By Terence Dooley
As Lennox Lewis reclined on his dressing room couch ahead of the crunch WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO unification fight with Evander Holyfield in 1999 his entourage started to amp up the atmosphere by vocally stimulating their man. “It was written, before you was born it was written, Lion,” they chanted, adding to the loose sense of Rastafari mysticism that surrounded Lewis throughout his 44 fight career. Lewis, who was 34-1 at the time, was in need of a cheering section. Unconvincing wins over Ray Mercer, Henry Akinwande and Zeljko Mavrovic, added to that devastating second-round TKO loss to Oliver McCall in 1994, had seen Lewis derided for his cautious approach and delusions of heavyweight grandeur.
A closer inspection of the ring records of the two fighters added to this sense of derision. Holyfield held wins over Riddick Bowe and Mike Tyson; Lewis, though holding an impressive resume, was perceived as having too many gaps in his CV to beat the tougher, more seasoned, later written off as 'badly aged', fighter.
Lewis turned the naysayers into yaysayers come fight night, he boxed cautiously but this lack of derring-do was washed away by the sense of injustice surrounding the drawn result in the first encounter between the two. Lewis, once seen as an upgraded version of the horizontal British heavyweight, captured the front page of the New York Times, the hearts, rather than just the heads, of boxing fans and a chunk of goodwill in the wake of the controversial contest.
Audley Harrison, though nowhere near as accomplished a professional as Lewis was going into the Holyfield battle, finds himself in a similar boat to Lewis ahead of his November 13th challenge for David Haye's WBA heavyweight title at the MEN Arena, Manchester. Harrison has been written off more times than Mad Max's vehicles yet there was a serene air of entitlement surrounding the 2000 Olympic gold medal winner at Tuesday’s presser, which was televised live on Sky Sports.
Audley, also, brought a few Bible-tinged utterances to the proceedings, declaring that, “David Haye needs to realise that this is my destiny. My left hand will land on that chin, trust me. David, you ain't the prophet, I've told you. I've seen cruiserweights put you down. You're a creature of habit,” in his quest to convince Haye, the media, and perhaps himself, that the title is destined to change hands come fight night.
“I don't talk just for the sake of talking, I told you I'd be the heavyweight champion. I don't need to tell the story of how I fell in order to get here. I know why I lost to Danny Williams in the first fight, you saw what I did in the rematch. Trust me, I will be there every second, every minute, every round,” promised 'A-Force'.
“Remember, I said after Prizefighter that I'd fight David Haye for the world title, people said I was delusional. How am I sitting here now fighting Haye for the world title. (To Haye) When I've knocked you out I'll come over to you, give you some ice and ask you if I'm still delusional. I will be world champion, ten-years on from my first world title win in the Olympics. Age ain't nothing but a number and time ain't nothing.
“David is talking the talk. I know it, so do you (to the media). He hasn't fought a real heavyweight with one punch (power). When I turned professional the so-called experts called me a 'powder puff puncher', now all of a sudden you are saying I've got a punchers chance. I could always punch. One punch on your chin and you go to sleep. What you don't realise is that this isn't about fighting, it is about fighting, but it is also about game plan. David is a talented fighter but he's got lots of mistakes.”
He added: “People who think this is a mismatch are dizzy, they don't know boxing. People who know boxing have phoned me. David, you are going to be in the fight of your life, and that is the bottom line. If you don't get your mind on the job then you'll make my job easier.”
“How am I sitting here?” asked the 27-4 (20) southpaw. “Course this is a victory. This isn't the David Haye show, it is the Audley Harrison show and I'm taking out a guy that I laid out the red carpet too when he came through. This is my time, you get me? I went all the way down to the bottom of the pit.”
“I always said I'd find a door to open and when I open it I will become the heavyweight champion of the world,” wags may have retorted that Audley ought to be careful with that door, it may hit him on the chin and knock him out, but Audley was dipping into his book of positive visualisation at this point. Leading me to assume that his shades were not there to mask his eyes but that, rather, they had little TVs attached to the inside playing the highlight footage of his career interspersed with a flashing neon sign that reads, 'You can do this', and he can, given the right circumstances.
It is a compelling fight, a decent story, two friends set out on their pro careers, vowing to help one another reach the top, one of them turns on the other, though which one did the turning depends on who you listen to. Now they are firm enemies, destined to do battle for the ultimate prize. It is a perfect comic book tale, good versus evil, with both men occupying either role depending on your perspective.
Audley's fans, they are still out there, can celebrate also. Many, this writer included, picked Audley for big things when he turned pro, we ignored the signs of hubris present in his early career, kept faith with the actions of our leader, no matter how deranged they seemed, and always maintained that he would do something, anything, with his career before bowing out.
That European title win, courtesy of a big left hand when behind on points, over Michael Sprott seemed reward enough for our faith in the big man, this world title shot is a nice addendum to that story; Harrison's made it, he might not win the heavyweight title but at least he went all the way to a shot – faith vindicated, at last.
Indeed, Harrison seemed relaxed. Though tightly bound in a suit, Audley looked like a man who had finally reached the promised land and was in processional mood, claiming that, “The door is open,” similar to Lewis, to return to the overriding theme, who declared that, “I was knocking on Evander Holyfield's door, I've just kicked that door down,” after knocking out Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock in 1992.
Haye, who pointed out that he is the one who has achieved the dream in his career thus far, David has an undisputed cruiserweight title and heavyweight title belt in his trophy cabinet, sauntered into proceedings wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. Adam Booth, who trains and guides Haye, has previously spoken about using clothing and colours to send out non-verbal signals and his charge looked like he wanted to send out a casual, 'business as usual' message. It backfired somewhat. Harrison carried his suit well and the formal air, and dress, of others in attendance made Haye look oddly uncomfortable and out-of-place.
The champion, always blessed with the gift of the gab, claimed that Harrison, “Doesn't deserve a shot at the title but fortunately for him, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he's got this chance. Everyone feels passionately that they want me to finally close the curtain on the joke that is the Audley Harrison show.”
Haye, 24-1 (22 KOs), rammed the point home by declaring that Audley will, “See the difference between the heavyweight champion of the world and a European champion. I kicked his arse in sparring. I can run faster, jump higher and punch harder – I'm a better athlete. Watching him stretched out there a final time is something I need to do, something I need to see, and I'll do it in a violent way,” he insisted when addressing Harrison.
“I'm going to break you down and embarrass you. I'm the heavyweight champion of the world and a former cruiserweight (world Champion). You won your European title in the final round against a guy who'd already beat you. How did I win my European title? By fighting a southpaw [Oleksandr Hurov] who is 6' 5½'' just like you, tall southpaws are made for me – I knocked him [Hurov] out in a round with a right hand, you know this.”
“You were too busy cowering in the corner (when we sparred),” snorted Haye when Harrison pointed out that he had never felt Haye's power in sparring. “He's tried landing his honey left punch on me and hasn't. His technique isn't good enough. It is hard to throw punches when you're unconscious. Delusional. His resume isn't as good as my last five opponents. What have you got, that concussive jab?”
“This is a public execution,” insisted Haye, burying Harrison's reputation beneath a mountain of logic and yet, at the same time, making this fight so much more difficult for the champion, who will be under intense pressure to perform come the first bell.
Consider, Haye wins a multi-knockdown war that will ring throughout the ages – he gets criticised. David struggles early and finds his range before knocking Audley out in the 'violent' fashion predicted – he gets criticised. Even worse, the 29-year-old retains on points – guess what, he'll get criticised. In fact, Haye will have to pitch perfect on the night just to break even, and his own words have exacerbated this situation. Still, if anyone can produce perfection in this type of fight then, to borrow the phrase, Haye can.
Haye has been roundly criticised for his inability to force a fight with either Klitschko, though in fairness the current situation, all the belts separated by either blood ties or a blood feud, does not reflect well on the three of them. David, however, also has a tendency to chose the perfect time to make a statement, and may feel that this fight, a domestic blockbuster against a vulnerable fighter, will see him send out a message to K2.
So what of Harrison – Audley's confident air and talk does not come as a surprise to those who read his autobiography, 'Realising The Dream'. Harrison waxed lyrical about positive visualisation in his 2000 tome, and the fighter went onto state that this technique had underpinned his rise to the top of the unpaid ranks.
Clearly, 'A-Force' is still an advocate of positive visualisation, his stubborn refusal to accept his fate during the dark days a testament to the soundness, if not sanity, of this approach and the chosen one has emerged from the wilderness a man possessed. Big Aud', 38, has come down from the mountaintop and believes that he holds stone tablets in each of his fists; it is bonkers, unbelievable, really, when you analyse the careers of the two men. Still, it is manna to the ears of Harrison's fans.
This brings us back to Haye, who made some salient points earlier today; the title-holder knows that close scrutiny of the respective ring records points to a massive win for the Bermondsey-born boxer. Haye, similar to Holyfield ahead of the fight with Lewis, draws more respect within the trade, he is the one who the smart money will go on but what was seen as a routine defence has been made into something much more by Haye's dismissal of Harrison's chances. Everyone loves the idea of an upset, and David has talked this into an upset of Biblical proportions.
Audley believes, he is a fanatic, worshipping at the altar of his own ability, and we all know that fanatics are dangerous, they surprise you, they wear you down and they can conjure up moments of mind-blowing triumph – don't write Harrison off in this one, his tribe of fans have reached the promised land, that was enough for them, they can enjoy it for a few months before moving on again; the fighter himself, though, seemed to enjoy the verbal hurly-burly of a heavyweight title presser and it might be hard to wrest him from the stage.
Coda:
Yeah, it is a bit rum to compare Haye and Harrison with Holyfield and Lewis, who both achieved so much in their careers, only one man, the victor, can come close, and to do so the winner must beat both Klits, which is a huge ask for both, though this writer believes that Haye is capable of beating Wlad and Vitali.
Lewis has cast a huge shadow over the division since his retirement, the man who was once under-appreciated, derided even, became a big player in a silver age in the division's history. This upcoming fight has been lazily compared to Lewis and Bruno's 1993 fight, sure, there are two Brits involved, but the circumstances, Lewis was a first-time champion taking on a much-loved figure, are totally different.
However, the tide may be turning, Harrison's outrageous self-belief has turned a few critics into begrudging fans. Audley is akin to the naughty boy whose verbal antics are so bad they bring a smile to the face and make it impossible to dislike him, well almost.
If Audley continues to look the part, talk the talk, and allow Haye to down talk him throughout the next few months, he could go into this fight on the back of a few cheers, rather than jeers, from the crowd. Strange when you consider that boxing fans have mindlessly booed Audley for years now, even screaming abuse at him when he got to his feet after that bad knockout against Michael Sprott in 2007.
The same fans who claim that they respect all boxers and want to see them come through fights safely lose all sense of self when it comes to Audley, wishing him bad luck has become the norm in domestic circles yet, again, you can only go so far in one direction before reaching a dead end and turning around. Some fans are starting to turn to Audley, albeit with suspicion, and have been forced to admit that his unrepentant self-belief is an admirable trait.
While this fight certainly won't crown a Lewis in waiting, it is an interesting encounter – Haye's derring-do, power and ruthlessness against Harrison's calculating style, frustrating jab and tendency to move in for negation when danger rears its head. In fact, take one part David and one part Audley and what do you have, a close approximation of the two sides of Lewis, his ability to box and his ability to bomb, with Haye, on the evidence thus far in their careers, the most complete of the two men, for he has shown grace under fire in his heavyweight career. Haye's win over Nikolay Valuev, while not as good as Lewis' clinic against David Tua, the kind of performance under pressure that Audley, and his fans, can only dream about at this moment in time.
Whatever the truth, and merits, of the fight, the contest that Harrison believes the country wants, and the potential end to Harrison's career path that Haye feels the majority of fans desire, is very much on, the touch paper has been lit – over to you, chaps.
Oh, before I get pelted for even mentioning Harrison alongside Lewis going into this one, both men have one thing in common, they had never defeated a reigning heavyweight champion going into their biggest fights. Lewis, if you discount the 1998 win over Shannon Briggs, considered the linear title-holder at the time by virtue of his win over George Foreman, had twice won a vacant belt; Riddick Bowe ditched the WBC title into a bin in 1992 and Lewis was declared champion; Lennox's second title win saw him defeat McCall in 1995, forcing the former champion, and drug fiend, into a nervous breakdown on the night for a fifth round TKO win, though Lewis himself thinks that his white footwear was the catalyst behind McCall's meltdown.
In short, Audley, like Lewis ahead of his fight with Holyfield, was surrounded by more questions than answers and though not a winner that night in New York, Lewis came out off his biggest test with some much-needed respect and a renewed sense of his own destiny.
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