Harlem Eubank makes his long-awaited return to the ring on Saturday after 12 months of inaction.
The 31-year-old impressively stopped Timo Schwarzkopf at the Brighton Centre in his last appearance. Since then, he has seen several promising domestic match-ups fall through.
"It's certainly not ideal. I was gaining momentum after a statement win, ready to go after titles and test myself again," Eubank told Sky Sports.
"I was waiting for the next date following the Timo KO," he continued. "A few big options including a title fight were being considered. We chose the Adam Azim fight."
This led to a face-off at The O2 in April before the first Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke clash, with contracts signed the following day.
Unfortunately for both parties, the fight suffered a number of postponements and, eventually, Eubank was forced to look elsewhere.
Despite a long, unexpected lay-off, he is not concerned as he looks ahead to his fight with Nurali Erdogan at the Walker Activity Dome in Newcastle.
"Ring-rust doesn't worry me. I've put in the work where it matters. I know I'll be ready to perform. I've been in the gym so long that now it's about getting the timing right and showing the fans what I'm capable of," he said.
"Erdogan is a tough guy who knows what he's doing. He has a solid record, and he's never been stopped."
In his last outing, Eubank had his uncle Chris as part of the team. Although his uncle is still involved, he has taken a step back.
"It's a backseat role compared to the last fight. He's always involved in some capacity and is a big supporter of mine. He's always there at the end of a call and will always give me advice," he said.
This fight will mark Eubank's debut at welterweight, but he does not believe that means the Azim fight is off the table.
"I think I'll stay at welterweight, but it's still possible to make the Azim fight happen. We could figure out a catchweight. I'm willing to make the big fights happen, regardless. But it's about what is in front of me on the 22nd for now," he said.
Once Erdogan is out of the way, Eubank is ready to put 2024 behind him and look ahead to 2025.
"I want to fight back in Brighton next year. The reception was amazing last time, and I loved fighting in front of them. A big domestic fight could have been against Conor Benn, but he doesn't seem interested. We'll just keep pushing toward those world title opportunities," Eubank said.
Benn, of course, has been calling out Harlem's cousin, Chris Eubank Jr. Harlem Eubank was thoroughly entertained by their recent face-off before the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol fight.
"Conor was acting like himself - a lot of fake aggression, fake machismo. For him, it's the only option. To get embarrassed by Chris and still keep some kind of clout," he said.
"He's fine with going up to 160lbs, getting beat up, and then coming back down. That's his position, it's a win-win for him. He can just move back down afterward and blame the weight."
