Harlem Eubank showed spite and punch selection to produce a career-best display in his beloved Brighton hometown against seasoned veteran Timo Schwarzkopf last Friday – dropping and eventually stopping him in R11. A welterweight move appears next for the 29-year-old, hitting his prime and making a name for himself when many didn’t think it possible a few years back.
Harlem has options, both at 140 and 147lbs
- Eubank earned R3 knockdown, deducted a point in R5 for low blows and given stern warning by referee John Latham later on, before scoring thunderous finish as German was in no fit state to continue
- Kozovo-born Schwarzkopf (22-6), who boxed Anthony Yigit, Jack Catterall and other credible opponents during career to date, had never been dropped or knocked out in 27 previous fights as an 13-year professional
- Harlem, together with Chris Eubank Sr, uses his post-fight interview to call out welterweight Conor Benn – vocal about rebooking the Chris Eubank Jr bout – having declared this matchup the last fight at 140lbs
- George Groves on his podcast Monday: “Clever people are trying to make Benn vs. Eubank Jr, I don’t know, just want Harlem to keep winning and progressing. His profile is rising, got to get a move on now, he’s 28 or 29… coming into his physical peak and wants to test himself as best he can.”
- Welterweight isn’t a particularly deep division domestically, with former undisputed light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor again hinting he’ll move up but besides him, Benn and current British champion Ekow Essuman – who defends his title weekend – there aren’t many names worth pursuing. Plus, all three mentioned are with different promoters
R11, 0:42 – Harlem Eubank bt. Timo Schwarzkopf via TKO
29-year-old wins vacant WBO Global light-welterweight title
Before the prearranged Conor Benn callout and headlines which come with the territory when Chris Eubank Sr is in your corner, Harlem Eubank surprised many with his showing – neutralising, then stopping Timo Schwarzkopf in his toughest test yet.
Harlem isn’t known for being a power puncher, far from it, but set about outworking his opponent as the readiness to exchange blows in the first few rounds was clear.
For all the pre-fight talk of being able to show levels in boxing ability between them, that risk-seeking approach must’ve caught Schwarzkopf off-guard as he paid the price and found himself thrust into survival mode midway through round three.
Body punching was an ever-present theme for the Brighton boxer, whether being lectured by the referee or not, though a vicious uppercut kickstarted the knockdown as two cuffing right-hand punches followed and Timo staggered to the canvas.
You could be forgiven for thinking Harlem would step on the accelerator and finish the job right there, Timo teetering dangerously as the Brighton Centre crowd noise swelled in anticipation, but the 32-year-old defended intelligently and fired back too.
This was, after all, a bullish away fighter that hadn’t been dropped or stopped in his career. He had lost before but wasn’t going down without a fight, and gamely threw back at Harlem as the fog cleared and his legs were steady once more.
Keeping his high guard intact, he swung wildly and despite enduring a stint up against the ropes where Eubank teed off with more body shots, that inadvertently helped him have brief success before another uppercut and right hand wobbled him in the round’s final seconds. The suggestion was, Harlem emptied the gas tank.
In the fourth, you could sense this was the case as he absorbed more damage than you’d expect after such a strong previous round and was taking backwards steps, moving a lot laterally and getting hit clean by single right-hands for his troubles too.
The only solace this unsettling visual provided was that perhaps Eubank had felt the brunt of Schwarzkopf’s power and believed it wouldn’t do him much harm to showcase head movement and his comfort level boxing off the back foot, though it also opened him up to unnecessary danger – as has been the case in the past.
For all of his subtle skills on show, whether it be pivoting into shots or dancing his way out of punching range, Eubank had to stay patient as Schwarzkopf rarely let him breathe freely and that makes the manner of this stoppage victory even sweeter.
Deducted a point in the fifth and given a stern warning two rounds later, Harlem suddenly found himself devoid of perhaps his most potent weapon in body punching and had to adapt by mixing up attacks to keep the German guessing.
It worked well enough, but questions remain over whether he would be afforded the same luxuries as the opposition step-ups increase and other boxers are wise to those tactics, capitalising on chances to connect big and point-score in the pocket.
The finish was vicious and very sudden, especially as Harlem had just been hit clean with a stinging right in the corner moments earlier.
He replied with a short right hook Schwarzkopf didn’t see coming fast enough, and although he beat the referee’s ten count, was in no fit state to continue.
What’s next?
This week is an intriguing one in British boxing – Saudi announcements aside – given what’s at stake across two shows in Manchester and Wolverhampton this weekend.
Talented young Adam Azim looks to become European champion at 140lbs when taking on France’s defending titlist Franck Petitjean to headline a BOXXER show.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Essuman defends his British, Commonwealth and IBF European welterweight belts against Harry Scarff on a stacked card packed with domestic title fights under Frank Warren’s Queensberry banner.
Calling out Benn makes the most financial sense, at a time where rumblings continue but nothing is confirmed as far as a Eubank Jr megafight, but Wasserman will be wise to remind their fighter about the risk-reward factor on Matchroom’s side – given how long it’s taken for a prospective Dalton Smith matchup, for example.
Michael McKinson (25-1, 4 KOs) and Chris Kongo (14-2, 7 KOs) might not be sexy names in comparison, but matchmaking domestic duels are a more popular choice than European fighters without titles. We’ll wait and see how things shake out.
Undercard results
10 rounds
Sultan Zaurbek bt. Sergio Martin Sosa via R6 TKO, wins vacant WBO Global super-featherweight title
8 rounds
Light-heavyweight: Lerrone Richards bt. Mickey Ellison 79-74
Heavyweight: Tommy Welch bt. Jonathan Exequiel Vergara via R4 TKO
6 rounds
Super-middleweight: Oliver Zaren bt. Bahadur Karami 60-55
Light-welter: Tiernan Bradley bt. Michal Bulik 60-52
4 rounds
Heavyweight: Harvey Dykes bt. Erik Nazaryan 40-36
Cruiserweight: Roman Fury bt. Bradley Davies via R3 TKO
Featherweight: Tom Welland bt. Francisco Rodriguez via R4 TKO
Light-welterweight: JP O’Meara bt. Karl Sampson 38-37
Cruiserweight: Ben Andrews bt. Patryk Polasik 39-37
Picture source: Wasserman
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