By Keith Idec
Winning the WBC super welterweight title has enabled Tony Harrison to help more people in his impoverished hometown over the past 4½ months.
His upset of Jermell Charlo on December 22 also has fattened Harrison’s bank account. About the only thing that hasn’t gone Harrison’s way since he became a world champion is that he won’t get the opportunity to defend his WBC 154-pound crown in his native Detroit.
The 28-year-old Harrison (28-2, 21 KOs) pushed for his rematch with Charlo to take place there. He is “pretty sure” Houston’s Charlo (31-1, 15 KOs) wouldn’t have come to Detroit for their second fight, which is scheduled for June 23 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas (FOX).
Harrison hasn’t fought in Detroit since he scored a first-round technical knockout of Bronco McKart in May 2014. He boxed in Detroit eight times in the first three years of his pro career, but it’s going on five years since Harrison had a hometown fight.
“I’ve been disappointed, even before I won a world title,” Harrison told BoxingScene.com following a press conference Wednesday in Los Angeles. “I’ve been disappointed with me not being able to fight in Detroit, when everybody else got the chance to fight in their respective hometowns, when they was doing everything right. So, I did everything right, even becoming a world champ, but some of that stuff just don’t matter. I’m disappointed because I did my due diligence. I did everything right. I did everything they’ve asked me to do.
“The one thing I’ve always asked in return is just let me fight in Detroit. I never asked for anything else. I never asked for more money, more this or more that. But when I earn my respect, just let me fight in Detroit. You know how the game is, though. The deck is already stacked against me, so I don’t cry, I don’t complain. I just take it for what it is, and when it comes time to fight, I’ll be ready to fight.”
The first Harrison-Charlo clash took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Harrison beat the heavily favored Charlo by unanimous decision in their 12-round encounter (116-112, 115-113, 115-113).
Harrison’s first title fight, a ninth-round TKO defeat to Jarrett Hurd, was part of a Deontay Wilder undercard in February 2017 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.