By Phil D. Jay

No sooner had manager Alex Morrison talked of a possible shot at Derry Mathews’ British lightweight belt, had Scott Harrison then dismissed a match-up with the European title challenger.

At a media day to re-open Morrison’s Gym, Harrison spoke to waiting journalists, including Stephen Halliday of the Scotsman, to explain his future plans - which did not include a crack at the Lonsdale belt.

“To be honest, I don’t even know who Derry Mathews is,” said Harrison. “I didn’t even know what he looked like. When they said his name today, I turned around and said ‘Who’s Derry Mathews?’ You’d still need to point him out to me.

“They said he’s graciously going to put his title on the line against me. That’s good, isn’t it? I’ve always looked at who is the world champion, not British champion. The British title isn’t really attractive to me. I want to fight for the world title.”

Mathews, 28, was also present at the media day and has since denied even offering Harrison a shot at his title as he prepares for his rematch with EBU champion Gavin Rees on July 7th in Sheffield.

Phil D. Jay covers boxing for worldboxingnews.net