MANCHESTER, England — For most fighters, the final fight week media obligations are a necessary evil.

Faced with a line of video cameras, most switch to autopilot before reeling off the same set of answers to the same set of questions, then get back to their hotel as the weight-making process begins. As the clock ticks down to his welterweight main event matchup with Jack Catterall, Harlem Eubank bounced into media day.

The 31-year-old's face lit up every time the idea of walking out into Manchester's AO Arena on Saturday night crossed his mind.

"I'm prepared. I've had this night in my mind for a long time and I've done all the preparations asked of me in the build-up so I'm ready," Eubank (21-0, 9 KOs) told The Ring.

"I feel like it's the right time to go and show the world what I'm capable of."

Eubank has slowly but surely made himself into a contender. His famous surname didn't afford him any special privileges and this weekend's fight with Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs) will be his first headline appearance at a major arena.

Eubank turned professional in 2017 and has boxed in hotel conference rooms, small halls and, in 2018, at somewhere called Regent Circus in Swindon.

"Maybe that was my sixth fight or something like that, but it was miles away [from this]. Going there to fight, fighting behind closed doors, it's those type of nights and moments through your career that build you into the fighter you need to be, to go into these big occasions and deliver.

"I've gone around the world, getting my experience. Nothing was handed to me in the sport of boxing. I've gone in there and taken it all with both hands - Saturday night will be no different."

Eubank has patiently waited for the right moment to step up.

After spending a good portion of 2024 hoping for a teased fight with Adam Azim to be confirmed, he finally got tired of waiting for a big fight at 140lbs and instead moved up to welterweight.

Following a scrappy eight-round runout against the negative Nurali Erdogan on Nov. 22, Eubank produced the most complete performance of his career in March when he took apart and stopped the tough Tyrone McKenna with a 10th-round stoppage.

Catterall will provide an entirely different type of test.

The 31-year-old is renowned as a strong, tricky night's work, but although he still sits at No. 3 in the The Ring's rankings he finds himself in need of a meaningful fight after narrowly losing a WBO interim junior welterweight world title fight to Arnold Barboza Jr on Feb. 15.

Realising that, Eubank and his team actively sought out the fight and tempted Catterall up to the 147lb division.

"I feel like I'm coming into my prime. I turned professional at 22 and it's been a crash course. I've been gaining my experience, learning on the job and feel like I've spent a long time developing the art form," Eubank said.

"When you look back on it, it's been ordained this way. To go and get your experience, not have everything easy, these type of things develop your character and you need a strong one to succeed in boxing. I feel like everything has come to fruition when it's meant to and now we're here."

Catterall has developed into a headline attraction over the past two years and has been involved in high stakes, high pressure fights with the likes of Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis and Barboza.

Eubank may not have been competing at the same level as Catterall, but he too has had to get used to dealing with expectation.

Fighting on terrestrial television on Channel 5 means that he has got accustomed to boxing in front of huge audiences and also has to deal with the unique scrutiny his famous surname brings.

"For the Eubanks, pressure comes from the day that you step into the gym," he said.

"The first day you lace up gloves, your first spar, there's always a target on your head so pressure is something that you come to enjoy. It comes with the territory and I'm experienced with it."