By Rick Reeno
In today's heavyweight division, one win can change your entire career around. Just ask Sergei Liakhovich, once regarded as a fringe contender who was better known for his knockout loss to Maurice Harris than his upset win over Dominick Guinn. A long layoff and one fight later was all it took for Liakhovich to not only become a heavyweight champion, but get the boxing public's recognition as a force within the division.
The same could be said for Wladimir Klitschko, who went from the status of palooka to contender with a single performance. The bout with Samuel Peter was scripted as a coming out party for Peter, and Klitschko was the prey. Unfortunately for Peter, Wladimir did not follow the script and outboxed a very green Peter over twelve rounds.
On Friday, April 14, the one-time shining light of the American heavyweights, Dominick Guinn, steps into the ring against a man who at one time was regarded as the second coming of Lennox Lewis, Olympic standout Audley Harrison.
This is yet another crossroads fight in a division where one fight can change your entire career. Nobody knows this fact better than Dominick Guinn, once undefeated with a record of 24-0 with 17 of them piled up by way of knockout. In his last 5 outings, Guinn has lost three, stopped journeyman Phil Jackson, and scored a draw. The last time Guinn won a bout was almost two years ago, when he stopped Jackson in July, 2004.
A few years ago, experts voted for Guinn as the best American prospect in the country. Not many experts are picking Guinn to beat Harrison, and when looking at Guinn's recent track record - you can't blame them.
What many people may not know is the fact that Dominick has fought injured on more than one occasion. It has affected his overall plan inside the ring and forced him to resort to less effective methods. He was fighting his last few bouts like a fighter trying not to lose, rather than fighting like a fighter trying to win. The injury, which Guinn did not want disclose, made him change his course of action in his last bout.
"If you watch the fight with James Toney, I won the first round. I hurt myself and had to abandon my using my reach and my jab and fought him on the inside. I take nothing away from James, he’s a great fighter. You saw what I did in the first round and if I wouldn’t have got injured I would have fought like that for the entire fight. I had a plan to use my reach and my jab, but I no had choice but to fight him close," Guinn said.
Guinn was becoming the apple of HBO’s eye when Monte Barrett scored a split-decision upset. Prior to the Barrett upset, HBO was making their own moves in the background. For several months, HBO was using Guinn’s amateur win over Joe Mesi as the fuel to build up a potential showdown between the two fighters. Many saw Guinn’s bout with Barrett, who managed to nearly derail Joe Mesi, as possibly the last stop prior to a clash with Mesi. The bout never came to fruition as Guinn was upset and Mesi nearly had his career ended at the hands of Vassily Jirov.
Following the Barrett defeat, subsequent losses and disappointments came for the Arkansas native. An uneventful draw to Friday Ahunanya, an upset loss to Sergei Liakhovich and decent start against James Toney ended with a lopsided points defeat. During all of the in-ring disappointments, Guinn was dealing with issues outside of the ring as he split with his promotional company, Main Events.
"I had a lot of problems with my promoter. It affected me. Boxing is the only sport where you can lose one fight and never get back on TV. If the Nets lose a game, you will see them back on TV the next day. If a fighter loses, he may never get back on. When you win everyone loves you, but as soon as you lose a fight - people start telling you that 'you ain't shit, your a bum'. Mike Tyson sat me down and schooled me to the game with promoters and the business. You are only as good as your last fight. I’m glad that I was around my friend Vernon Forrest when he lost because I saw what people say when you win and how after one loss they say you are nothing," Guinn said.
The plan is to stay busy and fight as often as possible. Guinn feels that a win over Audley Harrison will jump start his career in the heavyweight division, but he also knows that Harrison is no pushover. Harrison picked apart the competition in the super heavyweight division when he fought his way to a Gold Medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Not long after his gold medal performance, he turned professional and compiled a string of victories to go undefeated in his first 19 starts.
Harrison, like Guinn, caught the attention of many, as he was being billed as the second coming of Lennox Lewis. Following in the footsteps of Lewis, Harrison was upset by an opponent most felt he would beat. The first blemish to record of Harrison came at the hands of Mike Tyson conqueror Danny Williams, when Williams used his power and ring smarts to outhustle Harrison on route to a split-decision victory. Harrison is hungry and wants to use Guinn as a springboard to rejuvenate his own career, something Guinn is prepared to face.
"I know he just lost a fight, but he's still a very good fighter. I watched tapes of him, he's a mix of the European style of fighting and the American style. He's a big heavyweight, he's hungry and I hope he wants to mix it up. I'm coming to fight and hopefully we can outdo Brewster-Liakhovich."
The hunger and desire, which reached low levels for Guinn, is now back in full force. Guinn never questioned himself or thought about retirement, always staying hopeful of landing another televised date to prove himself against a worthy opponent. Guinn, still regarded as a dangerous opponent, was turned down by several other fighters. The opportunity is now before him, and Guinn is looking to make the best of it in order to achieve his goal of becoming of world champion.
"We had fighters turning us down after the loss to James Toney and before the Toney loss. They know I can fight and what I can do in the ring. I never thought about stopping or ever questioned myself. I see fighters win one fight and they are right back in there. The division is wide open and I’m looking to get myself back to where I was and I know I can get there again."
