15.02.07 – By Andy Olsen: Saturday night sees Audley Harrison attempting to carry on the momentum he gathered from his previous contest, when he takes on Michael Sprott at the Wembley arena in London. Harrison will be looking to prove that his admittedly superb three round stoppage of Danny Williams was no flash in the pan, to a British boxing public who remain somewhat sceptical. The fight will be shown live on ITV, giving Audley the chance to further convince us that he should start to be taken seriously as a fighter who can deliver when it matters. The Sports Network promotion also features Graham Earl getting a crack at the vacant WBO lightweight title, against an unknown quantity in Aussie Michael Katsidis.
It was not so much the performance that Harrison put in the last time around, more so the mindset that he carried going into the contest that made people take note.
Williams barged into his opponent at the weigh in, explaining afterwards that he could tell by the look in Harrison’s eyes that he was mentally “up for it”. It’s fair to say that the attempt to take Harrison away from his new found mindset didn’t work; Audley went on to give the type of performance that many felt he would be capable of when he began his pro career almost six years ago.
It wouldn’t be accurate to go as far as saying that he changed the minds of the vast majority of people, who had previously written him off, with his last performance. Let’s not forget Williams looked terrible in his previous outing, and took the fight at short notice (following Matt Skelton’s reluctant withdrawal with a broken hand). However, and to his credit, Audley has made a few people wonder if they had been too quick to declare him finished. He has also made all the right noises since the win, challenging British champion Scott Gammer for his title. Audley has a fair point in stating that it isn’t his fault the proposed fight didn’t go ahead; the Welshman rejected what Harrison’s new promoter Frank Warren told BBC sport was “a substantial offer” (Warren also claimed it probably would have been more than Gammer had received for his last five contests). Gammer and his team chose to go ahead with the fight with Danny, which was planned before Williams-Harrison 2 occurred (and scheduled to happen on the 2nd of March in Wales).
At this stage of his career, Sprott belongs in the opponent category. His 29-10 record attests to this. He does however hold something called the EBU-EU title (as opposed to the EBU strap; the first ever case of a title to come into existence as a result of a typo?). He has also shown a willingness to be a durable opponent, who is more than capable of causing the odd upset along the way. His most recent contests have been on the continent, where he has had mixed fortunes. He was widely considered to be the victim of a robbery in Austria versus Paolo Vidoz for the other European strap. He was then stopped in a contest with Ruslan Chageav, who has been tipped to receive a crack at Nicolay Valuev’s WBA title in the future. Sprott himself is coming into this with a bit of momentum. His last fight was a credible victory over the previously unbeaten Rene Deitwieler, and the 6’0 Reading veteran is unlikely to be intimidated by his resurgent opponent.
Indeed, both can site fights with Williams as defining ones in their career to date, with both having mixed experiences with the Brixton fighter. Harrison’s first contest, a terrible 12 round affair led to him being universally slated, by the 10 million or so viewers who tuned in to watch the drab encounter. Sprott’s meetings with Danny however, had a mixture of excitement and controversy to them. Danny holds two TKO victories over Sprott, yet the second one was achieved from a shot to the head, thrown with Sprott in the process of complaining about continuously being hit low. The controversy brought about a third fight, in which Sprott became British and Commonwealth champion following a somewhat debateable decision.
The timing of this seems to suit Audley. As I have stated elsewhere, he has the motivation of trying to win over a sceptical public. His aforementioned alliance with Frank Warren, formed after the Williams fight) may result in this being a stepping stone to a higher level. Sprott can be relied upon to give his all in the contest, and I’m sure the continents promoters will still be looking to render his services after the showing he’ll give. However on this occasion, and at this stage of his career, it probably won’t be enough. I have the feeling Harrison will prevail with a late stoppage, which Sprott’s previous opposition will confirm is not a straight forward proposition.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Graham Earl gets home advantage in attempting to become the WBO lightweight champion. His opponent hasn’t mixed it in Earls’ class before, yet his 19 KOs on his unbeaten 21 fight record at least suggests Earl should be wary of his punching power. Earl was tipped to go onto big things after only a few fights. He has looked impressive in wins over decent domestic opposition such as Bobbie Vanzie, Steve Murray and Mark Winters. He was however beaten hands down by Ricky Burns, and was later floored in winning British and Commonwealth honours versus Kevin Bennett (which he won by TKO in the 9th). The unknown nature of the opponent provides us with that little bit of intrigue, and it could shape up to be a superb contest. I’ll tip Earl to edge it without any real degree of certainty, mainly due to the more accomplished nature of the opposition he has faced to date.