Ricky Hatton let off over coke allegations but Hitman can't box clever enough to coax Wayne Rooney to Manchester City -- Daily Mail

By Jeff Powell, DailyMail.co.uk

Ricky Hatton is off the hook from possible prosecution for cocaine abuse but has failed to reel in Wayne Rooney to his beloved Manchester City.

It has been a mixed few days for the Hitman. First came the relief that police do not seem to have enough supporting evidence to bring charges following newspaper photographs of him snorting a substance.

Then the disappointment of Rooney's giant U-turn into a new five-year contract at Manchester United.

Whether or not Hatton was acting on authority from City, the word is that he was doing his best to coax Rooney into crossing one of football's great divides.

The two are good mates and are believed to have talked at length on holiday about the transfer which threatened to incite an outbreak of civil war in Manchester.

City have to be aware of the friendship between their most famous fan and the most potent English footballer of his generation.
It would not have been in the interests of manager Roberto Mancini and his mega-rich employers to dissuade Hatton from exciting Rooney's interest in a salary in excess of even the £200,000 a week for which he has now re-settled at Old Trafford.

And if they simply let Hatton get on with acting as an unofficial go-between, they have done nothing wrong.

Certainly, Hatton will have been a persuasive advocate for the club he has followed since childhood - and whose fans have turned out in their thousands to roar support for his boxing heroics on both sides of the Atlantic.

No-one outside the City hierarchy could have been better placed to convince Rooney that the massive spending there will continue until they have built a team to challenge for domination over club football at home and in Europe.

Hatton will have been as concerned about selling City to Rooney as with his own legal position.

The fight fraternity will simply be hoping that the decision not to prosecute him will enable the former world light-welterweight champion to sort out his life after the ring.

Hatton's warrior instincts - as well as his determination to remain a man of the people despite his glory - have cemented a place for him in the hearts of boxing lovers everywhere.

The difficulty of bringing a successful prosecution for the apparent addition of drugs to his lifestyle of boozing and binge-eating helps explain why the British Boxing Board of Control let him keep his promoter's licence despite revoking his permits as a fighter and a trainer.

They are nervous of law suits. Since Hatton has still not formally retired - 'I don't have the urge at the moment but you never know' - he could be encouraged now to re-apply for his boxer's licence.

If so, following his crushing defeats by Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao, it would be with an eye to going out as a winner with one last hurrah - at the City stadium.

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To the relief of his trainer and promoter, the world's greatest pound-for-pound boxer has arrived back here in the no-nonsense sweat-shop called The Wild Card Gym.

Manny Pacquiao flew in from his native Philippines to concentrate solely on the November 13 set-to with Antonio Margarito in which he hopes to become the first fighter to win world titles in eight different weight divisions, a record which would be likely to stand for all time.

Not a moment too soon, chorused Freddie Roach and Bob Arum as the PacMan was mobbed by hundreds of fans at Los Angeles airport.

Roach the master trainer and Arum the Hall of Fame promoter had become worried that Pacquiao's work as a recently elected congressman in Manilla was undermining his preparation for dealing with the physically much bigger Margarito in their bout for the world light-middleweight title.

Although Typhoon Megi - which killed at least 13 Filipinos and left thousands more homeless - by-passed his training camp in Baguio City, the PacMan was beset by myriad distractions in his own land.

At one point during sparring he told Roach: 'I'm missing my job.'

That reference to his new political career left his trainer saying: 'It would not surprise me now if Manny retired from boxng.'

Personal appearances at gala functions also interrupted the usually spartan training regime and Arum noted: 'Speed is one of Manny's prime assets but he is not looking as quick in the ring at the moment.'

Pacquiao has less than three weeks to re-sharpen his act, although he says: 'I am fully confident of beating Margarito.'

Assuming he is right, a good deal of the credit will go to our own Amir Khan. Bolton's former Olympic silver medallist, also trained by Roach, is getting ready for the biggest fight of his life... a Las Vegas defence of his world light-welterweight title in December against Argentine power-puncher Marcos Maidana.

Khan flew to the Philippines to spar with Pacquiao and will continue to do so here in Hollywood.

Roach says: 'That good work is bringing back the old Manny.'

But for how long? The likelihood is growing that Pacquiao will hang up the gloves early next year, leaving his friend and protegee Khan to take his place in the mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jnr which the whole world of boxing has been gagging to see.

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As Audley Harrison comes down from Big Bear mountain here in California, the Klitschko brothers are anxious that these six weeks of high altitude training may have given him a decisive advantage over David Haye.

Wladimir and Vitali Kltischko are still hoping to get Haye into a ring and punch his insults back down his throat but the outside chance of those fights ever happening will disappear if the Hayemaker is blown away by the A-Force in Manchester on November 13. No WBA world title, definitely no dea

Wladimir warns Haye: 'I am worried that you will lose to Harrison. In fact, Harrison could well knock you out.'

The younger Klitschko is due to defend his versions of the heavyweight championship on December 11, against yet another London-based fighter.

Fanciful speculation that Wladimir might be on the wrong end of an even greater upset has dwindled with news that Dereck Chisora faces sentencing for assault and theft convictions in court on November 10.

At the least Chisora will have to break off traiining in Scotland. At worst he could be in prison - not in the ring in Germany - on his big night.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Harrison to step up Klitschko chase after vacating title -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

Audley Harrison is set to vacate his European heavyweight title in order to chase a dream fight with one of the Klitschko brothers, his promoter has confirmed.

Harrison left it late before producing a stunning left hook to knock out Michael Sprott in the 12th round at Alexandra Palace on Friday night.

But, having just secured the first title of his nine-year professional career, it looks as though the 38-year-old has been persuaded to give the belt up. Harrison's promoter Eddie Hearn spoke with representatives of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko on Saturday and is adamant a bout is on the cards for later in the year.

"The Klitschkos told me that they are definitely interested in Audley. They recognise he is now a serious contender and know a fight with him could make them serious money, especially as we have a near guarantee from Sky that the fight will be shown on pay-per view. Our hope is for it to take place in December," Hearn told the Guardian.

There are a few potential obstacles blocking the way for Harrison. Alexander Dimitrenko is the mandatory challenger for the European belt, but former champion Albert Sosnowski's recent behaviour has given Hearn confidence that a fight with the Klitschkos can be arranged.

The Pole was scheduled to fight Harrison on Friday but, after pulling out, vacated the European title so he could fight Vitali for the WBC title on May 29.

"If Albert can get a shot at the Klitschkos on the back of winning the European title then there is no reason why Audley can't," added Hearn.

One man who may feel differently is Britain's WBA champion David Haye. The 'Hayemaker' is currently taking a break after recently dismantling John Ruiz in the first defence of his title at the Manchester MEN Arena. The Brit has voiced his ambition to get in the ring with the Klitschkos, although a rematch with Nikolai Valuev is not out of the question.

Source: espn.co.uk

AUDLEY HARRISON'S BIG END -- Daily Star

By Nick Parkinson, DailyStar.co.uk

AUDLEY Harrison got ­revenge over Michael Sprott with a savage last-round knockout to win the European heavyweight ­title last night.

Harrison avenged a 2007 KO loss to Sprott to claim the vacant title at ­Alexandra Palace in north London.

By lifting the European belt, ­Harrison is now in the best position of his under-achieving career, with a world title shot later this year a ­realistic possibility.

However, the 38-year-old was ­heading for a clear points loss until he ­uncorked a stunning left hook in the 12th round.

Harrison suffered a right ­shoulder injury at the end of the second round and needed a ­knockout to ­rescue his career from the threat of ­retirement.

He said: “My right shoulder went. I knew I was behind, but I stayed in looking for a shot with my left hand and I was able to gain victory. With one hand from the second round, I found that shot. I showed heart, I showed bottle and I ­deserve to be the European champion.”

Harrison wants to face either WBC champion Vitali Klitschko or his younger brother Wladimir – the IBF-WBO king – rather than ­Britain’s WBA ruler David Haye.

Becoming European champion has catapulted Harrison into the WBC top 10 rankings, so a successful first defence against Ukrainian ­Alexander Dimitrenko would earn a straight shot at Vitali.

Sprott, 35, knocked out Harrison in three rounds in 2007 and last month returned with a 58-second stoppage win following the death of his sister in September.

Harrison had auctioned off the Prizefighter Series trophy he won in October for Sprott’s family, but there was no charity on show between them in this long-awaited rematch.

Harrison was the busier boxer in the first session and then unloaded a barrage of left hooks with Sprott on the ropes. But moments later, in the second round, Harrison’s legs were wobbled under the force of a fierce right by a fired-up Sprott.

The California-based Londoner looked in trouble in the third round as Sprott launched himself ­furiously at him.

Southpaw Harrison began getting through with his jab later in the third, but another big right from Sprott found the target.

Harrison seemed reluctant to throw his right hand after the ­middle rounds and Sprott took ­advantage by relentlessly marching forward on the attack.

Harrison launched a series of left hooks in the ninth, but took some big shots in the 10th as Sprott ­continued to dominate.

After winning the 11th round Sprott only needed to survive the last to be confident of a points win.

But Harrison found the best punch of his career to flatten Sprott with a left hook as the Reading boxer opened his guard at the wrong time.

Source: dailystar.co.uk

Audley Harrison the injured enigma clings to career after late KO -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk

Last week the nation watched as David Haye, drunk with a growing self-belief and bringing a touch of brilliance in his belligerence, continued on the glittering path seeking to be lord of the heavyweight ring in despatching American John Ruiz over nine brutal rounds.

It was a homecoming world title fight – the WBA portion of the belt – and the contest raised the rafters at the MEN Arena. It also raised several questions, and answered them over 26 brutalizing minutes of ring action. Haye is on the way up, and almost ready for two mega-fights with the Klitschko brothers.

So, to Audley Harrison… Challenge the Klitschkos ? Fight David Haye ? Last night in Alexandra Palace, north London, we (almost) saw the last of the big guy from Brent. Remember Audley Harrison, they might have said the guy who won Olympic gold in 2000 but went nowhere for ten years until it was all over…? It was that close at the old home of British Broadcasting up on Ally Pally, as it is known locally.

Harrison was almost two minutes from the walls closing in on him, his career all but over. Coming into the twelfth round Harrison was losing the fight for the vacant European title against Michael Sprott, on points. It was a half-decent fight, in which Sprott made most of the running. Harrison even showed some heart.

Yet, somehow, Harrison rescued this contest with a thunderous left ‘equalizer’ with 100 seconds left in his career, leaving the British and Commonwealth champion supine. Out cold was Sprott. Sprotted.

A-Farce, Audrey, call him what you like – and they have- but Harrison was finished before a huge left hand saved his career, kept it afloat.

I have to confess, it hasn’t really changed anything. Nor will it have changed most observers views of Harrison. He showed some heart, he turned this into the late, late show. But he has flagrantly disappointed for a decade. And now he’s 38.

He hasn’t really got it at the highest level. He’ll huff and he’ll puff and he may yet get a crack at the Klitschkos, or even Haye…never say never in boxing, but he’s not of that level. Physically, he is. As a promoter he is; as a talker, he is…but then the bell has to go.

Personally, I’d like to see Haye-Harrison. It would sell out…

I reported on every one of Harrison’s first ten professional fights (groans) on the BBC, from 2001 onwards (and I even saw his US debut, his eighth fight, in Atlantic City against Shawn Robinson who was a foot smaller and 53lbs lighter than Harrison) and it was clear from the off that the OLympic champion-turned-pro felt that knocking out a random doorman from Krakow should be followed by a long monologue to the media immediately afterwards.

It was a bad habit. There was the nagging feeling from the off that he was a quite brilliant talker, wonderful at representing himself…yet lacked something at the highest level. This is still a secret only Harrison himself is unaware of. Which is why he is mocked so pitilessly.

He showed a bit of spirit in this contest, and ten years on from Olympic glory, he still has the gift of the gab, huge athleticism, technique, he is a southpaw, but is derided by all in boxing, and even those not desperately familiar with it.

I was involved in analysing Harrison’s career with Andy Jacobs and Andy Goldstein on TalkSport this week, and they were mystified that he can claim that he could face the Klitschko brothers or Haye in a ring, for a world title, somewhere soon. It does seem improbable. However, the reality is that such a contest is only two fights away.

At Alexandra Palace, they booed him (of course). Three years ago, Sprott knocked Harrison flat out in the third. Here Harrison took his revenge.

“My right shoulder went in the second round, and I showed determination and heart in there. It showed how much I wanted to keep my career,” explained Harrison. He had fought one-handed for seven rounds. “I proved that I want to remain in boxing. I didn’t quit, and I’m still here….”

* * * * *

There is even worse tomorrow night in the United States, when 47-year-old Evander Holyfield meets Frans Botha, now 41, in a Las Vegas ring. Holyfield, unfortunately, is still fighting because he says he wishes to be world heavyweight champion again, but in reality his 200 million + dollars have all gone and he needs, I understand, around $1 million a year for alimony and to run his estate. I watched him in Zurich last year live, labouring through 12 rounds against Nikolai Valuev, losing the WBA title fight

* * * * *

Back in north London…

The truth is out there. Ten years ago, as they prepared for the Olympics, Haye, aged 19, was a skinny beanpole next to Audley Harrison, then 28.

Haye failed to make the Olympics; Harrison claimed gold in Sydney and won the golden pot, and negotiated a £1million deal with the BBC, for which the corporation were pilloried.

Ten years on, they are both heavyweights, and are not even in the same league. Haye is the fighter, and Harrison…well…let’s just say he could yet be a contender…for now, let’s leave it at that.

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Harrison finally hits the Sprott: Injured Audley keeps his career alive -- Daily Mail

By Jeff Powell, DailyMail.co.uk

Audley Harrison dragged redemption from the brink of retirement by dredging up the courage which has lain dormant through most of his professional career.

That's right, courage. He showed bravery of such a high and unexpected order that he finally backed his claims to a world title challenge which he has craved since winning gold for Britain at the Sydney Olympics a decade ago.

Harrison, the A-force man whose fighting heart has been questioned so often, fought with one arm as good as tied behind his back before inflicting the last-round knock-out of Michael Sprott which made him champion of Europe.

An emotional Harrison said: 'I ripped a tendon in the shoulder when throwing a jab. It's an old injury. I knew I needed a knock-out going into the last round because I was behind on points. But I always felt I could find the big shot. I would like to ask Michael if I still haven't got any heart.'

For most of the 11 rounds before the knock-out, Harrison had taken a firestorm of punishment while clinging to the hope of landing one blow with the only weapon remaining in his armoury. That left hook arrived with one minute and 55 seconds of his ordeal remaining.

Referee Dave Parris did not finish the count. Instead he summoned urgent attention for Sprott, who revived, only to be taken unwell in the dressing room to which the paramedics hurried again. He spent the night under observation in hospital.

Harrison's finding of himself as a true fighting man came with the clock apparently running down on his career. We watched with surprise as well as a kind of morbid fascination as he fought more heroically with one hand than he has ever done with two.

As Harrison's arm fell more limp, he resorted to switching from his southpaw lead to not only jabbing with his left but trying virtually every punch with that one hand.

Inevitably, Sprott pounded away to build up a winning lead on the scorecards. One of the three judges had Harrison's fellow Londoner six points ahead before the last round.

At times Harrison reeled around the Alexandra Palace ring but, with oblivion beckoning, he found the nerve to take the hard knocks. Sprott's corner made the crucial error of sending their man out to try to finish Harrison in the 12th. Had he boxed those last minutes with caution he would have beaten Harrison for the second time. Instead he was caught by a thunderous left hook.

Harrison's swollen features confirmed the extent of his discomfort but by coming through the hurt he is within one fight of a challenge for Vitali Klitschko's WBC title.

First he must deal with the mandatory contender for the European belt, another giant Ukrainian named Alexander Dimitrenko.

But promoter Barry Hearn said: 'After this - one of the most fantastic things I've seen in the ring - I believe Audley only has to win that to get his wish against Klitschko before the end of the year.'

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Audley Harrison is a talented boxer, but he is not a fighter -- The Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk

Audley Harrison has been to more crossroads than Dick Whittington. In 10 years, he has gone from national hero at the Sydney Olympics to an object of almost universal derision, a failed pro who still promises the world and delivers Neasden.

The journey has become tiresome for the fight public and traumatic for Harrison, whose self-belief rarely matches his ambition once he gets in the ring, a workplace as foreign to him as the Bodleian Library would be to Mike Tyson.

He is more than capable of blowing away inadequate fodder, as he has done 26 times in 30 contests. But, if there is a live opponent coming at him – as when he fought Danny Williams, Dominic Guinn, Michael Sprott and Martin Rogan – Harrison's default position is instant caution, and that is when he has been exposed.

This week, before his rematch tonight with Sprott, he was at his eloquent best, telling Paul Foley of Boxrec.com: "I have turned my life around and I know what reality is. The perception people create is not reality. What you read in the papers, it's 10% truth and 90% perception."

He argued that he has thrived in adversity. He overcame what he calls his ghetto upbringing to get a university degree, win an Olympic gold medal and set up a 10-fight deal with the BBC. He points out he reversed the result against Williams, and went through the trauma of losing his brother in a car crash.

All of this is true. But it cannot disguise his shortcomings in the ring, because that is a place where what happens before always matters less than what happens while you're there.

Harrison is an articulate 38-year-old man, a convincing preacher of his own faith. You want him to be right, because, away from the heat of battle, what he says often makes sense and he is a likeable character. There is much to admire in his determination; he has, after all, been through some tough times, personally, and in trying to survive in the snakepit of the fight game.

But he is in the wrong business. He was not born to fight, a suspicion I have held since I bumped into his father, a small and nervous man, in the corridors of Wembley Arena the night in May 2001 Harrison made his professional debut against a man almost equally as small and nervous, a private detective from Miami called Mike Middleton.

Mr Harrison, a dapper man in suit and fedora, was carrying a large white cloth, which he told me he would throw into the ring the moment his boy got into trouble. I told him there was as much chance of that happening as Middleton working out who Jack the Ripper was. Harrison outweighed Middleton by two-and-a-half stone and stopped him in the first round, the first of many wins that led him to believe he could conquer the world.

Tonight, at the Alexandra Palace, Harrison has yet another chance, probably his last (but how many times have we said that?) when he fights Sprott for the vacant European heavyweight title.

He restored his confidence by winning Prizefighter recently, and that gave him the oxygen to carry on up the mountain. He will probably win tonight. But he is like the man looking to rediscover Shangri-La, who doesn't realise that you can't go back to some warm fantasyland, living forever on the buzz of youth.

What Audley has, paradoxically, is a talent to box without the instincts to fight – and that is a dangerous mix in the professional business. You can just about get away with it in the amateurs, which is where Audley should have stayed. Who knows? If they'd changed the rules and allowed boxers to go on beyond the age of 35, he might be going for a fourth gold medal in London.

The really bad deal

More potentially hazardous dreaming across the water tomorrow night, when Evander Holyfield, 47, fights Frans Botha, 41, in Las Vegas. Holyfield, such a force in his prime, shares Harrison's delusion that he can be world champion again. He can. In his mind.

Like Harrison, he calls on God to get him to the top of the mountain. There have been worse crimes committed in God's name, but this is one He surely won't sign up for. Believe it or not, it's on Primetime. I could not care less who wins.

Heavy times

Another heavyweight collision next month featuring a fighter heading for the exit at least is invested with reality. Danny Williams says that, regardless of the result against Sam Sexton, whom he fights on the undercard of Mitchell-Katsidis at Upton Park on 15 May, he will retire. I can't remember a fighter promising to quit, even if he wins, and doing it. We will see.

Danny has been the other great enigma of the British heavyweight scene, a fighter with real talent who struggled with the sort of inner doubts a lot of boxers have. The one night he really believed in himself, he knocked out what was left of Mike Tyson. He then gave as brave a performance as any sadist could want against Vitali Klitschko near his best.

Danny, who is 36, says he is going into the security business, looking after celebrities. He might even end up being Tyson's bodyguard on Mike's occasional trips to the UK. It's hard not to smile at the odd way life turns out some times.

Making Haye

No word yet on David Haye's next fight. But bet on this: it won't be against Nikolai Valuev. Hayemaker Boxing's German partners, Sauerland Event, hold the option on a rematch but know the bigger fight for the WBA world champion is against Wladimir Klitschko, self-managed and who fights for a rival TV network in Germany.

So, there are a lot of competing interests there. But the will exists in the Sauerland company to make Haye-Klitschko, and what is encouraging for the Londoner is that they are keen to do the fight at Wembley.

In any other business, what Haye's trainer and negotiator, Adam Booth, calls "the logical position" would make the fight a lay-down misere. But this is boxing, so expect weeks and maybe months of playground posturing.

It is one of the inbuilt ironies of the fight game that it is populated by hard men who act like kids. Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer pride themselves on being ace deal-makers, yet blew (for the time being) the biggest fight in the history of boxing, Pacquiao-Mayweather, largely because they let their egos get in the way.

Let's hope that's not the case with Haye and Klitschko. The signs are encouraging.

Source: guardian.co.uk

How a second Sprott of bother can finish Audley Harrison off for good -- Daily Mail

By JEFF POWELL, Daily Mail

After the David Haye spectacular, Audley Harrison’s hand-cart to hell or salvation. And there is no telling which direction our great under-achiever’s rickety old rickshaw will take him on the steep hillside of London’s Alexandra Palace.

Such is the weird and wonderful, death or glory business of heavyweight boxing that Harrison enters a ring erected somewhere between oblivion and a shot at a world title.

Is he about to complete the long haul back to the pinnacle from which he confesses: ‘I tumbled after bringing home gold from the Sydney Olympics 10 years ago’? Or is he about to be knocked out by Michael Sprott for a second time and thereby hurled over the precipice into retirement.

Sprott, 35, stopped Harrison, 38, in five rounds three years ago and says: ‘I’ll do it quicker this time because despite all the talent which won him his gold medal he lacks a little bit of heart for the professional game.’

Harrison, disappointed by those remarks after dedicating his Prizefighter triumph to Ginette Sprott, whose tragic death under the wheels of a train forced her brother’s withdrawl from that tournament, responds: ‘I made ridiculous errors first time against Michael but there won’t be any repeat of that. He needs a miracle to beat me again.’

In the eyes of most observers, it is little short of miraculous that Harrison should find himself back within touching distance of challenging Vitali Klitschko for the WBC belt before Haye, the WBA champion, gets his chance of unifying those titles. But such are the convoluted workings of the hardest game.

The European heavyweight championship brings with it an automatic top 10 WBC ranking and Klitschko might well look upon Harrison as an easy pay-night.

Harrison’s promoter Barry Hearn says: ‘If Audley beats Michael and then completes one successful mandatory defence, he will be in line for Vitali.’

The same should apply to Sprott. Harrison, cruelly lampooned sometimes as the Fraudley of boxing, resurrected his career with that Prizefighter success but Sprott knocks that, too, saying to his rival’s face: ‘I would have won that event, not you, had I not been in mourning.’

To which Harrison angrily reacts: ‘You had better be ready and willing to take a pain-load of punishment.’
Talking a good fight has never been Harrison’s problem and he reminds us: ‘I came from a young offender’s institute to gain a university degree and win that Olympic gold for my country.

‘People call me a failure but all that makes me is a British success story. I cannot let myself lose again to Sprott. It won’t happen, because this man is simply not in my class.’

Not even Sprott argues with that evaluation but he knows that there is more to boxing than natural-born talent.

Harrison ought to win hands up. We hold our breath and wait to see if the proximity of hell-fire and eternal damnation will nerve him to start fulfilling what he still believes to be his destiny.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

David Haye Tells Audley Harrison - "Beat Michael Sprott And Alexander Dimitrenko, Then Come Knock On My Door" -- Eastside Boxing

By James Slater, Eastside Boxing

WBA heavyweight champion Brit David Haye has admitted he has something of a soft spot for countryman and former Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison. And though "The Hayemaker" admits the 38-year-old known as "A-Force" has a long way to go before he can be looked at as a serious and credible challenger for his WBA belt, the 29-year-old has not ruled out such a fight.

Talking to Sky Sports recently, Haye spoke about Harrison and his frequent attempts at, not so much calling him out per se, but at putting forth the idea of an all-British heavyweight title clash..

"I've achieved everything I said I would [in my career] and Audley said when he won the Olympics (in 2000) that he'd be the British champion in five fights," Haye said. "I don't think he's ever won the British title to this day (he hasn't), and this (tomorrow's rematch with Michael Sprott) is his first major title fight, and it's for a vacant title against a guy who knocked him spark out in three rounds.

"I like Audley. I think he's got a lot of ability and a lot of potential, but for some reason something's not clicking. Hopefully he's got that figured out now, and hopefully he can KO Michael Sprott, he can KO [Alexander] Dimitrenko, and he could be my next contender. Before that he's got to beat two guys."

So who knows? Maybe, if Harrison, 26-4(19) can gain revenge over Sprott in London tomorrow evening, and if he can then get Ukraine's Dimitrenko into the ring with him and beat him also, he could, just maybe, find himself not a million miles away from sharing a ring with Haye.

It's interesting Haye mentions a Harrison-Dimitrenko fight. The big 27-year-old has not been seen since his humbling points loss to "Fast" Eddie Chambers, last July. Still a big name in Europe, however, Dimitrenko will be looking to take the European belt off Harrison if the southpaw can win it tomorrow night. And though many fans would probably make Dimitrenko, 29-1(19) a favourite over "A-Force," a win for the Londoner would make his credentials as far as a shot at Haye that much more impressive.

Still, as Haye - who has bigger fish to fry, so to speak - says, big Audley is a long ways from being in a position to challenge him at the moment. After all, Sprott, who has promised another KO win over Harrison, may well win on Friday night.

But just supposing, in say, six months time, if Harrison has beaten Sprott and Dimitrenko, and if Haye is still in possession of his WBA belt - what would the critics say if Haye accepted the challenge of Harrison? It's fair to say, unless he's beaten at least one of the Klitschkos by then, Haye would come under real fire if he took what the cynics would undoubtedly call an easy fight.

If, however, Haye HAS beaten a Klitschko by October or November or thereabouts, he would be free to pretty much fight whoever he wants by way of a voluntary defence; this fight being a "warm-up" for the inevitable second Klitschko fight. This possible turn of events aside, I don't see Harrison ever facing Haye in the ring. All the same, Audley will likely take heart at how Haye is even talking about him!

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Sprott - Audley lacks heart -- Sky Sport

Sky Sport

Michael Sprott feels Audley Harrison "lacks a bit of heart" ahead of their heavyweight showdown on Friday night, which is live on Sky Sports.

The two British boxers will go toe-to-toe at Alexandra Palace in London with the vacant European title on the line.

Sprott has already beaten Harrison once before, stopping the former Olympic champion inside three rounds back in February 2007.

The 35-year-old from Reading is confident he can pull off a repeat result and claim the belt, having sparred with the Klitschko brothers in the build up.

No pushover

"I'm confident I'm going to win again," said Sprott. "Audley is not a pushover and he has got skill and proved himself by winning the Olympic gold medal in 2000.

"But he lacks a bit of heart and we will see if he has got the heart to beat me on Friday."

Sprott believes he has picked up plenty after spending four weeks with WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and his sibling Wladimir, the current IBF, WBO and IBO title holder.

"I've been training for four weeks in the Klitschko camp and they are two supreme athletes," he added.

"I've learnt a lot from them, they are two great punchers and Audley cannot punch anything like the Klitschkos can."

Harrison has not waited until the first bell to fire back at Sprott, though, stating that he is on a "different level" to his rival.

The 38-year-old, who struck gold at Sydney 2000, believes he is a late bloomer in the professional ranks and feels losing is simply not an option.

"I'm on a different level to Michael Sprott," he said. "Who was the first guy to teach (WBC super-middleweight champion) Carl Froch about mental toughness? Me. Adversity is my friend and my heart is as big as anyone's out there. Lightning will not strike twice.

"I'm focused, hungry, dedicated and on Friday I'm putting everything on the line - I have to win.

"Michael needs to miraculously find a way to win, but that will not happen. Losing is not an option for me. Trust me. Whatever it takes, I'm getting my hand raised.

"When I left England I was 17-0 and Ring Magazine, the bible of boxing, had me as the future of heavyweight boxing.

"I'm a late bloomer. I started boxing at 19 and won an Olympic gold medal at 29."

Route planning

Having won Prizefighter last year, Harrison is confident his career is on the rise again and is already plotting a route to the Klitschkos.

In fact, he is adamant that he will get to face either of the Ukrainians before fellow Brit David Haye, who impressively stopped John Ruiz in Manchester on Saturday in the first defence of his WBA strap.

"David is the star at the moment and he did what he had to do on Saturday against John Ruiz," Harrison admitted.

"It's great for British boxing and long may it continue but I'm sure the Klitschkos saw things in Haye that they can exploit.

"I'm two fights away from the Klitschkos. Alexander Dimitrenko is the number one in the rankings so I'll beat him and I'm confident of getting to the Klitschkos before Haye does."

Source: skysports.com

Harrison hits out at Haye -- Sky Sports

Sky Sports

Audley Harrison says David Haye needs an early knockout against John Ruiz as he is not in good enough shape to go the distance, while also claiming 'The Hayemaker' is not a big name in the heavyweight division.

Harrison fights Michael Sprott for the vacant European title on April 9 at Alexandra Palace, just six days after Haye defends his world title in Manchester.

Haye fights veteran American Ruiz on April 3 at the MEN Arena, live on Sky Box Office, but Harrison thinks he may have underestimated his opponent.

The former Olympic champion has seen Haye in training and does not think he is in good enough shape to go the distance, so needs an early KO to retain his WBA title.

"I watched a training session of David Haye from Sky Sports and his timing is off. He's also carrying excess weight," said Harrison.

Long night

"I know David very well and mark my words, if he doesn't blast out Ruiz early, which is possible, then it'll be a tough night. Golden Boy have also signed Ruiz, so they are in with the winner and out with the winner.

"But it's a funny old game and if it doesn't go well for David on Saturday night then who knows what the future holds for him."

Prizefighter winner Harrison thinks he can get a world title shot if he claims the European strap, but he would not be going after Haye if he did.

Instead, California-based Harrison says he would want to fight Wladimir Klitschko or his brother Vitali, claiming that Haye is not a big enough fight for him.

"The heavyweight division is desperately looking for marquee names and, no disrespect to David Haye, but no one in the US is talking about David Haye," added 38-year-old Harrison.

Klitschkos

"They're all talking about the Klitschkos and no one is giving David Haye any play as a world champion so the guys I want to fight are the Klitschkos.

"If you get a chance against David Haye then people will say 'you now have to beat the Klitschkos', so if I beat Sprott, I want the Klitschkos.

"The fight with Sprott is obviously huge for me because when I get revenge and lift the title it puts me straight in line for a shot at the world title.

"People are talking about me fighting David Haye at Wembley but, with all due respect to David, outside of the UK no one is talking about him - it's the Klitschkos they see as the real heavyweight champions so dethroning one of them is what I really want."

Source: skysports.com