Boxing News Hall of Fame writer Graham Houston takes a deep dive into Saturday night's welterweight fight between Harlem Eubank and David Papot and provides his best bets and prediction.
Harlem Eubank vs David Papot Tips Preview
Harlem Eubank feels that, at 32, he’s ready for a world title fight. He gets the chance to prove it on Saturday when he meets France’s David Papot in the 12-round main event at the Copper Box Arena.
At stake is the vacant IBF International welterweight title, which is a steppingstone to a “full” championship contest.
Each man has suffered just one defeat and those losses were at elite level (against Jack Catterall and Liam Paro respectively).
It’s an intriguing match-up in terms of styles.
Eubank is athletic, what you could call “twitchy” (lots of quick moves and feints), has a good boxing IQ, punches sharply and isn’t easy for the other man to figure out.
Papot is a rugged southpaw veteran with solid technical acumen, and he has fought in multiple 12-rounders.
The betting public has struggled to get a good read on this fight and odds have hardly moved, with Brighton’s Eubank a slight underdog.
Papot is more of the “traditional” fighter, with a deep amateur background, but while Eubank took up boxing late he has speed and athleticism.
And Eubank is also very confident. Eubank says he wants to meet the best fighters available.
His team noted at this week’s press conference that when opponents were put forward for Saturday's event Eubank chose the toughest option on the table - and that was Papot.
Eubank has a karate background and says he initially didn’t take up boxing due to the pressure of the family name (Chris Eubank of course being his uncle).
But Eubank has applied himself diligently since deciding to pursue a ring career.
Jack Catterall was too crafty and too cute for him but there wasn’t much in any of the rounds.
The Eubank team takes the view that the fight “didn’t happen” because neither man established any real dominance and it ended unsatisfactorily at the halfway stage due to a clash of heads.
I get the impression with Eubank that he likes to have things all his own way. We haven’t seen him have to fight through adversity.
Eubank looked uncomfortable against the Mexican Eliot Chavez, for instance, but in fairness it was four years ago and Eubank is now much more mature as a fighter.
Papot, meanwhile, is the older man at 35, and obviously he is much the more seasoned fighter.
There’s nothing electrifying about Papot but he is steady and workmanlike. He showed resolute qualities in winning a 12-round 12-round unanimous against the tough Bilel Jkitou, who had just lost by split decision to Sam Eggington in a 12-round war.
Another excellent win on Papot’s record came two years ago when he won a unanimous decision over Spain’s Jon Miguez, who was unbeaten going into the fight.
And while Papot lost to Liam Paro it was the French fighter who did the greater damage, with one of Paro’s eyes swollen almost shut by the end of the 12 rounds.
Papot and Eubank share a common opponent in Josh Wagner, of Canada. Papot won by KO in the seventh round when he crumpled Wagner with a left-hand shot to the body - but this was a competitive contest for six rounds.
Eubank, meanwhile, practically toyed with Wagner in winning a unanimous 10-round decision last November.
Harlem Eubank vs David Papot Tale of the Tape
Harlem Eubank | David Papot | |
Record: | 22-1 (9 KOs) | 30-1-1 (5 KOs) |
Age: | 32 | 35 |
Birthplace: | Brighton, England | Saint-Nazaire, France |
Height: | 5′ 8″ / 173cm | 5' 9″ / 175cm |
Stance: | Orthodox | Southpaw |
Last Fight: | Won (UD) vs Josh Wagner (Nov 2025) | Won (TKO) vs Armz (Jun 2025) |
KO%: | 40.91% | 16.67% |
Alias: | N/A | L'enfant de Penhoet |
Harlem Eubank vs David Papot Top Tips
This is a finely poised fight. Eubank is younger and fresher but Papot is the bigger man, having fought as a 154-pounder for much of his career before scaling down to 147.
I think the early rounds will tell the story. Eubank doesn’t want to be playing catch-up. He needs to assert himself, get the jab and right hand on target and not allow Papot to take the play away.
On the Papot side it’s essential that the visitor doesn’t allow Eubank to get into a rhythm. Papot has to bring pressure, staying right on the slicker Eubank and either getting off first with his punches or making sure he holds his own in exchanges.
But Papot is in his mid-30s and he’s coming into the fight after suffering his first defeat. We know what we’ll get with Papot but it’s possible Eubank can level up.
I’m leaning ever-so slightly towards Eubank. He’s the promoted fighter, he’s boxing on home ground and he’s been building towards a night such as this ever since turning pro in 2017.
In an even fight I’ll take the 11/10 offered on a Eubank upset.
My preferred bet is the fight to go 'Over 10.5 Rounds' @ 4/11 though.
Neither man is a seriously hard hitter and each fighter has shown a solid chin, so I’m expecting a tactical sort of contest with many nip-and-tuck rounds.
All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
