By Terence Dooley
Audley Harrison has once again stated his desire to meet and beat Danny Williams during this Friday's Prizefighter tournament at the Excel Arena, London. Harrison won gold at the 2000 Olympic Games but has failed to shine as a pro.
Williams handed Audley his first-ever defeat back in 2005. Audley avenged this loss by hammering Williams in three-rounds the following year; however, Williams has achieved more than Audley in recent years and he believes that he has the edge over his rival.
Harrison, now 37, has stated that he has two-years left in the game; he also fears that he may have to put to bed any thoughts of lasting heavyweight domination. In the meantime, though, he is fully focussed on winning the Prizefighter crown.
“Me and Danny are 1-1 and he keeps on saying we don't like each other but I've got nothing against him. He beat me with a split decision and I destroyed him second time out and he probably doesn't like me because of that,” blasted Audley.
“Danny spends a long time talking, thinking and probably dreaming about me. But he really needs to think how much punishment he is taking in his career. If he meets me in the final then he will take a lot more punishment. I'm confident that if we meet in the final then I've got Danny's number. He's my main rival and on the other side of the draw so it would be a real grudge match and a big fight.”
Audley takes on Scott Belshaw in the first match of the night. Harrison is by no means guaranteed to progress to the final of this tournament, ditto for Williams, so they may not even get to lock horns on Friday night. Audley, however, insists that his name is on the trophy and that he can still win a world title.
“Unfortunately for me and real boxing purists I have lost a chance to have a lasting legacy but I still have plenty of time to win the world title,” revealed Harrison.
“By the time I'm 39 I'm over. I'm not in boxing for the money; I'm in it to be World Champion. Once I've achieved that it will be 'see you later, I'm off'. On Friday you will see the rebirth of Audley Harrison, the boxer people thought was dead, buried and gone. I turned professional in 2001 and was self-managed and self-promoted, which is what I always wanted. Unfortunately for me the boxing system didn't like that. It's a story I want to tell, of how my career has been blocked and sabotaged and, at the right time, I will tell it. It's been a battle of adversity and persistence. Sometimes the mountains you face out of the ring turn out to be too huge and that determines what you do in the ring.”
Harrison, though, believes that he can scale the relatively small Prizefighter peak.
“There are no ifs. I've prepared for victory and when I prepare for victory I just need to walk in and do it,” he roared.
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