By Terence Dooley
Both Vivian Harris and David Barnes failed to shine at the De Vere Whites Hotel in Bolton on Sunday afternoon, when meandering to a boring fifth-round technical draw. Barnes (10st 6lb 2oz) started slowly, but his feints and lateral movement failed to draw Harris (10st 7lb) into making mistakes. Things took a turn for the worse for the Mancunian when he suffered a vertical cut over his left eye after a clash of heads with the American-based Guyana in the fifth. After an inspection by the ringside doctor, Barnes was pulled out of the contest and the fight went to the scorecard of referee Michael Alexander, who had it 48-48.
Coldwell Promotions put the contest together in a bid to bring a touch of international flavour to their show. Barnes had hoped to use the former WBA light-welterweight titlist as a springboard to bigger things. Harris had spoken of reigniting his flagging career by handing his British rival a defeat. Both men failed to seize the initiative and the fight itself didn't catch fire.
Harris is now 29-7-2 (19); Barnes is 25-2-2 (11) and could face a spell on the sidelines while waiting for his damaged eye to heal.
