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Family ties: Harlem Eubank takes aim at own legacy as Jack Catterall enters last-chance saloon
Harlem Eubank is no stranger to the noise. When you step into the ring with his name, the chances are that your opponent will know where your lineage comes from.
For several decades, it has echoed down the stories of British boxing, mostly centered on his uncle Chris Eubank, and later, his cousin Chris Eubank Jr. too.
The former was a world champion in his prime, a figure who stepped beyond the confines of boxing's traditional audience to become a crossover pop-culture icon.
His son too, if not quite the same figure, has broken beyond the usual boundaries to help attract new faces and a new audience after he defeated Conor Benn in April.
Harlem, on the other hand, has not quite scaled those heights so far in his career - but this week comes the chance to elevate his own legacy and stand free of family ties.
Eubank faces former light-weltweight title challenger Jack Catterall this weekend, at Manchester's AO Arena, looking to claim what would be the biggest victory of his career.
But for his opponent, it is a stark shifting-doors moment in a career that could well have seen him crowned world champion a division below not just once but perhaps even twice.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
When the fight was announced, Eubank - who had formerly made noises about having his own crack at Benn - could not hide his delight at landing a dance with Catterall.
"This is the type of fight we wanted next, a world-class operator," he said in May. "This is a guy that was considered undisputed by most of the boxing public.
"We believe he's the best guy in the UK, [and] that's the scalp I want. I believe I'm about to make a big impact, not only in the UK but on the world scene with this fight."
Eubank refers of course to Catterall's 2022 bout with Josh Taylor, when the Manchester boxer appeared to convincingly outbox his opponent for the light-welterweight crown.
Instead, Taylor won a highly controversial split-decision in February 2022, to leave his dreams of not only a first world title but all of them in tatters on the floor of the SSE Hydro.
A revenge victory two years later in Leeds only softened the blow, with his rival long since without his titles, and Catterall instead rebuilt towards another shot at a major strap.
That peaked in February, when he entered the ring to face Arnold Barboza Jr. for the WBO interim crown and a likely shot at Teofimo Lopez's full title later this year.
Again, he came up short - this time less a robbery than just a bad day at the office by his standards - and his chance slipped through his fingers like sand once again.
Given his impressive record and ranking, it seemed that a decision to stay in the light-welterweight division might still yet have yielded another shot in the near future.
But in stepping up a division to welterweight to face Eubank, Catterall has gambled two-fold, on both his departure from the race and the chance he may not return to it.
Win, and he restores himself to a winning footing, in an unfamiliar weight class, even as he potentially loses momentum on another shot at the crown where he most wants it.
Lose, and he suffers a setback against a fighter considerably below his reputation, further denting his prospects of securing a third - and maybe final - chance at that belt.
It is a risk he has taken likely in the confidence he can prevail and either return to light-welterweight or push on at his new level - but at 31, there is only so long left in the tank.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
Eubank on the other hand could see his stock soar dramatically with this fight - particularly if he pushes against pre-fight betting expectations and secures a victory in Manchester.
He is the outsider, the man with the name but not yet the pedigree to match it. In a way, his story echoes that of his father Simon - always in the shadow of another with the name.
It will not have been lost on many that the week he faces his biggest test, his cousin has seen his highly anticipated rematch with Benn confirmed for September 20 this year.
Unfairly, there could be as much focus on whether Eubank Jr. appears in Manchester to trail this next dance as his relative takes to the ring, drawing further oxygen.
If anything, it further underlines what Harlem needs to move the conversation on and squarely to his own merits as an unbeaten boxer - the scalp of a major name.
Catterall may not be a former champion, but to many, he was the best - and could still be the best - light-welterweight of the past half-decade, both at home and abroad.
If Eubank can topple him, and in his own back yard no less, the conversation changes. Irrespective of those recent results, Catterall still has just two losses on his pro record.
This is not a mismatch with a fighter past his prime. This is a man who, in another world, might be WBO champion right now and not entertaining such a bout in the first place.
Boxing is full of moments where the paths of life twist and turn before you, futures that are eternally flexible until that one punch lands and puts you to the canvas.
For Eubank and Catterall, this is one such moment. Both men know the magnitude of what victory - and even more defeat - will do to their careers, their reputations, their lives.
Come the first bell on Saturday night, you can expect neither man to give an inch as they battle for the next steps they want, and with an eye on some very diferent goals too.
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