Audley Harrison comeback - A Force or A Farce? by James Slater Apr 18th 2008

They've finally found an opponent for him as he attempts to kick-start his boxing career on the undercard of Saturday's big fight between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins, but the question is, should Audley Harrison even be bothering any more? First Audley was going to box the 12-4-2 (6) 32-year-old Ed Perry of the States, now Harrison faces the equally mediocre Jason Barnett - a 33-year-old with a 10-6 (4) record. Either way, however, most fans would tell you it's way too late for Harrison to do anything with his once promising career now. There was a time when Harrison, with his southpaw stance, athleticism, ability to talk well and, of course, his Olympic gold medal, looked like going far in the heavyweight division. The way he told it, Audley would even capture the British title after a mere five fights, should he wish to go for it. Now, though, some seven years after turning pro, the interest in the man known as "A-Force" has all but vanished - something the 36-year-old did himself for over a year after being unceremoniously KO'd in three rounds by Michael Sprott in his last ring appearance in February of last year. What was once popularity and genuine belief from the fans has now long since been replaced with derision and/or a who cares? attitude. No one likes a big mouth, especially one who fails to back up his boasting. So, Harrison finds himself in the position he is in now. Being given one last chance by a promoter who is in no mood to wait for him to get somewhere fast, Harrison begins the second, or is it third, stage of his career. Phase one of this new run begins on Saturday in Las Vegas against the "safe" Jason Barnett, a fighter who has only two wins to his name over guys who had winning records. Of all the bad things that happened to Harrison, not all of them were his fault. Indeed, a bad car crash and the loss of his brother no doubt affected him as they would any fighter. His fourteen month layoff can certainly be attributed, at least partially, to these extremely unpleasant events. His bandwagon slowly but surely seeing itself fallen off by the fans is his own doing, however. Pure and simple, Audley would not or could not deliver on his big talk. Losing to Danny Williams, Dominick Guinn, and then Sprott (with his sole impressive career performance, the return TKO win over Danny mixed in) Harrison was suddenly a busted flush of a heavyweight contender. So, can the 21-3 (16) Harrison possibly salvage something this late in the game? Audley is 36, don't forget, and the clock has long since been ticking quite rapidly. No longer will Audley top the bill on fight nights, that much looks abundantly clear. Instead the 6'5" southpaw will attempt to rebuild his reputation by scuffling against the likes of Jason Barnett on big fight under cards. Maybe he's actually somewhat lucky to be getting even this. It really is quite inconceivable now how royally treated and popular Audley was about five or six years back. I fear "A-Force" will now be viewed as not much more than a curiosity as opposed to a genuine prize fighter, someone the majority of fans will be hoping to see get KO'd. It's a cruel sport at times, boxing, but it's hard not to feel Harrison made the mistake of bringing a lot of his current predicament on all by himself.

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