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Originally posted by Audley Harrison
“When I left England the first time, I had a plan. It was all set up. I had the two fights against Robert Davies and Robert Wiggins and was ranked in three of the main organisations top 15. So it was all set up. Obviously the loss to Danny Williams and the loss to Dominick Guinn obviously put me in a different position.”
“I had a series of fights lined up – undercard fights off television to build myself up, but this opportunity came about and it is a quicker route to the top.”
“Matt is ranked in the WBO in the top 15, I think he is at number 12, so it's a way back. The winner will be in line for a world title fight and could be only two fights away."
“Obviously coming back to England and redeeming myself has also been on my mind and the opportunity has come up and it is something I definitely want to take.”
“My philosophy is if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.”
"I'm no quitter. I'm not a surrenderer. I am going to keep chipping at it. As I said, when I left England I was in a good position and then the two fights in the USA meant I was in a better position but then the loss to Danny Williams has put me back and the loss to Dominick Guinn in hindsight – there was an option to take a warm up fight but I thought I would be able to just get it right and take care of Guinn – and as you saw, Tony Thompson did and he is ranked number 7 in the WBC. It was there for me but I didn’t take it. This is another door and as one closes, another opens and this time I want to go through it.”
“I’ve got a lot to prove to myself. The fans are behind you when you are winning and obviously they wanted to see more from me against Danny Williams but no-one is more disappointed in what happened in that fight and with Guinn than I am but I am here to try and turn it around."
“The difference in boxing is that you don’t get a chance to redeem yourself straight away. A footballer can be sent off one week and score the winning penalty the next. In boxing you are only as good as your last fight so I know the image is not quite right in the UK but it is not over yet and I want to turn it around.”
“If you didn’t know me and watched the video of the Danny Williams fight then you are going to say “Audley hasn’t got a chance”. But there is less pressure on me as I have lost two fights but there is a lot of pressure on me for myself as I still have a lot to prove.”
“After the Guinn fight I went straight back to training, changed trainers because there were dramas there but I went straight back in, straight to camp for 7 weeks took on Andrew Greeley and ok, you say he is a soft opponent but I took him out in 3 and only the other week he took a touted heavyweight prospect 10 rounds and only lost on points. So I got him out of there in 3.”
"I'm going to know when to walk away - and it isn't now. I still got a lot to prove – a lot to prove – but I still have a lot to give still which people need to realise. "
“I am with Buddy McGirt for this fight. I made a change. Thell was a great trainer but he was working with Rahman which caused me a lot of problems in my camp for Danny Williams and Dominick Guinn. Thell was training Rahman to fight James Toney and the camps got all messed up. We were in Vegas but then Thell had to go to Rochester with Rahman and our team couldn’t go there. That was why a change was needed.”
“I am not making any excuses, and I think Matt said it right – I did not do myself justice last year against Danny Williams. That is not a reflection of me that fight. But that is how it stands at the moment and I am fine with that. I have had it before in my career in the amateurs (not in the pros) and I know I can turn it around.”
“That performance is what people view me from in the UK but this fight with Matt Skelton gives me an opportunity to change that.”
“People say I have no heart and that I am a quitter. But I got knocked down in that fight for the first time in my pro career but it didn’t worry me, I got up and had my best round in the 11th and I know I hurt him in it. And I have come back from two losses and a quitter would have gone a long time ago."
“My performance had nothing to do with Danny. One day I will talk about it but it was the first time that I was not able to block out all the dramas outside the ring and it affected me and my performance. It had nothing to do with losing my unbeaten record. It was a much bigger picture than that but that is a story for another day. I have had so many dramas in my career – pro debut, hand going in the amateurs, Frank Warren! But before last year I was able to block it all out but that was the first fight I was not able to block out all of the external things going on and it affected me.”
“As bad as I performed, and I performed terribly, it was still a split decision. Dominick Guinn again I didn’t perform but it was points. And I know the reasons why, but there is no point in talking about it as I am not here to make excuses – I am here to redeem my last performance in England. The bottom line is I lost the fights and I have lost my credibility to some degree but I have an opportunity to restore it and I am going to take it.”
“I had a series of fights lined up – undercard fights off television to build myself up, but this opportunity came about and it is a quicker route to the top.”
“Matt is ranked in the WBO in the top 15, I think he is at number 12, so it's a way back. The winner will be in line for a world title fight and could be only two fights away."
“Obviously coming back to England and redeeming myself has also been on my mind and the opportunity has come up and it is something I definitely want to take.”
“My philosophy is if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.”
"I'm no quitter. I'm not a surrenderer. I am going to keep chipping at it. As I said, when I left England I was in a good position and then the two fights in the USA meant I was in a better position but then the loss to Danny Williams has put me back and the loss to Dominick Guinn in hindsight – there was an option to take a warm up fight but I thought I would be able to just get it right and take care of Guinn – and as you saw, Tony Thompson did and he is ranked number 7 in the WBC. It was there for me but I didn’t take it. This is another door and as one closes, another opens and this time I want to go through it.”
“I’ve got a lot to prove to myself. The fans are behind you when you are winning and obviously they wanted to see more from me against Danny Williams but no-one is more disappointed in what happened in that fight and with Guinn than I am but I am here to try and turn it around."
“The difference in boxing is that you don’t get a chance to redeem yourself straight away. A footballer can be sent off one week and score the winning penalty the next. In boxing you are only as good as your last fight so I know the image is not quite right in the UK but it is not over yet and I want to turn it around.”
“If you didn’t know me and watched the video of the Danny Williams fight then you are going to say “Audley hasn’t got a chance”. But there is less pressure on me as I have lost two fights but there is a lot of pressure on me for myself as I still have a lot to prove.”
“After the Guinn fight I went straight back to training, changed trainers because there were dramas there but I went straight back in, straight to camp for 7 weeks took on Andrew Greeley and ok, you say he is a soft opponent but I took him out in 3 and only the other week he took a touted heavyweight prospect 10 rounds and only lost on points. So I got him out of there in 3.”
"I'm going to know when to walk away - and it isn't now. I still got a lot to prove – a lot to prove – but I still have a lot to give still which people need to realise. "
“I am with Buddy McGirt for this fight. I made a change. Thell was a great trainer but he was working with Rahman which caused me a lot of problems in my camp for Danny Williams and Dominick Guinn. Thell was training Rahman to fight James Toney and the camps got all messed up. We were in Vegas but then Thell had to go to Rochester with Rahman and our team couldn’t go there. That was why a change was needed.”
“I am not making any excuses, and I think Matt said it right – I did not do myself justice last year against Danny Williams. That is not a reflection of me that fight. But that is how it stands at the moment and I am fine with that. I have had it before in my career in the amateurs (not in the pros) and I know I can turn it around.”
“That performance is what people view me from in the UK but this fight with Matt Skelton gives me an opportunity to change that.”
“People say I have no heart and that I am a quitter. But I got knocked down in that fight for the first time in my pro career but it didn’t worry me, I got up and had my best round in the 11th and I know I hurt him in it. And I have come back from two losses and a quitter would have gone a long time ago."
“My performance had nothing to do with Danny. One day I will talk about it but it was the first time that I was not able to block out all the dramas outside the ring and it affected me and my performance. It had nothing to do with losing my unbeaten record. It was a much bigger picture than that but that is a story for another day. I have had so many dramas in my career – pro debut, hand going in the amateurs, Frank Warren! But before last year I was able to block it all out but that was the first fight I was not able to block out all of the external things going on and it affected me.”
“As bad as I performed, and I performed terribly, it was still a split decision. Dominick Guinn again I didn’t perform but it was points. And I know the reasons why, but there is no point in talking about it as I am not here to make excuses – I am here to redeem my last performance in England. The bottom line is I lost the fights and I have lost my credibility to some degree but I have an opportunity to restore it and I am going to take it.”
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