Harlem Eubank vs Nurali Erdogan clash on Channel 5
Unbeaten Harlem Eubank (19-0, 8KO) is looking for win no.20 against French national champion Nurali Erdogan (16-3, 1KO), live on Channel 5, on Friday, November 22, in Newcastle.
The Wasserman Boxing show at the Walker Dome is titled, “Back to Business”, after Harlem has been sidelined for a year, through no fault of his own.
After winning the WBO Global super-lightweight title in his 11th round knockout of Timo Schwarzkopf last November, Eubank managed to land a big domestic showdown with Adam Azim.
The fight was decided upon quickly and scheduled to take place on June 15, however, an ankle injury to Azim saw the fight delayed then disappeared forever. Azim fought and defeated Ohara Davies instead.
Eubank was left wasting a year of his career waiting for fights that never happened. But now the 31-year-old talent is finally heading back to the ring and looking to make up for lost time.
His 20th opponent is experienced and capable, but his trio of losses have all come in the past 30 months. Inhis last fight, the Frenchman took unbeaten stylist Faizan Anwar the distance over 10 rounds, with one judge scoring it 95-94 to him to make the result a narrow mixed decision win for the Brit.
The 27-year-old is a good mover and and feints well, but can be caught cleanly due to his leaky guard. But, he has never been stopped, so he is one tough cookie.
Harlem’s last fight with European Union titlist Schwarzkopf was thrilling. Timo dragged him into a firefight, which Eubank was more than happy to accept, and the super-lightweights exchanged frenzied blows for 11 rounds, ending with Erdogan dropped twice and stopped in the penultimate round.
That’s two knockouts in a row, so it’s inevitable he will be looking to turn it into a hat trick.
Trained by Adam Booth, Harlem is sharp, game, aggressive, with a decent chin. To engage in back and forth battles, but show little signs of being hurt proves he has durability, but he is yet to fight at an elite level where this would be really tested.
He has passed the test against decent domestic rivals, now he is working his way through experienced Europeans, so it’s likely 2025 will see a step up to world level. According to his management, they are planning a big fight in his Brighton hometown in early 2025, but first he has to get past Erdogan on Friday.
Betting Odds
1/18 Eubank
17/2 Erdogan
Prediction
Erdogan has just one KO on his record from 19 bouts, so I believe he has been cherrypicked as a familiar and respected name in the UK, who will provide Eubank with a fight, but not any real danger.
Erdogan is skilled and capable enough to be able to outpoint Eubank or at least make the contest close, but I think Harlem is going to be keen on making a statement by becoming the first man to stop him.
All the frustration of not fighting for a year, losing his momentum, WBO Global title and world ranking, is going to show as he inevitably leaps in with his overhand rights and big hooks up close, looking to close the show from the first.
Erdogan’s punches begin up high, but drop down nearly every time on the way back, so I think there will be plenty of openings for Harlem to exploit.
There’s a good chance this will go the distance, but I believe Eubank wants to go hell for leather to stop Erdogan, which will likely happen in rounds 6-10, if it does occur.
He wants that big name in Brighton next, he’s a frustrated boxer after not fighting for a year, and he wants to make a statement; that all adds up to a knockout win, in my opinion.