Preview: Scott Harrison vs Manuel Medina

By G L Taylor

09.07 - There are a number of potentially exciting quality boxing matches scheduled for this weekend, both at home, and abroad, but one that could quite possibly be the most action-packed is the WBO Featherweight title clash between champion Scott Harrison of Scotland, and Manuel Medina of Mexico.

With the fight taking place Renfrew’s Braehead arena, the champion has home advantage and can be sure that he will have a vociferous backing from the Scottish fans, and a harsh reception for his opponent and challenger.

Harrison (19-1-1) is also likely to be full of confidence after coming off of a successful first title defence against tough Belfast operator Wayne McCullough, whom many felt would have too much know-how and class at the top-level for Harrison, only for the bullish Harrison to completely dominate the fight, giving McCullough what was arguably the most one-sided beating of his career and almost stopping the granite-chinned McCullough, who has never before been in danger of being halted by the referee.

Medina (61-13) though, is a somewhat different prospect. He is vastly more experienced than anyone whom Harrison has faced at this stage in his career and is unlikely to be ruffled by the hot atmosphere that he walks into when he makes his entrance in front of a Scottish crowd that could number around 5,000 people.

The 32 year-old Mexican has made his reputation of being not only in possession of high-calibre boxing skills, but also a tremendous work-rate which enables him to throw huge numbers of punches throughout his fights, which often tends to wear opponents down or simply leaves them unable to fall into their rhythm and become easy-prey to the former four-time world champion.

Medina got into boxing as a route away from his tough life in Tijuana, and had turned professional by the time he’d reached the age of fifteen in 1985.

His early fights saw a couple of wins, and some losses too, before he strung together an impressive run of 27 victories, before again stumbling on his way against Juan Carlos Salazar (a tough boxer who was highly-rated on the Mexican domestic scene, but who never really rose any higher than his status as Mexican title challenger), who defeated him by technical knockout in 1989.

However, the loss did not deter the dogged Medina, who persisted in his pursuit of becoming another of Mexico’s great fighters and whom received his reward after three more fights that same year when he took the WBA’s International Super-Featherweight title after a disqualification victory over Edgar Castro.

Two defences of this title followed, before Medina captured his first world title in May of 1990 by winning the IBC super-featherweight title.

While this title gave him the official status of ‘World Champion’, it was and is not recognised by many in and around boxing as one of the more authentic indicators of genuine world class, and so Medina still had plenty to prove.

But prove it he did as he stepped up the level of opposition he faced, and continued to produce victories with his continuous-punching style which often saw him leave the boxing skills behind and turn fights into contests that looked as much like street brawls as boxing matches.

Following another impressive series of wins throughout the next fifteen months, Medina truly announced his arrival on the world stage when he captured the more universally recognised IBF world featherweight title, thanks to a unanimous points victory over the USA’s Troy Dorsey.

A succession of defences then followed, with Medina emerging with his title throughout, after defeating even more impressive opposition including the likes of Tom ‘Boom Boom’ Johnson and held the title until February 1993 when Johnson gained revenge, with a tight split points decision.

Like previous losses, Medina recovered well though, defeating his fellow countryman Francisco Valdez by stoppage in the eighth, before moving back to the super-featherweight division where he’d collected his IBC crown and challenging IBF king, John-John Molina in a losing battle that went to the scorecards.

A somewhat up-and-down period then followed for Medina, who followed up short runs of wins with losses (including another to Tom Johnson in early 1995). He gained another well-respected version of the featherweight title though in 1995with a split decision victory over Alejandro Gonzalez, though he immediately dropped the belt in his following fight to Luiz Espinosa on points.

His next challenge for a world title came against Sheffield showman ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed in August of 1996 (for the title which he will be challenging for on Saturday, incidentally), when he put in a gutsy performance full of heart and grit against the swaggering champion, but ultimately felt the force of Hamed’s hammer-like blows when he was TKO’d in the 11th.

His next three contests saw more losses than wins, before he again got himself back on track, and recaptured the IBF version of the world title in 1998 after defeating Hector Lizarraga.

He held onto this title until November 1999, when ‘Yorkshire Hunter’ Paul Ingle scored a unanimous decision over him in an explosive ‘war’ of a fight which saw both men down on the canvas.
By this time, Scott Harrison had gotten his career underway, without making any massive waves and completing ten-fights in which he had suffered one loss, due to a cut eye, against journeyman Miguel Matthews (this was in his fourth fight and after the tenth- a 12-round points win over Smith Odoom, he was declared the IBO Intercontinental Featherweight Champion).

Harrison at this stage was looking to many as though he had a hard, bullying style, with perhaps the potential for more, but with him scoring many points victories so early in his career, as opposed to stopping or knocking out his early-career opposition, questions were raised about Harrison’s power.

Points wins again followed, in 2000 for Harrison, though there was a noticeable move by those controlling his career to gradually put him in with wily, experienced opponents that would not only show if he had sufficient skills to advance further, but that would also provide him with experiences that he could learn a great deal from.

His victories that year included a points win against former British super bantamweight champion Patrick Mullings, which enabled him to capture the Commonwealth title which Mullings held at that time, before scoring points wins, and gaining vital experience in contests against former world-level operators Tracy Harris Patterson and former Medina opponent Tom Johnson.

In March of 2001, Harrison began looking more than just a good domestic operator, in a contest against Richie Wenton, when he stopped his opponent inside four rounds to add the British title to his Commonwealth crown.

As Harrison continued to progress, and his level of opposition increased, it appeared that so also did his punch-power, as he either knocked out or stopped each of his next four opponents (a list that included former WBO world champion Steve Robinson and tricky Puerto Rican Victor Santiago).

He culminated his impressive run by snatching the world championship that he currently holds from Julio Pablo Chacon, in Scotland with a points victory that was hard-fought, but which was also largely bossed by the busy Harrison, who had by this time been noted as not only a frequent puncher, but also an accurate one who rarely wastes the leather he throws.

While Harrison has continued to, Medina has still been fighting top level opposition, although now being in his thirties, is starting to look past his peak.

After his defeat to Ingle, Medina bounced back once more with four straight wins, the final one of which, in November 2001 saw him regain the IBF Featherweight title by stopping Frank Toledo in the sixth round of their second contest inside two years.

Controversy followed in Medina’s next fight though, in April 2002, as many thought that he ultimately had the better of determined challenger Johnny Tapia (a fight in which Medina set a record on the American ‘Compubox’ system for the most punches thrown by a featherweight, as he dispatched a total of 1,466 shots over the twelve-round distance). The decision though, a close split, was given to Tapia, and Medina had lost his title.

He didn’t fight again until February of this year, when it looked as though age had caught up with him, as he had an opportunity to fight for the same title (made vacant after Marco Antonio Barrera defeated Tapia and then gave it up) against Juan Manuel Marquez, and though he put up a gutsy effort and showed great heart and hunger, he was brushed aside by Marquez.

His one fight since was an easy fifth-round stoppage win over Juan Ruiz, though at times, that even seemed to be a bit of an effort for Medina, and many questioned whether he is now too far past his peak to regain world championship status.

This Saturday’s contest should answer questions about both men. Medina will need to work incredibly hard to prevent the continuous attacks of the Harrison (the younger man by seven years at 25), but whether the durable Mexican now has both the legs and the ability to throw almost-continuous bursts of punches has to now be open to debate.

It will also be interesting to see how Medina actually looks to cope with someone like Harrison, whose style may be the closest thing he’s faced to the way that he himself boxes.

On the other hand though, Medina is a wily veteran, and has a sound enough boxing brain to exploit any weaknesses he sees in the younger champion with ruthless efficiency, even though some say that his reflexes and skills may now be on the wane.

If he can get into a rhythm similar to that of this fight with Johnny Tapia, then it will be Harrison who has to respond to a type of pressure that he has rarely encountered in his comparatively short career.

However at this point in time, it is likely to be Harrison’s freshness and superior accuracy that is key, as Medina has been known to cut easily, and has been put on the floor numerous times in his career.

Despite his last two contests going to the scorecards, Harrison has been looking increasingly strong and powerful, and always seems absolutely massive at his weight (though never seems to have trouble making the limit, so he obviously trains very well).

It’s likely that Medina will fall victim to this strength and power if it goes on for too long, and as he doesn’t have the superb chin of a Wayne McCullough, it is difficult to see him lasting into the last three or four rounds of the fight.

In boxing though, the unexpected regularly occurs, and Medina has proved doubters wrong too many times for him to be completely written off. He could yet make his experience count, and stun the Scottish fans in attendance.

The intrigue in fights such as this is part of what makes boxing the great sport that it is, and that, along with the hype and tension, will only build as the 12th July edges nearer.

It promises to be a very interesting match, and all eyes will be looking to see whether it is the younger prospect or the battle-hardened warrior that comes out on top once the final bell has sounded.