Jack Catterall and Harlem Eubank might seem like just a normal British domestic bout between two would-be contenders, but beneath it lies a precedent for the division to be reignited in the wake of Jaron Ennis’ departure. The two Brits are set to meet each other in the ring on July 5th at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, and the winner might potentially set themselves up to become the next world champion in the division.
Jaron Ennis’ (34-0, 30 KO’s) WBA and IBF welterweight (147 lbs) titles are bound to be vacated after he indicated his plans to move up to super welterweight (154 lbs), allowing for new champions to emerge sooner rather than later.
With the 147-pound division now fully in flux, as it had been since four different champions emerged in the division last year, new contenders need to rise to fill the void.
And Jack Catterall (30-2, 13 KO’s) and Harlem Eubank (21-0, 9 KO’s) might just be next in line, depending on wins in the upcoming July 5th bout.
While other recent entries into the division such as Devin Haney (32-0, 15 KO’s) and Rolando Romero (17-2, 13 KO’s) could have what it takes to become world champions ― with Romero very likely set to become a world champion due to already having the WBA “regular” belt, on the other side of the pond from America Catterall and Eubank’s fight might herald a new future world champion.
Provided, of course, the bout proves to be evenly-matched.
In the wake of Catterall’s loss to super lightweight (140 lbs) contender Arnold Barboza Jr. (31-1, 11 KO’s), he seems eager on getting back into the ring and establish himself at a higher weight class; the welterweight division. Despite his reputation for being the faux undisputed 140-pound champion due to his controversial undisputed bout against Scottish star Josh Taylor (19-3, 13 KO’s) ― who held all the four titles ― in a match that was ruled a split-decision (SD) for Taylor, Catterall’s recent loss is an opportunity for Harlem Eubank.
A member of the Eubank family, Harlem Eubank has been under the radar for the majority of his professional career but is now entering the limelight when he faces Jack Catterall.
Having competed prior at welterweight during the early portion of his career, Eubank has plenty of experiences fighting in that weight class ― even with most of his career spent at 140 lbs. With his last two fights ensuing at 147 pounds, Eubank will go into the match much more attuned to the weight.
Catterall himself doesn’t lack the experience at welterweight, having debuted there but drifting towards fighting at super lightweight ― with his most relevant and recent fights occurring in that weight class.
More glaringly, is perhaps the fact that Harlem Eubank holds an undefeated record while Catterall is coming off a loss; two contrasting forms that provides a challenge for both fighters as Catterall will be looking to reignite his career while Eubank is sorely in need of a notable name and fight to become a genuine contender.
With fight already scheduled for 12 rounds, the two fighters are poised to climb up the four major organization’s rankings, and depending on their performance, the winner might just become next in line to fight for one of Ennis’ former titles.
Inarguably, that makes it one of the more underrated fights this year as the domestic match-up between the two fighters can spell greater potential glories for the winner ― yet this could also culminate in a career stopper for either.
As such, the stakes are unusually high for a fight that has unexpectedly become more relevant than likely intended.
