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ATLANTIC CITY *
June 9
Daniel Herbert reporting
AUDLEY HARRISON ended a two-fight losing streak, and began the next stage of his career, when he knocked out Andrew Greeley in three rounds at the Tropicana Casino and Resort. The scheduled six was the last bout on a show staged by Duva Boxing in association with Joe De Guardia's Star Boxing and went on in front of maybe 300 fans who had hung around until nearly midnight. Televised on ESPN2, the card at its peak had half-filled a theatre that seats 2,500 for boxing. None of the names in three fights televised, nor in the other five bouts, matched Harrison's Olympic gold medal pedigree. Yet the anti-climactic circumstances in which he boxed didn't bother Harrison, who was glad to put behind him hugely disappointing defeats by Danny Williams in December and Dominick Guinn in April. (See separate story). Greeley was a short, tubby journeyman from Monroe in Louisiana who was known to Audley's team because he fought on the Harrison-Guinn bill, losing on points over six to Travis Walker. Six defeats on his 11-12-2 (7) record had come inside the distance* but of his last half-dozen reverses only one had been early (Alonzo Butler rsf 3 in October). At 16st 4lbs, he conceded 20lbs to southpaw Harrison (17st 10lbs), who towered over him and made full use of his height and reach advantages. Audley, billed out of Las Vegas, pumped out his right jab while keeping his left ****ed. Greeley backed off to the ropes with hands held high, blocking many of the punches thrown his way. Harrison let his hands drift low in the opener, but with Greeley rarely firing back there was little risk. Early in round two the Louisiana man surprised Harrison with a right but Audley was unhurt and resumed control, with new trainer Buddy McGirt keeping up the advice: "Step into him, baby. Don't wait. Work off that stick. Make him work." The transplanted Londoner continued the cautious boxing that has become his style, but near the bell upped his pace to score with a jab to the body followed by a left uppercut to the head. That presaged what was to come in round three, although Greeley enjoyed the first word with a right that made Harrison step back. Audley kept the right-lefts to the head coming and, when the American blocked them, switched to the body effectively. He also fired in the left uppercut from time to time. The pace wasn't hot but then Harrison is a counter-puncher who values accuracy over volume. Then, just when it seemed we might be in for a distance job, Audley found something special. Greeley took a right and left on the gloves, but a following left uppercut ripped through the middle and caught him in the face. He went down on one knee, where he stayed for the count completed by referee Harvey Dock at 2-32. It was Harrison's 20th win (15 early) against two defeats and, if there will be much harder tests, then at least this was a job well done.
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AUDLEY HARRISON was in a talkative mood back in the dressing room with new trainer McGirt and his adviser Al Hayman. That was in stark contrast to his last fight, when after being outpointed by Guinn he closed his dressing room to reporters for an hour. McGirt was pleased with the boxer's workrate, saying, "You threw more jabs in two rounds tonight than in the whole of your last fight. "I don't give grades, but you were better than I thought you'd be. I thought it would have taken longer, but you got going." Harrison concurred, explaining: "Since I dropped my weight I'm a lot quicker. I was letting my punches go, getting my shots off. This was the first level *my plan is to get back to the top level." Hayman's take? "If you'd fought like that against Guinn, you'd never have lost. Andrew Greeley went six rounds with Travis Walker. "When you've taken care of your family matter, we'll get you another fight in August." Audley's wife is expecting a baby about a week from now (Friday June 16), and the fighter wasn't even staying on in Atlantic City to see Tarver-Hopkins. He was flying back to his Las Vegas home the morning after this victory. For Harrison, things are working well with McGirt, a former world light-welter (IBF) and welter (WBC) champion who trains in Vero Beach, Florida. Audley turned pro with Las Vegas duo Thel Torrance and Kenny Croom but for the Guinn fight was down to just Torrance, and now that's over. "Since Thel started to work with Hasim Rahman, we had to go our separate ways," explained Harrison. "You know I'd already let Kenny go a year ago. "Thel's a good trainer but now he's working with Hasim and has to go to him [travel]. "I spent a week with Buddy in Vero Beach a year ago and wanted to work with him, but we couldn't get it together* he has a lot of commitments. But he was there for my last fight [and they hooked up afterwards]. "Straight away after that one I said I wanted to get back in the ring, before the baby came. Al made some calls, pulled a few strings, and I got this date about two weeks ago." And the fighter revealed how things were working with his new coach. "With Buddy, it's back to basics. I got too complacent, too comfortable, but now it's stripped down. In camp I did my own cooking and wrapped my own hands. "I had a great camp the last five weeks. It's a gym full of champions, with Clarence 'Bones' Adams, William Guthrie and Stevie Johnston." Harrison sparred there with Leo Nolan and Sherman "The Tank" Williams. Warming to his theme, he explained: "It's not about titles now, it's about doing myself justice. It's strictly about the boxing now. "I'm a fighter, not a celebrity. Tonight it didn't bother me going on last in front of a few people. This is the price I have to pay for losing those two fights [Danny Williams and Guinn]. "I'm a real professional now. It's not about celebrity or glory. It's not like when I turned pro and was negotiating my own deals. "I'm a mature man now," continued Harrison, who turns 35 in October. "I'm a married man. This is where I am in my journey." The long-term goal is to avenge his two losses, of which he insisted: "Those were definitely not a case of stage fright, as people have said. "Things happened with those fights, things I'll explain in my book [this said with a smile and playful tap on my stomach]. Those losses brought me to here, and now I'm hungry again." Audley has always talked a good fight and it's easy to be cynical. But he didn't mope after the Guinn loss * he came back quickly. And he has switched trainers to one who lives at the opposite end of the country from his adopted home. You can't knock a man for trying, and it seems the Audley Harrison story is not over yet.
June 9
Daniel Herbert reporting
AUDLEY HARRISON ended a two-fight losing streak, and began the next stage of his career, when he knocked out Andrew Greeley in three rounds at the Tropicana Casino and Resort. The scheduled six was the last bout on a show staged by Duva Boxing in association with Joe De Guardia's Star Boxing and went on in front of maybe 300 fans who had hung around until nearly midnight. Televised on ESPN2, the card at its peak had half-filled a theatre that seats 2,500 for boxing. None of the names in three fights televised, nor in the other five bouts, matched Harrison's Olympic gold medal pedigree. Yet the anti-climactic circumstances in which he boxed didn't bother Harrison, who was glad to put behind him hugely disappointing defeats by Danny Williams in December and Dominick Guinn in April. (See separate story). Greeley was a short, tubby journeyman from Monroe in Louisiana who was known to Audley's team because he fought on the Harrison-Guinn bill, losing on points over six to Travis Walker. Six defeats on his 11-12-2 (7) record had come inside the distance* but of his last half-dozen reverses only one had been early (Alonzo Butler rsf 3 in October). At 16st 4lbs, he conceded 20lbs to southpaw Harrison (17st 10lbs), who towered over him and made full use of his height and reach advantages. Audley, billed out of Las Vegas, pumped out his right jab while keeping his left ****ed. Greeley backed off to the ropes with hands held high, blocking many of the punches thrown his way. Harrison let his hands drift low in the opener, but with Greeley rarely firing back there was little risk. Early in round two the Louisiana man surprised Harrison with a right but Audley was unhurt and resumed control, with new trainer Buddy McGirt keeping up the advice: "Step into him, baby. Don't wait. Work off that stick. Make him work." The transplanted Londoner continued the cautious boxing that has become his style, but near the bell upped his pace to score with a jab to the body followed by a left uppercut to the head. That presaged what was to come in round three, although Greeley enjoyed the first word with a right that made Harrison step back. Audley kept the right-lefts to the head coming and, when the American blocked them, switched to the body effectively. He also fired in the left uppercut from time to time. The pace wasn't hot but then Harrison is a counter-puncher who values accuracy over volume. Then, just when it seemed we might be in for a distance job, Audley found something special. Greeley took a right and left on the gloves, but a following left uppercut ripped through the middle and caught him in the face. He went down on one knee, where he stayed for the count completed by referee Harvey Dock at 2-32. It was Harrison's 20th win (15 early) against two defeats and, if there will be much harder tests, then at least this was a job well done.
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AUDLEY HARRISON was in a talkative mood back in the dressing room with new trainer McGirt and his adviser Al Hayman. That was in stark contrast to his last fight, when after being outpointed by Guinn he closed his dressing room to reporters for an hour. McGirt was pleased with the boxer's workrate, saying, "You threw more jabs in two rounds tonight than in the whole of your last fight. "I don't give grades, but you were better than I thought you'd be. I thought it would have taken longer, but you got going." Harrison concurred, explaining: "Since I dropped my weight I'm a lot quicker. I was letting my punches go, getting my shots off. This was the first level *my plan is to get back to the top level." Hayman's take? "If you'd fought like that against Guinn, you'd never have lost. Andrew Greeley went six rounds with Travis Walker. "When you've taken care of your family matter, we'll get you another fight in August." Audley's wife is expecting a baby about a week from now (Friday June 16), and the fighter wasn't even staying on in Atlantic City to see Tarver-Hopkins. He was flying back to his Las Vegas home the morning after this victory. For Harrison, things are working well with McGirt, a former world light-welter (IBF) and welter (WBC) champion who trains in Vero Beach, Florida. Audley turned pro with Las Vegas duo Thel Torrance and Kenny Croom but for the Guinn fight was down to just Torrance, and now that's over. "Since Thel started to work with Hasim Rahman, we had to go our separate ways," explained Harrison. "You know I'd already let Kenny go a year ago. "Thel's a good trainer but now he's working with Hasim and has to go to him [travel]. "I spent a week with Buddy in Vero Beach a year ago and wanted to work with him, but we couldn't get it together* he has a lot of commitments. But he was there for my last fight [and they hooked up afterwards]. "Straight away after that one I said I wanted to get back in the ring, before the baby came. Al made some calls, pulled a few strings, and I got this date about two weeks ago." And the fighter revealed how things were working with his new coach. "With Buddy, it's back to basics. I got too complacent, too comfortable, but now it's stripped down. In camp I did my own cooking and wrapped my own hands. "I had a great camp the last five weeks. It's a gym full of champions, with Clarence 'Bones' Adams, William Guthrie and Stevie Johnston." Harrison sparred there with Leo Nolan and Sherman "The Tank" Williams. Warming to his theme, he explained: "It's not about titles now, it's about doing myself justice. It's strictly about the boxing now. "I'm a fighter, not a celebrity. Tonight it didn't bother me going on last in front of a few people. This is the price I have to pay for losing those two fights [Danny Williams and Guinn]. "I'm a real professional now. It's not about celebrity or glory. It's not like when I turned pro and was negotiating my own deals. "I'm a mature man now," continued Harrison, who turns 35 in October. "I'm a married man. This is where I am in my journey." The long-term goal is to avenge his two losses, of which he insisted: "Those were definitely not a case of stage fright, as people have said. "Things happened with those fights, things I'll explain in my book [this said with a smile and playful tap on my stomach]. Those losses brought me to here, and now I'm hungry again." Audley has always talked a good fight and it's easy to be cynical. But he didn't mope after the Guinn loss * he came back quickly. And he has switched trainers to one who lives at the opposite end of the country from his adopted home. You can't knock a man for trying, and it seems the Audley Harrison story is not over yet.
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