Harrison labours to win

Harrison: jeered

Audley Harrison returned to a British ring with a win - but was booed all night long.

The 36-year-old laboured to a 98-92 win over George Arias at the MEN Arena and looked sluggish for large parts of the 10-rounder.

The Manchester crowd jeered him into the ring and jeered him out and in between, A-Force did little to back up his claims that he can still win a world heavyweight title. Yes I can, he had bellowed all week. On this evidence, no he couldn't.

He didn't deserve the barracking he got, but equally he still doesn't merit a mention among the leading heavyweights, as bad as they may be.

Harrison at least made a purposeful start, prodding away with the southpaw jab and landing with one of the first left uppercuts he threw. But the jab soon faded away to be replaced by a nervous pawing and even though another big left crashed into Arias' ribs, the jeers soon disappeared - under a crescendo of boos.

The MEN crowd laid off for all of 1min 48secs in the second before the boos were back. No jab and solitary punches left enough time and space for Arias to start coming forward, and at five inches shorter, he had little trouble creeping under the Harrison radar.

But the Brazilian's every attack was being cheered on by a distinctly unhelpful 'home' crowd, Harrison slowing visibly in a second session that did little to suggest A-Force had brough his A-game.

He did land two left uppercuts in the third, but there was no follow-up, not a combinationn to be seen. Encouraged, Arias kept coming in spurts and staggered the bigger man with a right straight down the pipe. Maybe that, plus the accompanying cheers, woke Harrison up because he ended the round with a right to the body.

He followed that with a bright start to the fourth but with Arias now growing in confidence, he was the one setting the pace. Twice he was allowed in range and twice his rights hit home before Harrison finally held him off, albeit through sheer physical size.

Bothered

Round five belonged to the smaller man, who didn't exactly score with many, but still threw far more punches. Harrison, though still wouldn't stir and even though they were being blocked he continued with single, big shots. Arias probably took the sixth with short bursts and by the seventh, even those booing could barely be bothered.

Maybe the silence did the trick because as the eighth started, Harrison finally came to life. Two swift combinations, with both left and right rattling the Brazilian's ribcage, pushed his man back. A straight right at the end of the second spurt got the biggest cheer of the night, but a low blow and John Kean's intervention, soon put paid to any possibility of more.

Just before the bell a three-punch combo reminded us all what the Olympic gold medalist is capable of - if he puts his mind to it. Manager Thel Torrence told the world his man was mentally ready for an onslaught on the heavyweight scene, but mind games do not put people on the canvas and Arias was still there, stout and proud.

He started the ninth on the offensive, finding the target with two uppercuts on the inside as Harrison laboured again and left himself open. He dropped his gloves and was duly clobbered at the two-minute mark, as Arias busied himself and Harrison bumbled around, clearly unconcerned about his opponent's power, but doing little to impose his own.

He did at least come out blasting at the start of the 10th and final round, and a left-right-left combination bobbed Arias's head before another four-punch flurry found gloves and forearms. And soon enough Harrison went back into his shell.

Then he crashed home some huge shots, grunting more than Arias was grimacing and clearly, at long last, giving his all for the final minute. It was just a shame he hadn't done the same for the previous 29.