Soldato
Audley Harrison has finally retired;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/32071575
Apparently, he's been suffering the effects of brain trauma from being knocked out so much. Not surprising.
I feel an element of sadness, to be honest. I was so excited watching him win in the Sydney Olympics, and really hyped for watching him fight on BBC as a pro. I still remember what a letdown his first fight was - seeing a short, fat, probably cab-driver, chap getting slapped around as the main event.
Audley killed boxing on the BBC - they paid a lot of money to Audley's promotion company to get his first 10 fights on their channel, and he served up absolute ****e. Fight after fight of dross, with Audley barely looking coordinated let alone the world-beater he proclaimed himself to be.
And yet I still wanted to believe. He just needed to adjust to the pro fight game, and we would see him use his natural advantages - being a big guy, with solid technique - to dominate. He was even on the front cover of Ring Magazine, along with US hopes Dominic Guinn and Joe Mesi, as possible the heirs to Holyfield, Lewis, Tyson.
And then the Danny Williams fight. One of the worst fights I've ever seen. A mate went to see it live - wished he hadn't. Audley lost and looked terrible.
He followed up with a defeat to the aforementioned (and already fading) Guinn, before beating up a fat Williams in the rematch. Then was sparked by the very limited Michael Sprott, despite starting the fight brightly.
At this point, I was starting to give up hope. Maybe Audley wasn't the real deal? But... he did look good for the first couple of rounds against Sprott. A lucky punch, I reckon.
Audley rebuilt against what were probably a couple of taxi drivers before coming up against the mighty Martin Rogan, who really was a taxi driver. Rogan sneaked a close decision in another drab affair, before hopping in his Skoda Octavia and picking up a few fares as they left the venue. Probably.
Audley was at a low ebb. But knowing the world heavyweight championship was his destiny, he dusted himself off, and signed up for Barry Hearn's Prizefighter tournament. In an unlikely turn of events, Audley strung together three 3-round victories, even coming up with a couple of stoppages. The dream was reborn.
Audley followed up with a, predictably, moribund rematch win over Sprott and landed himself a shot at the WBA Heavyweight title against David Haye.
This was it. I still had hope. We would see the real Audley.
In the event, Audley showed some spirit in plodding around, covering his ears for 2.5 rounds. Luring Haye into a false sense of security? I bet that's it. Then he was KO'd. He'd landed 1 punch in 3 rounds.
Audley picked himself up after a break, and arrived at the fists of David Price. A first round knock-out defeat set Harrison up for a return to his biggest pro boxing achievement - the Prizefighter tournament. Against all logic, Harrison won again to set up a slot as a punch bag against the fearsome slugger Deontay Wilder. Wilder almost removed Audley's head en route to a 1st round knockout.
And that closed the show.
For some reason, despite the years of failing to live up to my hope, and his own mouth, I don't hate or resent Audley.
I just wish he hadn't been quite so ****.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/32071575
Apparently, he's been suffering the effects of brain trauma from being knocked out so much. Not surprising.
I feel an element of sadness, to be honest. I was so excited watching him win in the Sydney Olympics, and really hyped for watching him fight on BBC as a pro. I still remember what a letdown his first fight was - seeing a short, fat, probably cab-driver, chap getting slapped around as the main event.
Audley killed boxing on the BBC - they paid a lot of money to Audley's promotion company to get his first 10 fights on their channel, and he served up absolute ****e. Fight after fight of dross, with Audley barely looking coordinated let alone the world-beater he proclaimed himself to be.
And yet I still wanted to believe. He just needed to adjust to the pro fight game, and we would see him use his natural advantages - being a big guy, with solid technique - to dominate. He was even on the front cover of Ring Magazine, along with US hopes Dominic Guinn and Joe Mesi, as possible the heirs to Holyfield, Lewis, Tyson.
And then the Danny Williams fight. One of the worst fights I've ever seen. A mate went to see it live - wished he hadn't. Audley lost and looked terrible.
He followed up with a defeat to the aforementioned (and already fading) Guinn, before beating up a fat Williams in the rematch. Then was sparked by the very limited Michael Sprott, despite starting the fight brightly.
At this point, I was starting to give up hope. Maybe Audley wasn't the real deal? But... he did look good for the first couple of rounds against Sprott. A lucky punch, I reckon.
Audley rebuilt against what were probably a couple of taxi drivers before coming up against the mighty Martin Rogan, who really was a taxi driver. Rogan sneaked a close decision in another drab affair, before hopping in his Skoda Octavia and picking up a few fares as they left the venue. Probably.
Audley was at a low ebb. But knowing the world heavyweight championship was his destiny, he dusted himself off, and signed up for Barry Hearn's Prizefighter tournament. In an unlikely turn of events, Audley strung together three 3-round victories, even coming up with a couple of stoppages. The dream was reborn.
Audley followed up with a, predictably, moribund rematch win over Sprott and landed himself a shot at the WBA Heavyweight title against David Haye.
This was it. I still had hope. We would see the real Audley.
In the event, Audley showed some spirit in plodding around, covering his ears for 2.5 rounds. Luring Haye into a false sense of security? I bet that's it. Then he was KO'd. He'd landed 1 punch in 3 rounds.
Audley picked himself up after a break, and arrived at the fists of David Price. A first round knock-out defeat set Harrison up for a return to his biggest pro boxing achievement - the Prizefighter tournament. Against all logic, Harrison won again to set up a slot as a punch bag against the fearsome slugger Deontay Wilder. Wilder almost removed Audley's head en route to a 1st round knockout.
And that closed the show.
For some reason, despite the years of failing to live up to my hope, and his own mouth, I don't hate or resent Audley.
I just wish he hadn't been quite so ****.