Harrison victimised in hometown!

By Hugh Keevins SCOTT HARRISON has revealed he is quitting Scotland to get away from the people who have made his life a misery. The world featherweight champion will leave his homeland for Spain because he claims people in his own country have turned him into a marked man. Harrison's departure from the people who refuse to let him lead the normal life he craves will take place following the defence of his title against Michael Brodie at the MEN Arena in Manchester on June 3. The Cambuslang fighter has already purchased property on the Costa del Sol, plans to learn Spanish and has even made moves to become a season-ticket holder at his nearest Primera Liga club Malaga. He's had enough of being targeted for abuse and physical attack and will re-shape his life accordingly to prepare himself for the next five years of a career that will end when he is 33. And hopefully Harrison's days in the ring will finish with him holding world titles at two different weights. 'I feel I'm the same person I was before I became world champion but others see me differently and that's caused all of my problems,' said Harrison when we met yesterday at his Highland retreat in Corpach, near Fort William. Harrison's presence is appreciated by the people in the local community who have handed over the area's leisure and fitness facilities to him without charge. Evidence that some Scots are proud to have a world renowned sportsman in their midst. However, Harrison feels that the attitude nearer to home is that a man who has been built up to such a height needs to be knocked down again. What is undeniable is Harrison has previously faced a charge of serious assault and is currently bound over to keep the peace for a year. But he maintains the life he is forced to lead is spent trying to avoid trouble rather than start it. He said: 'The last altercation I was reportedly involved in started in a nightclub. A guy came up to me and said, 'You think you're somebody, so what are you doing in East Kilbride?' Then it kicked off But I don't ask people to disturb me when I'm having a night out to relax. 'They start off quietly and then when a few drinks have been taken they start in with the snide remarks about how I didn't really win my last fight against Victor Polo. 'But my attitude is they will still be idiots in the morning when they have sobered up. When you're on your way to the top they want to shake your hand. But when you're on that pedestal an element of jealousy kicks in. It's a Scottish characteristic' People used to say they hoped I'd win my next fight when I was striving for the world title. Now they criticise my last contest because they don't like who they think I am. But they don't know the real me. If they did it would be a different story.' Harrison and partner Jackie spent seven months apart during which time she went to stay in a council house. At the time the boxer was accused of living it up while his young son went short. The accusation still infuriates Harrison who has now broken his silence on the subject after a reconciliation with Jackie. He said: 'The truth is I paid £75,000 of hard-earned money to buy that house and make sure my loved ones were well looked after but nobody bothers to mention that or anything else that might show me in amore positive light. 'It's hard to be in the public eye and I have now accepted the fact I can't stay where I was brought up in Cambuslang and I have to be more careful about the places I go in Glasgow. The city is so small and there are always so many clowns who want to come up to you and start something. 'That's why I'm going to the Costa del Sol for eight weeks to think about my next step in the boxing ring in surroundings where I won't be hassled. It looks as if the rest of my professional life will need to be split between Spain and Scotland so I can lead as near to a normal life as possible. 'My character is blackened if I'm in a pub having a drink. But I go off the booze for eight weeks before every fight and might have 25 stitches afterwards to show what going to war in the ring really means. 'I've earned that drink I'm having. But if I've got a house and a fancy car and a home in Spain, I'm not supposed to be in the pub with my mates so far as some people are concerned. I can't lock myself in the house and live like a hermit.' Harrison has taken sanctuary in the shadow of Ben Nevis and finds the Highlands inspirational in preparation for his next fight. He'll remain in his monastic Fort William base until it's time to face Brodie and the world's media. He said: 'It's aggressive, rugged country and it will prepare me properly for bashing Brodie in front of an American television audience and the watching British public. 'That's the only reason I agreed to go to fight him in Manchester as the top of the bill in my own right on the night before Ricky Hatton's next contest in the same arena 'Scott Harrison is nobody's warm--up act. I'm the only two-time world champion in Scottish boxing history and this will be my eighth defence. People forget about these things while they're behind the other stuff about who I'm supposed to be. 'There'll be four more fights on my contract with Sports Network after I've taken care of Brodie. There is a clause which says they must deliver a major name for me. 'I want out in five years with enough money to last me for the rest of my life and I've started to make provisions for the future by going into the property business and making financial provisions for the future for Jackie, Scott junior and myself. I'm a guy who attends church every week and tries to do what he can when it comes to working for various charities. 'I don't want to trumpet that side of my life but I think I'm entitled to mention it when my name is constantly being blackened. 'They even tried to say I appeared on the pitch at Celtic Park at half-time during an Old Firm game and kissed the turf while turning my back on the Rangers supporters. 'Yet the guy who really did those things telephoned the Daily Record admitting it was him and apologised for causing me grief. 'Incidentally, Malaga's shirt is blue and white. Would I wear that with pride if I am the kind of person I'm being made out to be? Some people seem to constantly need an excuse for creating division. 'I prefer to do my fighting in the ring and nowhere else if I can be left in peace.That is the truth, whether anyone believes it or not. 'No matter where I'm living, be it Cambuslang or the Costa del Sol, when I'm in the ring I'm fighting for my country and that country is Scotland.