Outsider Harrison looking a tempting bet

David haye prepares to put his WBA title on the line this evening, with the bookmakers backing the Hayemaker to retain his heavyweight crown. But Des Lynam in the Daily Telegraph believes Audley Harrison is capable of an upset.

Two of my fellow members of the Boxing Writers’ Club have even suggested that I may at last have lost my marbles, a swift decline from astute to gullible.

But I really think that Harrison, whom you could reliably bet on letting you down in the past, will at least give of his very best now that his big chance has unexpectedly come and that may well be good enough.

It is not as though he is about to face one of the great names of heavyweight boxing. Haye, whose publicity has outweighed his talent in my opinion, is more from the Henry Akinwande or Herbie Hide class of British world heavyweight champions than the Lennox Lewis school.

Harrison is not getting in the ring with the kind of opponent that some of our former British heavyweight world title challengers had to face in their careers.

The often criticised Joe Bugner, most recently seen in the ITV jungle, twice fought Muhammad Ali in his prime, losing only on points both times.

Bugner also faced the great Joe Frazier and wobbled him before losing their fight in London on points and he shared the ring with the likes of Ron Lyle and Ernie Shavers, two of the hardest-hitting heavyweights in the history of the sport. He did not disgrace himself in either fight.

Then of course there was Frank Bruno.

I still feel slightly concussed just thinking of the punishment Frank had to take in some of his fights. He had been on a streak of twenty-one consecutive knockout wins before coming up against the American James

‘Bonecrusher’ Smith at Wembley in 1984. Bruno was winning the fight comfortably until the tenth and final round when Smith landed some fearsome blows and Bruno was knocked out still leaning on the ropes.

After that setback he went on a winning run again before challenging another American, Tim Witherspoon, for the WBA championship, the title that is being contested tonight.

I can recall comparing the wonderfully conditioned Bruno with the slightly blubbery Witherspoon before the fight but, once again after leading on all three ringside judges’ cards, Bruno was beaten to a pulp in the eleventh round.

After some thoughts of retirement, he recovered and by 1989 was ready to face the then fearsome Mike Tyson for the unified world title in Las Vegas.

I was ringside with the late Harry Carpenter and we were both shocked as Tyson threw off his spartan towelling robe on the way to the ring. If this aggressive gesture didn’t unnerve Frank, it certainly did us.

In the first round Bruno was shaken but recovered to rock the champion with a huge left hook, you might recall Harry’s words of commentary: “Get in there, Frank”. The fight was stopped in favour of Tyson with Bruno once again helpless on the ropes.

By 1993 Bruno had negotiated his third world title challenge, this time against the recently crowned Lennox Lewis who turned out to be one of the ‘greats’. It was the last all-British heavyweight world championship fight before tonight.

Once again Bruno did well until being stopped in the seventh round. Of course Bruno finally won the WBC version of the title when he outpointed Oliver McCall who had beaten Lewis in a big upset. He was obliged to face Tyson again in his first defence and was this time despatched in the third round, his world title gone.

So tonight Harrison is not facing Ali or Frazier, Tyson or Lewis or even Bruno, none of whom in their prime would be likely to have lost to him. He is facing David Haye, good boxer but not in their class.

As they say, fortune favours the brave and that is what he will have to be tonight. Heaven knows I have had to be, forecasting the outcome in his favour. Of course if he does win, the ludicrously self-regarding Harrison will become insufferable.

Mind you if he wins, so indeed might I.