2000 Olympic gold medal winner Audley Harrison was seen by many as the next big thing, literally. The tall, big and athletic southpaw heavyweight was seen by so many people as a future world champion, and maybe a dominant one at that. But though “A-Force” shared a ring with a number of world champions, either current, or future, he was famously unable to win even the British heavyweight title.
Harrison fell short, by quite a long way at world level, and today, as unfair as it may be, “A-Force” is pretty much remembered as a flop. That said, Harrison sports quite the resume, especially when it comes to having faced hard punchers from the division. Harrison, also famously, was wiped out by Deontay Wilder, by David Haye, and by David Price.
But who does Harrison say hit him the hardest? The answer may surprise some fans. Harrison, who did a heck of a lot at amateur level, his gold medal perhaps being topped by the manner in which Audley paved the way for so many other British amateurs in the sport, was a major talent. Speaking with Mega Casino, Harrison said the hardest he ever got hit was when he fought Samuel Peter, AKA “The Nigerian Nightmare,” this at unpaid level.
“I always say the hardest puncher I ever faced in my career was Samuel Peter – the “Nigerian Nightmare,” Harrison said. “I boxed him in a pre-Olympic tournament, with a headguard on, he hit me on the top of the head and it sent shock waves all the way through my body. The thing with David Price, I went to sleep when he knocked me out. When you’re unconscious like that, you don’t know too much about it. Deontay hit me and then he threw 100 punches after that, so it was all just a blur. I just took the Samuel Peter shot and the headguard probably stopped me from getting knocked out. But, I know that was the hardest shot I faced because it put me on queer street. The David Price and Michael Sprott knockouts put me to sleep. I woke up and wanted to start fighting again, but my corner told me, ‘Audley, the fight has been over for thirty seconds.’”
Some candid stuff from Harrison, a fighter who, though criticised, even ridiculed when he was active, showed real bravery by even getting in there with puncher after puncher. Harrison is perhaps one of the greatest examples when it comes to showing how totally different amateur and professional boxing are as sports.
As for Peter, he did win a belt at world level, but he too ultimately fell short. These two names, Harrison and Peter, came from a different era, back when the heavyweight division was ruled by the two Klitschko brothers. How would “A-Force” and “The Nigerian Nightmare” get on if they were fighting today?