| Audley Harrison | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Audley Harrison |
| Nickname(s) | A-Force, Ordinary, Audrey, A-Pack, Fraudley[1][2] |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality |  English |
| Birth date | October 26 1971 |
| Birth place | London |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 24 |
| Wins | 21 |
| Wins by KO | 16 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's boxing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | Super heavyweight | |
Audley Harrison, (born on October 26, 1971 in London), is a British Heavyweight boxer. In 2000 in Sydney he became the first Briton to win an Olympic gold medal in the Superheavyweight division since the competition's inception in 1984. He was also the first Briton to take Olympic gold in boxing in 32 years, and the first at the highest weight class since 1920. After his Olympic success he turned professional, fighting in Great Britain and America, though without the success of other former Olympic champions.
Contents |
Professional career
After his medal win, Harrison was awarded an MBE and landed a £1 million deal with the BBC to show his first ten professional fights.[3] The first was against US club fighter Michael Middleton, whom Harrison knocked out in the first round.[4] He was then out of action for several months with a pectoral injury, but by the end of the year outpointed Briton Derek McCafferty over six rounds.[5] Harrison was criticized in the boxing press for his seeming unwillingness to take on his fellow British contenders such as Michael Sprott, Matt Skelton, Keith Long, or Pele Reid, who would have given him a real test. Harrison continued to fight in 2003, and in February 2004 he took out US club fighter Rob Calloway in 4 rounds,[6] outpointed Ratko Draskovic over 8 slow rounds,[7] and knocked out one-time British fringe contender Matt Ellis in 2 rounds. Although Herbie Hide and Danny Williams were calling him out, Harrison was instead trying to arrange a fight with 41 year old ex-World champion Frank Bruno, who had been retired for 7 years. A war of words at York Hall, Bethnal Green with the erratic Hide after the Ellis fight resulted in a violent and unsightly riot.[8] The proposed Frank Bruno fight collapsed shortly afterwards, when Bruno was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
America
Although Harrison's weight was coming down (around 250 lbs, 115 kg), the bad press from the Ellis riot and increasing pressure to fight Hide or British champ Danny Williams resulted in Harrison relocating to the US to "continue his education". This move would be heavily criticised in the press, and bring his willingness to fight a dangerous opponent into question. He had three more fights in 2003, against veteran journeymen Lisandro Diaz (KO4),[9] Quinn Navarre (KO3),[10] and Brian Nix (KO3),[11] in America. Harrison's technique had appeared to improve, and he was sparring regularly with experienced world class Heavyweights like Vaughn Bean. Harrison returned to the UK in 2004, but instead of fighting new British champion Michael Sprott for the British title, he fought unknown Dutch fighter Richel Hersisia for the lightly regarded WBF "World" belt. He knocked out Hersisia impressively in 4 rounds.[12] He would defend the title twice: a 12 round points win over 40 year old late-sub Julius Francis,[13] and a 9th round TKO of unknown Tomasz Bonin,[14] both fights being heavily criticised for being slow and dull. After suffering a serious ligament tear in his left hand requiring hand surgery in New York, Harrison was forced to put his career on hold for almost a year. During this time he was dropped by the BBC, who decided after their experience with Harrison to take all boxing off their schedule permanently. By now Harrison had acquired the nickname "Fraudley" and was again criticized for not taking on credible opponents or performing to the standard expected of an Olympic champion. He refused professional management, managing himself through his company "A-Force Promotions", named after the nickname he prefers, 'Audley "A Force" Harrison'. Harrison defended his slow introduction to the professional game by pointing to the need to gain experience gradually. Harrison resurfaced a year later in June 2005 in the US. He knocked out two journeymen, Robert Davis (KO7)[15] and Robert Wiggins (KO4)[16] on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and said he was now ready to step up and face world class opponents and get a title shot. However, Harrison was unable to get a big fight with anyone, and with his career progressing nowhere he was forced to return to the UK in December to face long-time bitter rival Danny Williams in London.
Losses
Fighting for the Commonwealth title, the fight proved infamous for its lack of action, and Harrison's negative performance. In the 10th round Williams decked Harrison, but Harrison came back in the next round to throw punches at last and hurt Williams. The fight was difficult to score and Harrison lost a close, split decision to the delight of the crowd, who had begun to see Harrison as the bad guy in British boxing for his big talk but failure to deliver.[17] Following the fight he was heavily criticised by a number of leading figures in British boxing; including ex-fighters Barry McGuigan and Chris Eubank. In April 2006 Harrison travelled to the US and tried save his career by taking on one-time hot prospect Dominick Guinn. Guinn had won 24 fights in a row until his own negative style led to a couple of key points defeats against Monte Barrett and James Toney. In an important crossroads fight for both men, Harrison was again reluctant to throw punches, and was actually outworked by the notoriously negative Guinn who won on points.[18]
Comeback
In June 2006 Harrison scored a three round knockout of journeyman Andrew Greeley in an off-TV fight in America,[19] and was poised for a fight with Matt Skelton to try to resurrect his career. Skelton had beaten Danny Williams in July, winning the title Williams had earlier taken from Harrison. When Skelton dropped out only one week before the fight due to injury, Danny Williams replaced him.[20] Williams had trained 8 weeks for a fight with British champion Scott Gammer, however this time around Harrison fought far more aggressively, decking Williams twice and winning on a third round knockout. Williams suffered a broken nose and severe lacerations.[21] Following the victory over Williams, Harrison signed a promotional deal with boxing promoter Frank Warren with the aim of getting Harrison a world title fight in 2007. Warren and Harrison had been looking to arrange a fight with British Heavyweight Champion Scott Gammer. On 17 February 2007, he was knocked out by Michael Sprott for the European Union title. Having knocked Sprott down in the first round, Harrison threw a right in the third round that missed. At the same time Sprott threw his own left hook catching the off-balance Harrison flush on the chin with his mouth open. The referee called the fight immediately, it being clear that Harrison would not make the count. This third professional loss left Harrison's future uncertain. After his win over Danny Williams in their second fight he had proclaimed that he would win a version of the world title in 2007 and then be "undisputed" in 2008. After the Sprott defeat Harrison claimed that he could make a comeback, but comments by Frank Warren suggested that any return to the ring would be for a significantly reduced purse, since the public would have no great interest.[22] Harrison announced on his website that he was back in training, stating "Lennox (Lewis) came to the gym every day and gave me some valuable training tips and sessions which was great." Some in the boxing media stated that receiving "training tips" at the age of 35 did not engender confidence in Harrison's ability to become a top-class boxer. Harrison announced a low-key comeback fight against UK journeyman Paul King scheduled for 29 September, 2007 in Sheffield. However, he and his coach Kelvyn Travis were involved in a car accident on 21 September 2007 in the USA, and Harrison suffered injuries that caused the fight to be cancelled.[23] Harrison had also suggested that a deal would be announced involving promoter Dennis Hobson, but the cancellation of the fight meant that a formal announcement was on hold.[24] Harrison underwent surgery for his injuries, planning to be back in the ring around May 2008.[25]
Amateur career
- 1998 at the European Super Heavyweight Championships in Minsk, Belarus, lost to Serguei Lyakhovich (Belarus)
- 1998 Commonwealth Games Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist. Results were:
- Defeated Fai Falamoe (New Zealand) points
- Defeated Jim Whitehead (Australia) KO 3
- Defeated Michael Macquae (Mauritius) KO 1
- 1999 competed at the World Championships in Houston, United States. Results were:
- Defeated Lazizbek Zokirov (Uzbekistan) points
- Lost to Sinan Samil Sam (Turkey) points
- Won the Super Heavyweight Gold Medal representing Great Britain at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Results were:
- Defeated Alexei Lezin (Russia) TKO 4
- Defeated Alexey Mazikin (Ukraine) points
- Defeated Paolo Vidoz (Italy) points
- Defeated Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov (Kazakhstan) points
Professional record
| Fight number | Date | Opponent | Won/Lost | Decision | Round | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 17 February 2007 | Michael Sprott | L | KO | 3 | London (Wembley Arena) |
| 23 | 9 December 2006 | Danny Williams | W | TKO | 3 | London |
| 22 | 9 June 2006 | Andrew Greeley | W | KO | 3 | Atlantic City, USA |
| 21 | 14 April 2006 | Dominic Guinn | L | UD | 10 | Rancho Mirage, USA |
| 20 | 10 December 2005 | Danny Williams | L | SD | 12 | London |
| 19 | 18 August 2005 | Robert Wiggins | W | TKO | 4 | San Jose, USA |
| 18 | 9 June 2005 | Robert Davis | W | TKO | 7 | Temecula, USA |
| 17 | 19 June 2004 | Tomasz Bonin | W | TKO | 9 | London (WBF) |
| 16 | 8 May 2004 | Julius Francis | W | PTS | 12 | Bristol (WBF) |
| 15 | 20 March 2004 | Richel Hersisia | W | KO | 4 | London (Wembley Arena) |
| 14 | 12 December 2003 | Brian Nix | W | TKO | 3 | Laughlin, USA |
| 13 | 3 October 2003 | Lisandro Diaz | W | TKO | 4 | Las Vegas, USA |
| 12 | 9 September 2003 | Quinn Navarre | W | KO | 3 | Miami |
| 11 | 31 May 2003 | Matthew Ellis | W | TKO | 2 | London |
| 10 | 29 March 2003 | Ratko Draskovic | W | PTS | 8 | London |
| 9 | 8 February 2003 | Rob Calloway | W | TKO | 4 | London |
| 8 | 23 November 2002 | Shawn Robinson | W | TKO | 1 | Atlantic City, USA |
| 7 | 5 October 2002 | Wade Lewis | W | TKO | 2 | Liverpool |
| 6 | 10 July 2002 | Dominic Negus | W | PTS | 6 | London |
| 5 | 21 May 2002 | Mark Krence | W | PTS | 6 | London |
| 4 | 20 April 2002 | Julius Long | W | TKO | 2 | London |
| 3 | 20 October 2001 | Piotr Jurczyk | W | TKO | 2 | Glasgow |
| 2 | 22 September 2001 | Derek McCafferty | W | PTS | 6 | Newcastle |
| 1 | 19 May 2001 | Mike Middleton | W | TKO | 1 | London |
References
- ^ Sue Mott (5 December, 2005). Suddenly, Fraudley v Has-Been is a battle of serious contenders. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
- ^ Frank Warren (19 December, 2005). YES, HE REALLY IS FRAUDLEY. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
- ^ Harrison signs deal with BBC. BBC Sport (2001). Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
- ^ Trainer happy with Audley opener. BBC Sport (2001). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison lands quick win. BBC Sport (2002). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison victorious again. BBC Sport (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Competent win for Harrison. BBC Sport (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Hide fracas mars Harrison victory. BBC Sport (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Easy victory for Harrison. BBC Sport (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison shines in Miami. BBC Sport (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison cruises past Nix. BBC Sport (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Alex Trickett (2004). Harrison takes WBF title. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison toils to victory. BBC Sport (2004). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Audley stops brave Bonin. BBC Sport (2004). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison canters to win on return. BBC Sport (2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison too strong for Wiggins. BBC Sport (2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Williams revels in Harrison win. BBC Sport (2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Dire Harrison outpointed by Guinn. BBC Sport (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Audley returns with knockout win. BBC Sport (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Williams set for Harrison rematch. BBC Sport (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Harrison in bloody Williams win. BBC Sport (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Warren questions Audley's future. BBC Sport (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7009219.stm Harrison cancels bout after crash
- ^ http://www.audleyharrison.com/boxingnews/detail.asp?id=282&p=1
- ^ Audley Undergoes Surgery. www.audleyharrison.com. Retrieved on 1 November 2007.
Amateur fight: 1999 fan Karl Marshall
