RSSAudley Harrison
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
EEC - March 7, 2007
I can’t think of any more one-liners to put up here, I may have to stop soon…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that Anthony Thompson will be helping Floyd Mayweather Jr. train for his upcoming fight on May 5th against Oscar De La Hoya. Honestly, I think I’ve said that 50 times in the last two months.
What makes this interesting is that there seems to be a backstory behind it…
Thompson will be part of the camp for six weeks. Several years ago, Thompson was one of the fighters that helped prepare Oscar De La Hoya for his his September 04 bout with then middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Thompson spent three weeks helping De La Hoya get ready for Hopkins.
Additionally, the report noted that Hopkins was also in contact with Thompson, making him an offer to join De La Hoya’s camp. Thompson would have joined, if Hopkins would have contacted him earlier, but there was already an agreement to join Mayweather’s camp and he wanted to honor that agreement.
- Despite originally stating that he was going to consider retirement after his win over Scott Gammer last week, Danny Williams has now said that he will not retire and instead will continue on with his career in hopes of facing some of the top heavyweights in the division in the near future
“I have had so much positive feedback from people who said I showed glimpses of world class,” said Williams. My main goal is to get back to the top. I believe I can still compete with champions like (WBC king) Oleg Maskaev. I won the British Title again after coming off two loses against Audley Harrison and Matt Skelton and so I think I can do better next time coming off a decent performance.”
- Jim Lampley has issued a public apology to Candice Sanders in hopes of ending the whole damn thing:
“It is with considerable regret and deep embarrassment that I acknowledge having overreacted to a household dispute with Candice Sanders on New Year’s Eve. As a result of my anger, our dispute has become a matter of public discussion and speculation and I accept responsibility for that. To bring closure to this process, I am offering my full and unconditional apology to Miss Sanders and her family, as well as to all my friends, family and professional colleagues who have been unwarrantedly damaged by the events of that night. Miss Sanders feels very deeply and sincerely, as do I, about the rights of women and children. She will be a powerful symbol on their behalf, and I will thoroughly support and encourage her organized efforts in this regard. At the same time, I would encourage all to look favorably on Candice’s efforts and contribute wholeheartedly to the advancement of this cause.”
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
EEC - February 28, 2007
The last EEC of the month! Ahhhh!
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Apparently Floyd Mayweather Sr. will now be helping his son train for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya on May 5th. We all knew it was coming…
- Alex Arthur has withdrawn from his fight against Alexander Hrulev on March 10th due to an arm injury.
- Audley Harrison released the following statement concerning his recent loss to Michael Sprott:
Firstly, I would like to say congratulations to Michael (Sprott) for his victory. To my fans, and anyone who cares for my well being, although I am disappointed to have lost, I am physically and mentally OK. As fighters, we aim to inflict maximum damage on our opponents, but at the end of the day it is a sport with a winner and a loser.
The punch (of which I obviously didn’t see!) was a great shot, landed flush and it was sweet goodnight. But as Michael’s expressions showed, it was not in tune with the fight till then and it can be argued it was a lucky shot to some degree.
But that is boxing and no excuses; I ignored the cardinal rule of boxing, and paid the ultimate price (hands up at all times, or at least when in range).
After knocking him down and having such a good first round, I lost focus and went forward rather than sticking to the game plan. I dropped my hands to open him up, hoping to land a clean shot that would send him home. I was sinking in body shots to help soften him up and although he rushed me a bit in the 2nd round I felt it was just a matter of time before I landed a telling blow. (I broke the other rule of boxing here – don’t look for the knockout as it won’t come.)
That is pretty much it, plain and simple. I could mention many things that went wrong in camp or how I was feeling after the high of the Williams win, but it’s irrelevant as I got in there and was good enough to win.
Once again, the papers and critics are out in force, which is understandable and I almost can see their point that my career appears over. But we are talking about ME here and maybe I am delusional or just plain crazy, but I feel determined (maybe more so now) to rectify this loss and move on in my career.
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Friday, February 23, 2007
EEC - February 23, 2007
I seemed to have wasted all of the news on yesterday…
Weekend Fights:
Friday -
Spend Abazi vs Robert Guerrero - Copenhagen, Denmark - IBF Featherweight Title
Johnny Tapia vs Ilido Julio - Albuquerque, NM - Featherweight
Darnell Wilson vs Kelvin Davis - Scranton, PA - Cruiserweight
Saturday -
Chris John vs Jose Rojas - Tenggarong, Indonesia - WBA Featherweight Title
Silvio Branco vs Stipe Drews - Oberhausen, Germany - WBA Light Heayweight Title
Fernando Montiel vs Z Gorres - Cebu, Philippines - WBO Junior Bantamweight Title
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: ‘The World Awaits’ a huge fight, and buildup to match
FOX Sports: Triumph, turmoil were always in Tapia’s corner
Boxing Scene: When The Heart’s Not In It: Audley Harrison & The Great Pretenders
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Sunday, February 18, 2007
Harrison Put to Sleep by Sprott in 3rd
Audley Harrison was knocked out by Michael Sprott towards the end of the third round on Saturday, basically ending all of his chances to ever become a major force in the heavyweight division.
Harrison’s career appeared to be turning around when he defeated Danny Williams last year but that all ended last night with one swift punch.
After Harrison hit the canvas, the referee removed his mouthpiece, quickly called for doctors, and knelt next to the fight until he came to his senses. It was about 10-15 minutes before Harrison was finally able to stand up and be helped back to his corner.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
EEC - January 17, 2007
I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. This is the slowest week ever, probably because I’m looking forward to this weekend’s heavyweight title bout. Oh wait, it’s not televised I forgot, rat bastards…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Despite his recent arrest that we all know about, HBO has announced that Jim Lampley will be one of the broadcasters for the network’s showing of the Hatton-Urango bout this weekend.
HBO had actually considered taking Lampley off of the show but reconsidered once the media coverage of his arrest died down quite a bit. Lampley didn’t say much to the media about the charges but he did express his excitement about being able to help call the fight on Saturday…
“I am pleased that HBO recognizes there is no reason for me not to be working this weekend,” Lampley said. “This is my job, this is what I do. This is business as usual. I am really looking forward to covering Ricky Hatton’s first fight in Las Vegas and a fight at the Paris for the first time. I feel like even though it’s only been five weeks since I’ve called a fight, it feels like it’s been a long time. It will feel good to be back at ringside calling the fights.”
- The Philippines-Mexico World Cup of Boxing has been postponed to later this year according to promotor Sammy Gello-ani. Gello-ani said that the event was postponed because agreements with the managers of Daniel Ponce De Leon and Johnny Gonzales were unable to reached in time for the original date of March 4th.
The postponement will also allow Oscar De La Hoya to help promote the event since it will not fall during his traning for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- Danny Williams will take on British Heavyweight Champion Scott Gammer on March 2nd in very well might be the last bout of his professional career.
Gammer actually turned down an offer to fight Audley Harrison who recently defeated Williams. Gammer rejected the offer because he is hoping to take on the winner of a possible bout between Harrison and Matt Skelton should he defeat Williams in March.
- Calvin Brock unveiled his new online travel agency today.
Seriously, is boxing not paying anymore? Brock starts his own travel agency, Foreman travels around the world to sell his grills, Tyson is willing to do anything in this world to make money, Klitschko ran for mayor… There’s so many things. I’m not taking boredom after retirement as an excuse anymore either. We need to get to the bottom of this…
Anyway Brock said that he learned about the business through a friend and soon decided that it would be an interesting venture for him to start.
“The online travel industry is growing fast,” said Brock. “More people are comfortable booking their own travel and getting cheaper prices than using a traditional travel agency.”
I guess we will find out over the next year how fast the travel industry is growing won’t we Calvin?
- Tomorrow is Muhammad Ali’s 65th Birthday and I’ll be sure to gather up all of the articles and various things being thrown out there in a post tomorrow morning…
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: At 32, Bailey goes back to basics of sweet science
Doghouse Boxing: Is the end drawing near for Urango?
Seconds Out: Ricky Hatton - The Hard Sell
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Saturday, December 09, 2006
Harrison, Williams Brawl During Weigh-In
Audley Harrison and Danny Williams got into a brawl on Friday during the weigh-in for their rematch tonight.
During a staredown, the two began exchanging words and Williams went ahead and shoved Harrison. Officials from both parties came running towards the two and knocked them both to the ground. Microphones and cameras were supposedly sent flying.
Promoter Frank Warren joked that the scuffle that took place was more exciting than the last fight between the two:
“There was more action in those few seconds than there was in the entire 12 rounds last time around,” promoter Frank Warren said. “It might be bad for the image of boxing, but there is a lot of pent-up aggression between the pair.”
Britsh Boxing General Secretary Simon Block said that sanctions for the two were likely…