Two days remaining. . . .The weigh-in is tomorrow at the Lowry, Salford Quays and I hope to bring you some pictures and my pre-fight musings after seeing the two fighters conditions in flesh.
Now if the fight come Saturday night is anywhere near as good as the trash talking then we are in for real fireworks. Here are two of my favourite quotes from the many months of build up that we have experienced.
"You're going to get destroyed, you're going to get violated in that ring, you'll never be able to set foot in England again."Hayemaker
"When I came out of the Olympics they called me Muhammad Ali, then four years later I'm 'Fraudley'. But after this fight I'll be extraordinary." A-Force
No one in the British press I beleive has ever used the words Audley Harrison and Muhammad Ali in the same sentence, that I am pretty sure of. The same cannot be said for David Haye where during the John Ruiz fight Ian Darke made the point that The Hayemaker is probably the quickest since Ali. And in boxing speed kills.
I took the time last night to re-watch the John Ruiz fight, a fight I attended. It is accepted that throughout the fight that Ruiz was ponderous and plodded slowly forward throughout. He did however show incredible punch resistance. The shots that Haye landed without doubt would have sent many of the heavyweights at the top to the canvas.
Now the self-proclaim A-Force is no John Ruiz that is for sure. He was felled like a giant redwood by Michael Sprott, and granted the boot (or glove) was on the other foot (or hand) in Harrison's last fight but Harrison without doubt is going to have to take a punch in order to through one and he simply isn't capable of this.
Harrison has made a point of Haye being 'chinny'. This is nothing more than an attempt at psychology by the challenger in order to divert attention from his own fragile abilities to take a punch.
Many will poke laughter at Audley Harrison but there is one thing that can be said for him and that is that he is a master of self promotion. Many said that about Napoleon but even the A-Force wins that contest. Without Harrison this fight would be the damp squib that many predict but Audley's stories, fabrications, inner will and that fact that he beleives his own press has hyped the contest up to a level many didn't think capable.
Unfortunately for Harrison it is more hype than expectation when it comes to prospect of victory for the 2000 Sydney Olympic champion.
Looking through Harrison's record it is littered with journeymen and no-marks. It wasn't until his 16th fight that he fought a fighter of any real pedigree in the heavyweight division, Julius Long for the World Federation Heavyweight title. You compare this to Haye at cruiserweight who fought former WBO champion Carl Thompson, who had two victories against Chris Eubank on his resume. Granted, David lost but it was in this fight that I saw what I thought could be a champion.
Without the loss I don't believe Haye would be the boxer we see today. He admits himself that before than he believed that he could trade with anyone. It was a wake-up call for the young man.
Tomasz Bonin was Harrison's next opponent, ranked 8th by the WBC at the time. A TKO was the result for Audley in the ninth. Haye deposed of him in one. A fight that acted as a tune-up for his attempt to gather the WBC & WBA cruiser weight belts from Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in Paris.
Two fights later it all started to unravel for Harrison as Haye become the undisputed cruiser champion, no matter how much the Olympic champion denies these claims.
Now 3 years later their paths meet having trodden very different tracks along the way. Will Harrison fulfill his 'destiny' or will it just be another empty promise from one the most promising and biggest wastes of talent in British heavyweight boxing? Saturday is not 'The Best of Enemies' but Judgement Day for the A-Force.
Now if the fight come Saturday night is anywhere near as good as the trash talking then we are in for real fireworks. Here are two of my favourite quotes from the many months of build up that we have experienced.
"You're going to get destroyed, you're going to get violated in that ring, you'll never be able to set foot in England again."Hayemaker
"When I came out of the Olympics they called me Muhammad Ali, then four years later I'm 'Fraudley'. But after this fight I'll be extraordinary." A-Force
No one in the British press I beleive has ever used the words Audley Harrison and Muhammad Ali in the same sentence, that I am pretty sure of. The same cannot be said for David Haye where during the John Ruiz fight Ian Darke made the point that The Hayemaker is probably the quickest since Ali. And in boxing speed kills.
I took the time last night to re-watch the John Ruiz fight, a fight I attended. It is accepted that throughout the fight that Ruiz was ponderous and plodded slowly forward throughout. He did however show incredible punch resistance. The shots that Haye landed without doubt would have sent many of the heavyweights at the top to the canvas.
Now the self-proclaim A-Force is no John Ruiz that is for sure. He was felled like a giant redwood by Michael Sprott, and granted the boot (or glove) was on the other foot (or hand) in Harrison's last fight but Harrison without doubt is going to have to take a punch in order to through one and he simply isn't capable of this.
Harrison has made a point of Haye being 'chinny'. This is nothing more than an attempt at psychology by the challenger in order to divert attention from his own fragile abilities to take a punch.
Many will poke laughter at Audley Harrison but there is one thing that can be said for him and that is that he is a master of self promotion. Many said that about Napoleon but even the A-Force wins that contest. Without Harrison this fight would be the damp squib that many predict but Audley's stories, fabrications, inner will and that fact that he beleives his own press has hyped the contest up to a level many didn't think capable.
Unfortunately for Harrison it is more hype than expectation when it comes to prospect of victory for the 2000 Sydney Olympic champion.
Looking through Harrison's record it is littered with journeymen and no-marks. It wasn't until his 16th fight that he fought a fighter of any real pedigree in the heavyweight division, Julius Long for the World Federation Heavyweight title. You compare this to Haye at cruiserweight who fought former WBO champion Carl Thompson, who had two victories against Chris Eubank on his resume. Granted, David lost but it was in this fight that I saw what I thought could be a champion.
Without the loss I don't believe Haye would be the boxer we see today. He admits himself that before than he believed that he could trade with anyone. It was a wake-up call for the young man.
Tomasz Bonin was Harrison's next opponent, ranked 8th by the WBC at the time. A TKO was the result for Audley in the ninth. Haye deposed of him in one. A fight that acted as a tune-up for his attempt to gather the WBC & WBA cruiser weight belts from Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in Paris.
Two fights later it all started to unravel for Harrison as Haye become the undisputed cruiser champion, no matter how much the Olympic champion denies these claims.
Now 3 years later their paths meet having trodden very different tracks along the way. Will Harrison fulfill his 'destiny' or will it just be another empty promise from one the most promising and biggest wastes of talent in British heavyweight boxing? Saturday is not 'The Best of Enemies' but Judgement Day for the A-Force.
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