast’s Tyrone McKenna threatens to spoil the party, fresh from a two-round demolition of Dylan Moran just three months ago.
The forever game ‘Mighty Celt’ hung up the gloves after defeat to Lewis Crocker in 2023 but couldn’t shake off his itchy knuckles and returned in a rematch with Mohamed Mimoune in August, only to be stopped by a vicious body shot in the fifth-round.
Once again, McKenna refused to walk away and went toe-to-toe with Moran in a Hagler-Hearns style thriller in Waterford, with Moran deemed unable to continue after hitting the deck for a second time in an under six-minute barnstormer.
McKenna can be expected to attempt another early onslaught on Friday night and will not let Eubank off the hook if he is not on his A-game. Eubank must be at his best, particularly in the early stages, if he is to come through the bout unscathed.
