13.12.03 – Paul-John Ramos: Laughlin, Nevada – British heavyweight prospect Audley Harrison continued his string of „look-good“ wins at the Edgewater Casino on Saturday evening, knocking journeyman Brian Nix to the canvas twice before referee Jay Nady called a stoppage at 1:41 of round three. Harrison, 255, England, was tucked into the main event of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights broadcast after middleweight Tokunbo Olajide came down with influenza and withdrew from his bout with Larry Marks. The schedule change gave Harrison more rounds in the limelight, after which he vowed to reach the world heavyweight contenders list in another twelve months. 33-year-old Nix is far from the landscape of top heavies after being stopped by Lawrence Clay-Bey, Jean-Francois Bergeron, and Andrew Golota over the past year, but 32-year-old Harrison has at least moved up in class, however small the step.
Against poor opposition, calmness has been Harrison’s most visible quality. Things were no different against the outmatched Nix, 243, Rochester, New York, as Harrison carefully placed his jabs and waited for a suitable moment to close the show. After a decent first round and a cautious second, Harrison found his target with three staggering left uppercuts to the chin and dropped Nix to the ropes. Nix returned to his feet only to be decked by another left uppercut, after which Nady rightfully waved the fight off.
Harrison, a 6′ 5″ southpaw now at 14-0 (10), intends to face leading British heavyweights before pursuing top 20 contenders next year. He is now three years removed from his super heavyweight gold medal victory at the Sydney Olympic Games. “Back in the U.K., there are a few domestic rivals that have been calling me out since I turned professional, Danny Williams and those guys, and I definitely want the British title early next year,” Harrison said in a post-fight interview, “But definitely by the end of 2004, you’re going to see me mixing with guys like Joe Mesi and Monte Barrett. I’m twelve months away from being in the pitch with those contenders. I’m not saying that I’m going to be the world champion, but you’re definitely going to be able to put me in the pitch.”