Audley Harrison

[Trigger]

At last he is about to fight a good opponent!

After months of intense negotiations, the eagerly-anticipated fight between Audley Harrison and British heavyweight champion Matt Skelton is definitely on.

Skelton and his promoter Frank Warren have been long been clamouring for a chance to challenge the super-heavyweight.

Harrison is now contractually free to pursue any options, which helped seal what promises to be one of the most anticipated domestic showdowns in recent times.

A press conference has been called in London tomorrow to announce the details of the fight.

Harrison, 17 fights, 17 wins, 11 knockouts, 0 losses.
Skelton, 14 fights, 14 wins, 13 knockouts, 0 losses.

I'm probably the only one looking forward to it though

I reckon Skelton will win too, he's a hard bastard!

 

[Marshy]

Nah Audley will do him on points.

 

[Albion Dan]

Id love to see Skelton win, Harrison is a tool!

 

[Soton Seagull]

Harrison could be our new target man.

 

[Trigger]

Matt Skelton...

If the day comes when Matt Skelton gets his head scrambled in the boxing ring, he will be able to console himself with the fact he didn't get kneed in the groin along the way.

For Skelton, who won the British and Commonwealth heavyweight belts from Michael Sprott, is a former kickboxing world champion and veteran of the brutal K-1 circuit in Japan.

Indeed, the 37-year-old reckons professional boxing is a breeze compared with the K-1 scene where Europeans are seen as fodder for the home-grown elite and respect is begrudgingly earned.

"You can punch, kick, knee and elbow - it's quite extreme," says the Bedford man.

"I found it rougher than boxing. Although you only fight five rounds, it's more telling on the body because you're taking kicks to the legs, head, knees and groin and elbows to the body.

"So you'd come out of it and feel sore all over. The boxing's not as intense and at the end of it your legs are still in tact."

And, praise be, your family jewels.

Skelton began kickboxing in his early 20s, started on the K-1 circuit in 1998 and was duly offered a three-year contract.

He regularly fought before crowds of 20,000 and once performed in front of 48,000 in the Tokyo Dome, where Mike Tyson was knocked out by Buster Douglas in 1990.

The domestic heavyweight scene is low-key in comparison and, despite only having 14 professional fights, Skelton is confident he has the tools to go further.

He stumbled into professional boxing after being asked to spar with journeyman pro Derek McCafferty and discovering his kickboxing skills were transferable.

McCafferty palmed Skelton off on Matthew Ellis, at the time a top domestic heavyweight, and the novice dominated his more experienced sparring partner and was persuaded to give it a go.

He signed with Frank Warren's powerful Sports Network and with co-manager Eugene Maloney at his side, Skelton (12-0)soon found a route to the top of the tree causing much carnage along the way.

He beat his first 11 opponents inside the distance and became English champion by beating Michael Holden in September 2003. And in his last outing he proved he could graft by comfortably outpointing former British champion Julius Francis.

But does Skelton have time to really stamp his mark in his new trade?

"My ultimate goal is to fight for a world title and I haven't left it too late. There are guys younger than me who've had some real wars and this is the fittest I've been throughout my career.

"K-1's helped because it's made me a more aggressive fighter - you fight over five rounds and tend to be more explosive.

"As for long-term goals, I'm not thinking about anyone like Hide or Harrison. If you start looking at who you're going to be fighting next you're not focusing on the fight in hand."

Many boxing fans in this country will simply be hoping he and his exploding fists stick around long enough to breath some much needed life into an ailing division.

http://www.britishboxing.net/display_boxer.php?boxer_id=280

 

[Easy 10]

Hasn't Danny Williams not stolen something of a march on Audley now though, by twatting Mike Tyson into oblivion ? Yes yes, we all know it wasn't the Tyson of old etc, but he's still a hell of a scalp to claim, certainly compared with the string of nobodies Audley has gone in with*

*oh sorry, I forgot, 32 year old Audley is still on his "learning curve" which will, at this rate, lead to a title shot by the time he is 54.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Who cares, boxing is a dying sport. It's biggest star, who is a decade beyond his prime has just been twatted by a journeyman.