The vacant IBF Intercontinental welterweight title is up for grabs at the Brighton Centre this Friday evening, as Harlem Eubank puts his unbeaten record on the line against Tyrone McKenna in the main event.
Kalle Sauerland’s Wasserman Boxing promote, and Channel 5 televise the bill live in the UK.
Eubank (20-0, 8 KOs) has generally made baby steps as a professional to date, but took a decent 11th round stoppage win against Timo Schwarzkopf in November 2023 that signalled an intent to move firmly into world class level.
It would be over a year though until the Brighton man was seen again, following failed talks with Adam Azim and it was meant to be a contest that showcased his skills and attracted bigger names as he moved up to welterweight, but his bout with Nurali Erdogan was a stinker, with fouls and infractions aplenty as the 31-year-old suffered a cut eye in a drab, but clear points win.
McKenna (24-5-1, 7 KOs) represents a decent test for Eubank, but the Belfast man has lost three of his last five outings, albeit in decent company.
‘The Mighty Celt’ was stopped in eight in 2022 by Regis Prograis, and after defeating Chris Jenkins, he then lost consecutive contests to Lewis Crocker (UD10) and Mohamed Mimoune (TKO5) to leave his career at a crossroads.
The 35-year-old southpaw did come back into form last December, when he upset Dylan Moran for a second round in Waterford.
Prediction: Eubank needs to shrug off the disappointment of his last fight, and concentrate on impressing against McKenna, who will come to win. I think once he negotiates the opening few rounds, Eubank can run out a handy points winner.
Conlan returns
Michael Conlan comes back from over a year out to return to action on the undercard, as he gets an eight rounder at super featherweight against Asad Asif Khan.
Conlan (18-3, 9 KOs) is coming off devastating, back-to-back losses, the first a fifth round stoppage in a bid for the IBF featherweight world title against Luis Alberto Lopez in May 2023, before Jordan Gill took a seventh round stoppage win against the Northern Irishman in his last outing in December 2023.
Khan (19-5-1, 5 KOs) has won five on the bounce since a fifth round stoppage loss to former WBA ‘regular’ featherweight champion, Can Xu in December 2023.
Prediction: Khan is a very safe comeback opponent, and Conlan can get the job done inside schedule, with the Indian stopped in two of his five career defeats.
Toward tackles Kakande
The other eight rounder sees popular super welterweight Dan Toward (5-0, 4 KOs) on the card, and the 23-year-old can record another early victory, this time against Muzamiru Kakande (8-1-1, 5 KOs).
Remaining Undercard
In six rounders, local heavyweight hope Tommy Welch (15-0, 9 KOs) may need all available rounds to see off Vaclav Pejsar (24-19, 19 KOs), and also at heavyweight, Harvey Dykes (5-0) may also need the distance to see off Stefano Capone (5-5, 2 KOs).
Matty Harris (7-1, 5 KOs) is another heavyweight in action, and he should take the early route to take the win against Volodymyr Katsuk (5-2, 2 KOs).
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Tom Welland (7-0, 4 KOs) can take his featherweight clash with Ally B Lubanja (5-1-2) early, while super featherweight prospect, Codie Smith (4-0-1) should win on points against Jose Manuel Perez (13-17-1, 10 KOs).
At light heavyweight, Ben Andrews (4-0) could well take his first early win against Navid Iran (10-5-1, 1 KO), who has been stopped four times in five defeats, and JP O’Meara (4-0) should run out a points victor over Mark Butler (3-16, 1 KO).
Cruiserweight novice Lucas Roehrig (2-0, 2 KOs) can halt the well-travelled Camilo Castagno (4-9, 1 KO).
