sport news Harlem Eubank on coping with the death of cousin Sebastian and a turbulent ... trends now
Harlem Eubank wanders along the Brighton seafront and begins to plot a map: where he grew up, where he lives now and why he comes back after every training session in Surrey.
It's simple enough - the views, the peace, the home comforts, the family ties. The Eubank name bleeds into most corners of this place and that helps at times like these.
Britain's most iconic fighting family have faced nearly two years of trauma and tumult. It began with the sudden death of Sebastian - son of Chris Snr, brother of Chris Jnr, cousin of Harlem, father of then one-month-old Raheem - in the summer of 2021. He was just 29.
Then came Conor Benn's failed drugs tests before his botched fight with Chris Jnr last October - Harlem was due to fight on the undercard. And then, earlier this year, Junior suffered a dramatic stoppage defeat at the hands of Liam Smith.
'The family is dealing with it on a daily basis,' Harlem begins. 'And each individual had their own way of processing that type of grief and trauma - it's not something you can just deal with and put away in a box and it's done.
Harlem Eubank has spoken of the grief his family have struggled with ahead of his fight on Channel 5 on Friday night
The 29-year-old has been coping with the death of his cousin Sebastian (R) - who died in 2021
'It's something that lives with you. Each individual has a different healing process… everyone is dealing with it in time.'
On Friday night, reminders of how far he has come and what he has lost along the way will follow Harlem up to London's York Hall, where he fights Argentinean Miguel Antin live on Channel 5, in his first fight of 2023.
Even that carried another dose of upheaval, after original opponent Christian Uruzquieta fell ill in fight week.
'With Seb, that affected me massively, he was one of the closest people to me and one of my biggest motivators,' says the 29-year-old, who is unbeaten in 16 professional fights.
'I had to take some time out… I don't think it's still fully processed yet,' he adds.
'I always carry him close to me when I go in the ring. A lot of the time he was there with me - especially at York Hall. The last fight he watched was at York Hall, now I'm headlining there for the second time. I always feel his energy close to me when I'm in that arena, going into battle.'
By the end of this year, Eubank hopes to be in position to fight some of the biggest names at 140lbs. For now, though, grief has taught him not to look beyond today.
As kids, Harlem and Seb shared a love of martial arts. Later, they bonded over plant-based diets and alternative lifestyles.
Harlem says he carries the spirit of Sebastian whenever he gets in the boxing ring
'One of the big things we had in common was health and fitness and physical well-being,' Harlem explains. 'So when someone is taken so young that is fit and healthy and doing everything right, it's more confusion.'
Before taking up boxing aged 18, Eubank was a promising footballer with Brighton. He was also British karate champion and the spirituality he developed in those days helped untangle a scrambled mind.
'You have to live every day like it's your last and be grateful for our time here and grateful for the experiences while we're here with the people we love,' he explains.
'I think having a strong faith in the creator or a being that's higher than us and in control of scenarios that play out, sometimes it takes a weight off because things that we can't physically explain can send people into dark places…that weight falls directly on us.
'But I think having a strong faith in the creator, sometimes you understand there is a bigger plan. And there is that spiritual life that continues, it's not the end. I definitely understood that and that helped a lot.'
The pair shared a close bond and he says he found his sudden passing difficult to process
Down the road, at the underground gym where Chris chisels his body into shape, sits
