Audley Harrison – Deluded Fool or Genuine Contender?

Written by Daz Pearce

Split seconds alter the course of history. The moment that a Serbian named Gavrilo Princip fired at Archduke Franz Ferdinand ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I, in which the death count ran into tens of millions. A popular definition of power is the ability of a short event or act to have a massive impact. In that sense, there was more power at work on Friday night than that which is possessed in Audley Harrison’s left hand. That split second in which he unloaded on Michael Sprott was the difference between the end of a professional career (as per his pre-fight pledge) and the possibility of more lucrative doors opening for a man who had stalled more times than a dodgy second-hand motor. Now that is power.

What was evident to many on Friday was the fact that Harrison fought ten completed rounds after sustaining an injury to his right shoulder which left him with only one effective arm. Sprott fought an intense fight that would have asked questions of a fully-working Harrison, so he deserves credit for the way he controlled proceedings, clearly ahead with one round to go. That the man known as A-Force pulled it round at the death while clearly handicapped is somewhat out of kilter with the popular notion that he ‘lacked heart’ or did not really want it. To this writer, it confirmed the initial hunch was indeed true. It is a personal view, but this writer has never quite bought into the conventional wisdom on Harrison. There is plenty of irrefutable evidence that becoming a world-level fighter means an awful lot to him. After the setbacks previously against Danny Williams, Sprott, Dominic Guinn and Martin Rogan, a man who ‘did not want it’ or ‘had no heart’ would have quit the sport altogether. The spirit is willing.

Where the problem almost certainly lies is in Harrison’s head. If you speak to many ‘loud’ people in private one-to-one situations, you will find that a sizeable number of them are at heart sensitive souls, riddled by self-doubt and a lack of confidence. The bravado seen by the outside world is a smokescreen, designed to convey a sense of certainty. After all, sensitive people are classic targets for bullies and other unpleasant folk, yeah? So it is the same with Harrison. Listen to him speak on television about how it is his ‘destiny’ to become World Champion and then ask who he is really trying to convince – the viewer, or himself? Then watch his visibly nervous demeanour in the ring, especially when an opponent opens up. Dismiss it as psychobabble if you wish but to this writer it makes complete sense.

Further evidence of this is the clear sense of upset that Harrison feels about his treatment from boxing fans in the UK. Even after his victory on Friday night, audible booing could still be heard from large sections of the crowd. Three things are worth noting here. 1) Harrison had just WON a very hard fight for a recognized title. 2) He is a fighter who has clearly under-achieved in his career on several occasions. He has failed to give full value for money and caused an understandable sense of frustration. But he has not killed anyone, or wrecked anyone’s life. The hostility towards him is sometimes more fitting of a man on a murder charge at the Old Bailey, and it opens up that old argument – does paying for a ticket entitle a spectator to abuse, denigrate and humiliate another human being? 3) It will have hurt more as this was Harrison’s own city, the place where he was born and used to call home.

It was not ever thus. Back in 2000, he was a national hero after winning Olympic gold in Sydney. The infamous £1 million deal with the BBC was signed and British boxing fans waited in expectation. When Mike Middleton, a private detective from Miami succumbed in less than a round of Audley’s debut, all seemed well. But the honeymoon with the British public was soon over. Tedious victories over mediocre opposition were followed by claims of greatness and of Harrison’s ‘development’ that were not being matched by performances in the ring. In the end the situation with fight fans turned so ugly that Harrison had to take refuge in the States for a while. Every time he has come back to these shores since, it is with the crowd against him, at least wanting him to lose and frequently expecting it. On four occasions, they have got their wish, and it must be said that Audley’s boasts of future world domination did him no favours and invited ridicule at his expense. However, sometimes the fun has descended into downright nastiness that borders on hatred. It is unpleasant, and sometimes fans who are passionate about any sport lose perspective about it importance in life.

This leaves us with the killer question about what Harrison can reasonably expect to achieve in a career that has maybe two or three years to run at the most. Can he really become a world champion by defeating one of the Klitschko brothers or David Haye? The answer to that question has to be an almost certain no. Put another way, an upset of Tyson-Douglas proportions would have to occur in order to make it happen. Can he at least finish up in the ring with one of them, with the career summary of being a European champion who fought for a world title? The outlook on this scenario looks more positive. Harrison has become (sort of) marketable again. He has the tools to win a fight against a high-ranked opponent and the evidence is that the Klitschko brothers in particular are not on a crusade to fight the best around. That may lead them to see Harrison as a fairly straightforward defence, against an opponent who retains name value. Alternatively, David Haye could see himself frozen out of the Klitschko picture for a while. Casual fans would watch a Haye-Harrison fight even if it would be a mismatch on the level of Naz vs Billy Hardy.

Harrison’s dream of being a champion is almost certainly just that, but he could well end up as a contender. The suggestion this is not entirely deserved on the back of a few PrizeFighter wins and a late, late show is not without foundation. However, boxing is an unfair sport much of the time. It may be that the balance of power has shifted his way.