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Opinion Archive:

Form an Audley queue

Harrison has to win and might even call out Haye

Johnny Nelson Posted 4th September 2008 view comments

Amir Khan may be the headline on Saturday at the MEN Arena in Manchester, but there is no doubting it will be a massive night for Audley Harrison.

The British heavyweight takes on George Arias, a former opponent of mine, on the undercard to the main event.

My big question mark over both men is about desire.

For Arias, has it changed since I boxed him? I've not seen much of him since that fight back in 2001 when he challenged me for my WBO cruiserweight title.

But I still remember when he came across to Britain. I remember him being tough and ambitious, but he didn't have the ringcraft to match me.

He was durable, he took some big shots and we knew we would have to take him to the later rounds to try and break him down. In the end, I won on points.

Although he's now at heavyweight and now the national champion in Brazil, I think he's more likely to be a cruiserweight in terms of size.

Learning

He was definitely that when I fought him, though that was a few years ago. Sometimes cruiserweights can be 'baby' heavyweights, such as David Haye and Herbie Hide. Both men managed to put on some extra weight without losing their speed and skills.

As for Audley, he's drinking in the last-chance saloon and he knows it. He should win this fight, in fact he should stop his opponent without too much trouble.

Johnny Nelson
Quotes of the week

HARRISON v ARIAS
Live on Sky Box Office & HD
9pm, Saturday, September 6
Channel 743 & 752
Call 08442 410 888 to book
Click here for full details

As for Audley, he's drinking in the last-chance saloon and he knows it. He should win this fight, in fact he should stop his opponent without too much trouble.

However, he knows that people are waiting for him to fall flat on his face again.

Audley has had more chances than most fighters. He's talked himself into corners before but the fact that he's now stopped promoting himself and signed up for Frank Warren - a man he did not get on with in the early years -shows that he's learning.

But we're at the stage now, where if Audley he doesn't win this fight then he had better not bother going to a boxing gym again.

He has all the attributes required to be a success. Now it is about building his confidence before getting another big fight.

It would not surprise me if he called out for an all-Brit showdown with Haye after winning this weekend - and I do expect him to win inside the distance.

Glenn McCrory's view

Audley's a mate of mine and has been for years, but however hard he's tried, it just hasn't come off for him. He's had his glories, he's had his failures and his massive ups and massive lows. It's been a rocky road but to be honest, it's been worth watching in the main. But he's 37 now and I do think this is the last hurrah for him. He beat Jason Barnett well on the Calzaghe-Hopkins undercard so he is set up well, but you know what I want to see? I want to see Audley stop being careful. I want him to have some conviction, some courage and be brave. If in doubt, you get knocked out and it's time he had a gameplan and stuck to it. He should be able to beat George Arias - who after all has fought dear old Johnny Nelson - but he has to win well. Come on Audley, let's see you have a row!

Jim Watt's view

I suppose it is Audley's last chance. But a win is no good here, he needs a decent performance. Even a clear win or a stoppage after a few cagey rounds is not good enough, because he needs to get the fans cheering again. He talks a good game, he is massive, a southpaw and has all the tools but there's just one thing that Audley's been lacking - a warrior's heart. I wonder if he would have turned pro had he not won that gold medal (and been offered that £1million) because sometimes I wonder whether he actually likes being a boxer! He needs to show us once for all he does and he needs to put on a show to prove it. The trouble is he is in against George Arias and people rarely look good against him. Audley has it all though, it's just high time he put it all together. This could be his last chance.

Comments (2)

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Peter Tork says...

I have watched the fight at least 8 times and Audley Harrison DID not win the fight...the best he did was a draw. Arias was the aggressor and it is a major point for a win in the USA but in England...well?!?! Harrison best punches were at least 90% blocked whilst Arias' connected most of the time, it didn't have the power (if you have only 4 days notice, you don't have enough quality training time due to lack of support and you haven't fought for 11 months...well I don't need to further my argument, do I?). To sum, in the US Audley would have lost, in Brazil with PROPER & NEUTRAL judges Audley would have lost too.

Posted 22:15 14th November 2008

Derick Francis says...

Audley is all mouth and he cant fight. He is obviously not as bad as the suckers that have been picked for him though. If his next opponent has anything about himhe will knock Audley out. In fact apart from Haye the British heavy weights make me want to cry when I watch them, from Williwams to Skelton. They should forget boxing before they get seriously hurt never mind world titles.

Posted 00:20 22nd October 2008

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