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Audley Harrison
Born	Audley Harrison (1971-10-26) 26 October 1971 (age 53) London
Nationality	British
Other names	A-Force Fraudley A-Farce Audrey Ordinary
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m)
Reach	86 in (2.18 m)
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	30
Wins	26
Wins by KO	19
Losses	4
Draws	0
No contests	0

Audley Harrison (born 26 October 1971) is a British professional boxer who fights in the heavyweight division. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney he became the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in the superheavyweight division.

Harrison turned professional 2001 after signing a contract with BBC Sport but following defeats to Danny Williams and Dominic Guinn this contract was terminated and Harrison went to America to rebuild his career. In October 2009, he won Prizefighter tournament.

Amateur career

Boxing out of Repton Amateur Boxing Club in Bethnal Green, London, Harrison became British super heavyweight champion in 1997, defeating Nick Kendall in the final. He retained the title in 1998, defeating Dean Redmond, and won Gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games beating Michael Macquae of Mauritius in the final. In 2000 he won Gold at the Sydney Olympics by defeating Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov of Kazakhstan on points.

Turning professional

After his medal win, Harrison was awarded an MBE from the Queen and landed a £1 million deal with the BBC to show his first ten professional fights. He became the first boxer in Britain to sign a direct broadcast deal and was viewed as a future heavyweight champion by most experts, including American publications, such as Ring magazine. Harrison set up his own company, A Force Promotions, to manage his career and concluded several high profile sponsorships deals. He released his autobiography Realising the Dream in 2001. His decision not to sign with a major promoter was viewed negatively by the boxing establishment and Harrison became victim to a constant campaign of negative publicity. As is the norm with celebrated amateurs turning professional, Harrison's professional debut was against US club fighter Michael Middleton, whom Harrison knocked out in the first round in Wembley Arena with 6 million viewers watching at home. He was then out of action for several months with a injury, but by the end of the year outpointed Briton Derek McCafferty over six rounds.

Harrison continued to win and made his United States debut in November 2002, knocking out Shawn Robinson in the 1st round. In February 2003 he beat US fighter Rob Calloway in four rounds, and outpointed Ratko Draskovic over eight rounds. Harrison then knocked out Matt Ellis in two rounds. Harrison then tried to arrange a fight with 41 year old ex-World champion Frank Bruno, who had been retired for seven years. A dispute at York Hall, Bethnal Green with the erratic Hide after the Ellis fight resulted in a riot. The proposed Frank Bruno fight collapsed shortly afterwards, when Bruno was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Harrison and Hide were both penalised by the British Boxing Board of Control for the riot.

Audley Harrison

Medal record
Men's Boxing
Olympic Games
Representing  United Kingdom
	2000 Sydney	Super Heavyweight
Commonwealth Games
Representing  England
	1998 Kuala Lumpur	Super Heavyweight

America

Following the Ellis riot, Harrison relocated to the USA where he was unbeaten in 11 fights, with 8 knockouts. In the 2003 November issue of the Ring Magazine, Harrison was tipped to emulate Lennox Lewis and become a dominant world champion.

He had three more fights in 2003, against tough Lisandro Diaz (KO4), Quinn Navarre (KO3), and Brian Nix (KO3), in America. Harrison was sparring regularly with experienced world class Heavyweights like Vaughn Bean.

Harrison returned to the UK in 2004, but instead of fighting new British champion Michael Sprott for the British title, he fought unbeaten Dutch fighter Richel Hersisia for the WBF World belt. He knocked out Hersisia in 4 rounds. He defended the title twice: a 12 round points win over late-sub Julius Francis, and a 9th round TKO of unbeaten Tomasz Bonin,. After suffering a serious ligament tear in his left hand requiring hand surgery in New York, Harrison did not fight for almost a year. When the BBC decided to take all boxing off their schedule permanently, his contract was not renewed. A-Force Promotions was re launched in the USA and Harrison formed a partnership with AL Haymon.

Harrison returned to the ring in June 2005. He knocked out Robert Davis (KO7) and Robert Wiggins (KO4) on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and said he was now ready to step up and face world class opponents and get a title shot.

UK and America

Harrison returned to the UK in December to face long-time bitter rival Danny Williams in London for the Commonwealth title. Harrison stepped in after Matt Skelton had pulled out and took the bout on 5 weeks notice. He lost to a close, split decision.

In April 2006 Harrison fought in the US against Dominick Guinn and again lost on points.. Harrison put the defeat down to loss of confidence from his defeat to Williams and insisted he would bounce back.

In June 2006 he scored a three round knockout of Andrew Greeley in an off-TV fight in America, and was poised for a fight with Matt Skelton to try to resurrect his career. Skelton had beaten Danny Williams in July, winning the title Williams had earlier taken from Harrison. When Skelton dropped out only one week before the fight due to injury, Danny Williams replaced him.

Williams had trained 8 weeks for a fight with British champion Scott Gammer. This time Harrison fought far more aggressively, decking Williams twice and winning on a third round knockout. Williams suffered a broken nose and severe lacerations. and Harrison was once again lauded as a contender for a world title. Following the victory over Williams, Harrison signed a promotional deal with Frank Warren, whose aim was to get Harrison a world title fight in 2007.

On 17 February 2007, Harrison was knocked out by Michael Sprott for the European Union title. This third professional loss left Harrison's future uncertain. Harrison claimed that he could make a comeback, but comments Warren suggested that any return to the ring would be for a reduced purse, since the public would have no great interest.

Comeback

Harrison announced a comeback fight against Paul King scheduled for 29 September 2007 in Sheffield. However, he and his coach Kelvyn Travis were involved in a car accident on 21 September 2007 in the United States, and Harrison suffered injuries that caused the fight to be cancelled. Harrison had also suggested that a deal would be announced involving promoter Dennis Hobson, but the cancellation of the fight meant that a formal announcement was on hold. Harrison underwent surgery for his injuries, and returned on April 19 2008, beating the American Jason Barnett in the fifth round on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins/Joe Calzaghe fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This bout was the first of a new multi-bout agreement between Harrison and Warren, which aimed to get Harrison a world title shot in 2009.

After proposed matches with Samuel Peter and Martin Rogan fell through, on 6 September, 2008 Harrison gained what the BBC described as "an unconvincing victory" over George Arias at the MEN Arena in Manchester. The fight was overshadowed by Amir Khan's first defeat later on the same card. On 6 December 2008, Harrison was defeated by winner of the first Prizefighter tournament, Martin Rogan. The referee scored the contest 96-95 in favour of the Irishman.

Harrison signed for the Prizefighter tournament which was an eight-man, one-night knockout tournament that took place at ExCeL London on 2 October 2009. On 1 October 2009, he weighed in for Prizefighter at 18 stones and half a pound. He went on to win the tournament, by way of second round knock-out against Coleman Barrett. Before that he had knocked out Scott Belshaw and won a unanimous decision over Danny Hughes.

Amateur record

• 1998 at the European Super Heavyweight Championships in Minsk, Belarus, lost to Serguei Lyakhovich (Belarus)
• 1998 Commonwealth Games Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist. Results were:
  • Defeated Fai Falamoe (New Zealand) points
  • Defeated Jim Whitehead (Australia) KO 3
  • Defeated Michael Macquae (Mauritius) KO 1
• 1999 competed at the World Championships in Houston, United States. Results were:
  • Defeated Lazizbek Zokirov (Uzbekistan) points
  • Lost to Sinan Samil Sam (Turkey) points
• Won the Super Heavyweight Gold Medal representing Great Britain at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Results were:
  • Defeated Alexei Lezin (Russia) TKO 4
  • Defeated Alexey Mazikin (Ukraine) points
  • Defeated Paolo Vidoz (Italy) points
  • Defeated Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov (Kazakhstan) points

Professional record

#	Date	Opponent	W/L/D	Decision	Round	Location	Notes
30.	2 October 2009	Coleman Barrett	Win	TKO	2	London, England	Prizefighter final.
29.	2 October 2009	Danny Hughes	Win	UD	3	London, England	Prizefighter semi-final.
28.	2 October 2009	Scott Belshaw	Win	TKO	2	London, England	Prizefighter quarter-final.
27.	6 December 2008	Martin Rogan	Loss	UD	10	London, England
26.	6 September 2008	George Arias	Win	UD	10	Manchester, England
25.	20 April 2008	Jason Barnett	Win	TKO	5	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
24.	17 February 2007	Michael Sprott	Loss	KO	3	London, England	EBU-EU heavyweight title. Vacant BBBofC heavyweight title.
23.	9 December 2006	Danny Williams	Win	TKO	3	London, England
22.	9 June 2006	Andrew Greeley	Win	KO	3	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
21.	14 April 2006	Dominic Guinn	Loss	UD	10	Rancho Mirage, California, United States
20.	10 December 2005	Danny Williams	Loss	SD	12	London, England	Vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title.
19.	18 August 2005	Robert Wiggins	Win	TKO	4	San Jose, California, United States
18.	9 June 2005	Robert Davis	Win	TKO	7	Temecula, California, United States
17.	19 June 2004	Tomasz Bonin	Win	TKO	9	London, England	WBF heavyweight title.
16.	8 May 2004	Julius Francis	Win	PTS	12	Bristol, England	WBF heavyweight title.
15.	20 March 2004	Richel Hersisia	Win	KO	4	London, England	WBF heavyweight title.
14.	12 December 2003	Brian Nix	Win	TKO	3	Laughlin, Nevada, United States
13.	13 October 2003	Lisandro Diaz	Win	TKO	4	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
12.	9 September 2003	Quinn Navarre	Win	KO	3	Miami, Florida, United States
11.	31 May 2003	Matthew Ellis	Win	TKO	2	London, England
10.	29 March 2003	Ratko Draskovic	Win	PTS	8	London, England
9.	8 February 2003	Rob Calloway	Win	TKO	4	London, England
8.	23 November 2002	Shawn Robinson	Win	TKO	1	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
7.	5 October 2002	Wade Lewis	Win	TKO	2	Liverpool, England
6.	10 July 2002	Dominic Negus	Win	PTS	6	London, UK
5.	21 May 2002	Mark Krence	Win	PTS	6	London, England
4.	20 April 2002	Julius Long	Win	TKO	2	London, England
3.	20 October 2001	Piotr Jurczyk	Win	TKO	2	Glasgow, Scotland
2.	22 September 2001	Derek McCafferty	Win	PTS	6	Newcastle, England
1.	19 May 2001	Mike Middleton	Win	TKO	1	London, England	Professional debut.

References

1. ^ Boxrec. ""Audley Harrison"". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 5 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. ^ John Inverdale. ""'Fraudly' made a poor fist of it"". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
3. Joey Knish. ""Audley Harrison Won't Dance"". The Sweet Science. Retrieved 5 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
4. Kevin Mitchell. ""Hopeless Harrison still has guts"". The Sweet Science. Retrieved 5 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=11084&more=1
6. Amateur Boxing Association of England
7. "Harrison signs deal with BBC". BBC Sport. 2001. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
8. "Trainer happy with Audley opener". BBC Sport. 2001. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
9. "Harrison lands quick win". BBC Sport. 2002. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
10. "Harrison victorious again". BBC Sport. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
11. "Competent win for Harrison". BBC Sport. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
12. "Hide fracas mars Harrison victory". BBC Sport. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
13. "Easy victory for Harrison". BBC Sport. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
14. "Harrison shines in Miami". BBC Sport. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
15. "Harrison cruises past Nix". BBC Sport. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
16. Alex Trickett (2004). "Harrison takes WBF title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
17. "Harrison toils to victory". BBC Sport. 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
18. "Audley stops brave Bonin". BBC Sport. 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
19. "Harrison canters to win on return". BBC Sport. 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
20. "Harrison too strong for Wiggins". BBC Sport. 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
21. "Williams revels in Harrison win". BBC Sport. 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
22. "Dire Harrison outpointed by Guinn". BBC Sport. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
23. "Audley returns with knockout win". BBC Sport. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
24. "Williams set for Harrison rematch". BBC Sport. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
25. "Harrison in bloody Williams win". BBC Sport. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
26. "Warren questions Audley's future". BBC Sport. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7009219.stm Harrison cancels bout after crash
28. AudleyHarrison.com - The Official Website - Boxing News
29. "Audley Undergoes Surgery". www.audleyharrison.com. Retrieved 1 November 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
30. "Harrison labours to comeback win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
31. "Rogan and Harrison trade verbals". BBC Sport. 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2008-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
32. "Audley's big night is KO'd". The Sun. 2008-07-12. Retrieved 2008-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
33. "Hesitant Harrison claims victory". BBC Sport. 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-09-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
34. "Harrison loses to Rogan on points". BBC Sport. 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-12-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
35. "Harrison signs for Prizefighter". BBC Sport. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-08-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)

External links

• Official site
• Boxing record for Audley Harrison from BoxRec (registration required)
• TV appearances at Internet Movie Database

• British boxers
• Heavyweights
• Super-heavyweights
• Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
• Olympic boxers of Great Britain
• Olympic gold medalists for Great Britain
• Alumni of Brunel University
• People from London
• 1971 births
• Living people
• Black British sportspeople
• Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
• Prizefighter contestants