Audley Harrison To Face Undefeated Tomasz Bonin on June 19th

02.06.04 – Olympic heavyweight gold medallist and WBF Heavyweight Champion Audley Harrison (16-0, 11KOs) will face undefeated Tomasz Bonin (26-0, 16 KOs) from Poland on June 19 at the Alexandra Palace in Wood Green, London. The fight will air live on BBC1 at 10:55pm. After having worthy opponents such as Clifford Etienne, Tye Fields and Matt Skelton, turn down the opportunity to face the undefeated Harrison in June, Bonin was willing to take the challenge.

Bonin, ranked 48 in the world in the latest IBO independent world ratings, is said to be in great shape as he was scheduled to face German heavyweight Luan Krasniqi next month for the European Championship. Harrison’s promotional company, A-Force Promotions, made a significant offer to Bonin—after hearing he was interested in the fight—and secured the bout. “Fighting Audley Harrison and beating him was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” said Bonin. “My name will skyrocket after I take him out and destroy his future.”

Harrison, who will complete a three-month trilogy that has kept him active and advancing his career in the worldwide rankings, looks forward to putting the first “L” on the still unblemished record of Bonin, who’s background is similar to Harrison’s, as he is undefeated as a pro, boxed all over the world as an amateur and has a huge following in his native country. “I expect a tough fight on June 19 as there is a lot at stake when two undefeated prospects face each other and that usually means fireworks,” said Harrison. “But having completed my first 12 rounds last month against Julius Francis, I’m ready to bring the heat and send my fans home early with an explosive knockout.”

In addition to the Harrison fight, a special attraction on the night will be the return of the featherweight sensation Wayne “Pocket Rocket” McCullough (26-4, 17KOs,) who is set to face John MacKay of Uganda. This will be McCullough’s first ring appearance return since his March 2003 harrowing loss to Scott Harrison in an epic battle that will go down as one for the record books. “I can’t wait to get back in the ring again. It has been a long time coming but I have kept myself fit and I am ready to step back in there.”

The chief support bout of the evening will be the return to London of tough and current WBF Super Featherweight champion Carl Johanneson (17-1-0, 10KOs), who is under the A-Force banner and has appeared on the undercard of Harrison’s last two fights. Rounding out the undercard will be local Wood Green favourite, Courtney Fry, Bracknell’s Sammy Smith, Crawley’s John Alldis, Riaz Durgahed from Mauritius and London’s Ryan Barrett.

Tickets for June 19th are £100, £75, £50, £35 and £25 and are on sale now through various outlets including the credit card ticket hotline 0870 112 0893, A-Force Promotions 0207 025 8386 and through Harrison’s official website, www.audleyharrison.com