What did you think of Audley IN THE BEGINNING

[Coffee Aroma]

Lewis won his Olympic gold in 1988 using the old scoring system and knew what it was like to be in trouble during a contest - and get stopped by opponents

Since then it has been computer scoring so fighters have been turned into robots because of that method.

Before the 2000 Olympics, Harrison learned to beat a computer and never knew what it was like to face a crisis, take a shot or land a punch with venom.

That left him woefully short in the professional ranks.

Absolutely bang on

[Syntax Error]

When i read that the BBC had dropped the amateur world championship and all the pro's like Carl Froch, David Walker and the class of 2002 - and instead pumped their entire boxing kitty into Audley for £1m i was shocked and suprised.

The BBC were trying to cover talent from an embryonic stage and showed the first 12 fights of Froch and David Walker etc... from their amateur success which they also covered..

Then Audley killed the sport dead in the water with his god damn awful showings and that was that for boxing + BBC.

Cheers Audley

I never thought of it that way, but you are right.

The sad thing is, he may have also hastened the demise of boxing on ITV, as the bigger fights seem to be going to Setanta these days. :(

I think you are both right, Harrison plus a certain promoter have been responsible for boxing being dropped by the BBC and cut back by ITV - We have to hope now Khan doesnt get a thrashing, because if he does his fights will be dropped by ITV like the preverbial hot potato.

I'm dreading that day, because I have loved the fact that we have been able to see some very big fights, back on terrestrial, free-to-air TV for the first time since the early - mid 1990's!

Damn you Audley Harrison!

Couldn't you have been a nightclub bouncer or something???

Then again, you need balls to do that, so maybe not!!!!! :P

[oliverfennell]

When i read that the BBC had dropped the amateur world championship and all the pro's like Carl Froch, David Walker and the class of 2002 - and instead pumped their entire boxing kitty into Audley for £1m i was shocked and suprised.

The BBC were trying to cover talent from an embryonic stage and showed the first 12 fights of Froch and David Walker etc... from their amateur success which they also covered..

Then Audley killed the sport dead in the water with his god damn awful showings and that was that for boxing + BBC.

Cheers Audley

I never thought of it that way, but you are right.

The sad thing is, he may have also hastened the demise of boxing on ITV, as the bigger fights seem to be going to Setanta these days. :(

But without Audley, there may not have been ANY boxing on terrestrial TV now. There hadn't been any since Eubank signed his lucrative Sky deal and the rest of Warren's big-name stable joined him on satellite in the mid-90s. Between Eubank and Audley, we'd had a handful of She Neary fights and a once-in-a-blue-moon obscure Grandstand fight, and nothing else. As badly as it all turned out for Audley on the BBC, he was the catalyst for bringing boxing back to terrestrial TV. They showed a LOT of boxing for a few years, from around the world, and they basically broke the ice for the ITV deal which followed. None of this would have happened without Audley's Olympic success.

[WildWaylon]

When i read that the BBC had dropped the amateur world championship and all the pro's like Carl Froch, David Walker and the class of 2002 - and instead pumped their entire boxing kitty into Audley for £1m i was shocked and suprised.

The BBC were trying to cover talent from an embryonic stage and showed the first 12 fights of Froch and David Walker etc... from their amateur success which they also covered..

Then Audley killed the sport dead in the water with his god damn awful showings and that was that for boxing + BBC.

Cheers Audley

I never thought of it that way, but you are right.

The sad thing is, he may have also hastened the demise of boxing on ITV, as the bigger fights seem to be going to Setanta these days. :(

But without Audley, there may not have been ANY boxing on terrestrial TV now. There hadn't been any since Eubank signed his lucrative Sky deal and the rest of Warren's big-name stable joined him on satellite in the mid-90s. Between Eubank and Audley, we'd had a handful of She Neary fights and a once-in-a-blue-moon obscure Grandstand fight, and nothing else. As badly as it all turned out for Audley on the BBC, he was the catalyst for bringing boxing back to terrestrial TV. They showed a LOT of boxing for a few years, from around the world, and they basically broke the ice for the ITV deal which followed. None of this would have happened without Audley's Olympic success.

TV stations compete for viewers and the BBC thought they were on to a good thing with Harrison just as ITV think they are with Khan - Question is will Khan do better than Harrison, or will he get floored by Earl or Thaxton and be subsequently dropped - I agree both fighters have given us a lot more boxing on terrestial TV which has been great, but Harrison let everyone down with some very poor fights - You cant say that about Khan because he HAS been exciting and boxing on ITV happens because of him - I only wish Ricky was on ITV as well, and so do they - They wanted Haye/Macca but it never happened and ITV began to lose interest when it didnt come off - Good domestic fights with exciting fighters is what ITV and the BBC want, not Calzaghe/Manfredo or Macca/Gunn which pissed ITV off - Now it seems everything rests on the continued success of Khan.

[E]

I was excited by him & I had high hopes for him.

I think there was a bit of romanticism going on, but I wanted the perfect scenario

I really wanted Audley to be the next big thing,

I didn't mind the fact that he had a big gob, just as long as he backed up his boasts.

he enraged me to the point of no return with him.

Jaysus.... it sounds like you were in homo-erotic love with him..... :P

[n1ebf]

yes enraged does suggest feeling doesn't it.
Macca - Gunn was a fcking shambles....if ITV thought they were buying a good fight then they want fcking shooting in a Brian Clough accent (rip).
They should have done their bloody homework, there was not such much a gulf as a black hole in every bloody department, which frankly anyone with a bit of research could have seen a mile off!

[WildWaylon]

I understand ITV are now buying a fight plus the support rather than give a promoter a contract, so as to avoid getting shit bills - The great man Brian Clough now has a major road named after him - The A52 between Derby and Nottingham is called Brian Clough way - I remember bumping into him pissing up the door of a solicitors office - "I could go to the toilet its only down there" he said "but I hate this solicitor" - Always contraversial and the greatest England manager we never had.

[n1ebf]

i've just bought a booked called the damned utd, which is a sort of biography of Clough's life, mostly about his 44day stint as Leeds manager although I wa just a lad at the time. No scratch that I was some way off being born actually.
if it's any good old WildWaylon I'll let you know...but the cover said probably the best book ever written about sport...(you'd think someone would've contested that).
You keep steering clear of crocodiles mate

[Syntax Error]

I was excited by him & I had high hopes for him.

I think there was a bit of romanticism going on, but I wanted the perfect scenario

I really wanted Audley to be the next big thing,

I didn't mind the fact that he had a big gob, just as long as he backed up his boasts.

he enraged me to the point of no return with him.

Jaysus.... it sounds like you were in homo-erotic love with him..... :P

D'oh!!!!

[Syntax Error]

When i read that the BBC had dropped the amateur world championship and all the pro's like Carl Froch, David Walker and the class of 2002 - and instead pumped their entire boxing kitty into Audley for £1m i was shocked and suprised.

The BBC were trying to cover talent from an embryonic stage and showed the first 12 fights of Froch and David Walker etc... from their amateur success which they also covered..

Then Audley killed the sport dead in the water with his god damn awful showings and that was that for boxing + BBC.

Cheers Audley

I never thought of it that way, but you are right.

The sad thing is, he may have also hastened the demise of boxing on ITV, as the bigger fights seem to be going to Setanta these days. :(

But without Audley, there may not have been ANY boxing on terrestrial TV now. There hadn't been any since Eubank signed his lucrative Sky deal and the rest of Warren's big-name stable joined him on satellite in the mid-90s. Between Eubank and Audley, we'd had a handful of She Neary fights and a once-in-a-blue-moon obscure Grandstand fight, and nothing else. As badly as it all turned out for Audley on the BBC, he was the catalyst for bringing boxing back to terrestrial TV. They showed a LOT of boxing for a few years, from around the world, and they basically broke the ice for the ITV deal which followed. None of this would have happened without Audley's Olympic success.

That's a fair point.

It's a double edged sword.

We get big time boxing back on terrestrial TV because of Harrison & we have all but lost it because of him too.

[oliverfennell]

I never thought of it that way, but you are right.

The sad thing is, he may have also hastened the demise of boxing on ITV, as the bigger fights seem to be going to Setanta these days. :(

But without Audley, there may not have been ANY boxing on terrestrial TV now. There hadn't been any since Eubank signed his lucrative Sky deal and the rest of Warren's big-name stable joined him on satellite in the mid-90s. Between Eubank and Audley, we'd had a handful of She Neary fights and a once-in-a-blue-moon obscure Grandstand fight, and nothing else. As badly as it all turned out for Audley on the BBC, he was the catalyst for bringing boxing back to terrestrial TV. They showed a LOT of boxing for a few years, from around the world, and they basically broke the ice for the ITV deal which followed. None of this would have happened without Audley's Olympic success.

That's a fair point.

It's a double edged sword.

We get big time boxing back on terrestrial TV because of Harrison & we have all but lost it because of him too.

Come off it - he is the target for the failure of BBC Boxing, but the channel had much to answer for themselves. Low budget studio productions, showing fights after midnight and sometimes a day late, for starters. They would put something from America on at 1am on a Sunday night, meaning people already know the result or are in bed, and then wonder why they didn't get the massive viewing figures they expected.

Anyway, even if you solely blame Audley for what happened with the Beeb, we haven't "all but lost" boxing on terrestrial TV because of him. He left the BBC in 2004, boxing overall left the channel in 2005, after which ITV stepped in with a regular schedule for the best part of two years.

ITV Boxing (aside from Khan) was pulled earlier this year - a full THREE YEARS since Audley's last BBC fight. You can't blame him for that.

[thepocketrocket]

I started with a very positive outlook on Audley..he was Olympic champ and had dismantled Paulo Vidoz very well in the semi..he was also Commonwealth champ and had won the fight by KO...

I never liked the fact he headlined the shows, that was daft, plus the undercards were garbage..I still tuned in..

When Derek McCafferty said he 'might reach British Title level' I thought that was pretty scathing, I was shocked by the comment as I at least expected Euro title level..

THEN he got caught By Mark Krence and I knew he didnt like it, that was the turning point, this guy wasnt a fighter, from then on in he became a circus act..

But what really stands out was his desperation to fight Bruno..a man who in London Boxing circles was obviously very unwell..the breakdown would prove those rumours right.. That was a sickening act by Fraudley, I pesonally never forgave him

[oliverfennell]

I never liked the fact he headlined the shows, that was daft, plus the undercards were garbage..I still tuned in..

The undercards were mixed. I attended almost all of them and there were some decent ones (Negus, Calloway and Ellis shows were all good), as well as some flat ones too (Lewis, Bonin). But for the main, they were as good as any other promoters' undercards - British, European, Commonwealth, WBF title fights, 10-rounders. Certainly not "garbage".

[thepocketrocket]

I never liked the fact he headlined the shows, that was daft, plus the undercards were garbage..I still tuned in..

The undercards were mixed. I attended almost all of them and there were some decent ones (Negus, Calloway and Ellis shows were all good), as well as some flat ones too (Lewis, Bonin). But for the main, they were as good as any other promoters' undercards - British, European, Commonwealth, WBF title fights, 10-rounders. Certainly not "garbage".

Not buyin that Ollie, they were cheap undercards!! The only fight of note I can remember is Johannsen-Ferrans, and that was only because Ferrans exposed Carl for 6 rounds(though he did go on to have a good career)

[Chambers2]

But what really stands out was his desperation to fight Bruno..a man who in London Boxing circles was obviously very unwell..the breakdown would prove those rumours right.. That was a sickening act by Fraudley, I pesonally never forgave him

There was no 'desperation' to fight Bruno, Bruno was rumoured to be making a comeback and when he Audley was interviewed he said he'd fight him if approached (surely knowing full well that Frank was off the rails and wouldn't be making a comeback). It got mentioned once as far as I'm aware, so the words 'desperation to fight Bruno' are way off the mark and insulting IMO

As for Audley being the sole reason that boxing is leaving (has left) terrestrial TV what a load of bollocks. I don't see much difference in Audleys and Amirs first 10 fights, the fact that the BBC gave Audley £1m for his first 10 fights and expected him to be in competitive matches, shows that the BBC were clueless when it came to boxing. In hindsight I think Audleys decision to promote himself and to top the bill was a mistake, but nothing ventured nothing gained, maybe he should have had his first 10-15 fights on another promoters undercards, then maybe gone solo when he could have justifiably toppped the bill.

Audley will be getting the blame for Madeline McCanns disappearance and acid rain soon

[thepocketrocket]

But what really stands out was his desperation to fight Bruno..a man who in London Boxing circles was obviously very unwell..the breakdown would prove those rumours right.. That was a sickening act by Fraudley, I pesonally never forgave him

There was no 'desperation' to fight Bruno, Bruno was rumoured to be making a comeback and when he Audley was interviewed he said he'd fight him if approached (surely knowing full well that Frank was off the rails and wouldn't be making a comeback). It got mentioned once as far as I'm aware, so the words 'desperation to fight Bruno' are way off the mark and insulting IMO

As for Audley being the sole reason that boxing is leaving (has left) terrestrial TV what a load of bollocks. I don't see much difference in Audleys and Amirs first 10 fights, the fact that the BBC gave Audley £1m for his first 10 fights and expected him to be in competitive matches, shows that the BBC were clueless when it came to boxing. In hindsight I think Audleys decision to promote himself and to top the bill was a mistake, but nothing ventured nothing gained, maybe he should have had his first 10-15 fights on another promoters undercards, then maybe gone solo when he could have justifiably toppped the bill.

Audley will be getting the blame for Madeline McCanns disappearance and acid rain soon

"Who do you want me to fight, Bruno or Hide?" The Crowd reply "Bruno Bruno"!!! repeat and engage in gay ruck with Hide!!!

Fraudley was well up for it!!!

[Chambers2]

But what really stands out was his desperation to fight Bruno..a man who in London Boxing circles was obviously very unwell..the breakdown would prove those rumours right.. That was a sickening act by Fraudley, I pesonally never forgave him

There was no 'desperation' to fight Bruno, Bruno was rumoured to be making a comeback and when he Audley was interviewed he said he'd fight him if approached (surely knowing full well that Frank was off the rails and wouldn't be making a comeback). It got mentioned once as far as I'm aware, so the words 'desperation to fight Bruno' are way off the mark and insulting IMO

As for Audley being the sole reason that boxing is leaving (has left) terrestrial TV what a load of bollocks. I don't see much difference in Audleys and Amirs first 10 fights, the fact that the BBC gave Audley £1m for his first 10 fights and expected him to be in competitive matches, shows that the BBC were clueless when it came to boxing. In hindsight I think Audleys decision to promote himself and to top the bill was a mistake, but nothing ventured nothing gained, maybe he should have had his first 10-15 fights on another promoters undercards, then maybe gone solo when he could have justifiably toppped the bill.

Audley will be getting the blame for Madeline McCanns disappearance and acid rain soon

"Who do you want me to fight, Bruno or Hide?" The Crowd reply "Bruno Bruno"!!! repeat and engage in gay ruck with Hide!!!

Fraudley was well up for it!!!

Sure that wasn't just to piss Herbie off who had been shouting his gob off at ringside??

To insinuate that Audley wanted to fight Frank because of his mental problems is way off the mark IMO (d'ya really think hes that low?) its an extreme allegation to make on such little evidence.

[thepocketrocket]

I never said BECAUSE, I meant IN SPITE!!

Fraudley was creating a public clamour for the fight, if Frank had stayed just this side of breaking point he would have fought him..

The sensible line if he didnt want to fight Frank because he was ill would be to say 'his time has been and gone, he was a great champ in his time blah blah blah"

Disgraceful

[Chambers2]

I never said BECAUSE, I meant IN SPITE!!

Fraudley was creating a public clamour for the fight, if Frank had stayed just this side of breaking point he would have fought him..

The sensible line if he didnt want to fight Frank because he was ill would be to say 'his time has been and gone, he was a great champ in his time blah blah blah"

Disgraceful

Audley was probably aware of Franks condition, so he'd have known there was no way Frank was getting his licence back. Audley was hardly chasing the fight with Bruno, in fact it was hardly mentioned even at the time. The incident you referred to when Audley asked the crowd who he should fight was aimed at Herbie who had been shouting his mouth off rather than at Frank.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree...again

[thepocketrocket]

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree...again[/quote]

Funny thing is im sure we would get on

[Chambers2]

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree...again

Funny thing is im sure we would get on [/quote]

I reckon so, we just have a few opposite opinions on things which is healthy on a forum, abit of strong debate never hurt anyone

PEACE

[oliverfennell]

I never liked the fact he headlined the shows, that was daft, plus the undercards were garbage..I still tuned in..

The undercards were mixed. I attended almost all of them and there were some decent ones (Negus, Calloway and Ellis shows were all good), as well as some flat ones too (Lewis, Bonin). But for the main, they were as good as any other promoters' undercards - British, European, Commonwealth, WBF title fights, 10-rounders. Certainly not "garbage".

Not buyin that Ollie, they were cheap undercards!! The only fight of note I can remember is Johannsen-Ferrans, and that was only because Ferrans exposed Carl for 6 rounds(though he did go on to have a good career)

I'm not saying they were amazing undercards, just that they were no worse than the average medium-sized promotions you would regularly get with the other promoters.

We had Nicky Cook in a European title fight and several Commonwealths. We had Dean Francis is a British title fight. We had Robin Reid and Carl Johanneson in WBF fights. We had Andrew Lowe v Neil Linford in a British eliminator which was a very good fight, enjoyed by all. We had Lowe in a couple of S. Area title fights. Scott Dann and Young Mutley in English title fights. We had David Haye. Glen Catley. Adrian Stone. Toks Owoh. Courtney Fry. Michael Sprott. Peter Culshaw. Damaen Kelly. Mark Potter. Esham Pickering. Lee Haskins.

Naturally, some of the above were typical 4 and 6-rounders, but my point is, Audley's undercards had some big names and some unknown novices. They had some good little undercard scraps, and they had some record-builders. They also had some well-matched fights from prelims to title level. They had some prospects, some veterans, some bogus titles and some very respected titles. They featured boxers from around the world, and they featured local talent (this was done well in Bristol and Liverpool, particularly). Some of these cards were a lot better than some of those by bigger promoters.

Sure, there a couple of poor cards, which I have mentioned, and which is inevitable, but on the whole, having been to many promotions from all companies and of all levels over the years, Audley's undercards were pretty solid stuff. Hopefully my break-down above shows they were not "garbage" or "cheap".

[oliverfennell]

As for the Bruno situation, I seem to remember it was Bruno who ANNOUNCED his comeback FIRST through the News of the World, and it was Audley who he had targeted. It's only natural Audley would respond.

As for the mental illness, this was obviously what caused Bruno to want to come back. He was missing something in his life, was depressed, and boxing was what he knew best, and was where he was loved. It's a common story. Boxers miss the glory and often have no plan B when they retire.

As I also remember it, Frank's mental breakdown didn't happen until quite some months after. The tabloids went big on the story, Audley joined in with the hype, but Frank never even applied for his licence and the comeback talk dimmed quietly. It was a while after this that he had his breakdown. And yet, in good old revisionist fashion, the Audley haters turned it into a plot by Harrison to bully a sick man.

The comeback announcement was a symptom of Frank's depression; his attempt to cure it. It wasn't like Evil Audley heard on the grapevine "Frank's gone a bit mad" and kidnapped Frank's kids to goad the good guy into a potentially lethal fight. Frank called him out, Audley ran with it. Simple.

And if Audley was so evil to want to fight him, what did that make all those fans chanted for the fight as well? If Frank had gotten hurt, the paying punter would be just as much to blame for ENCOURAGING this mentally ill man to fight.

[Tuff Customer]

No form, no talent, no pop. He was truly awful but everytime a british fighter makes a little noise people act like it's a big deal. Small time fighter from a small time location.

[Scrap]

Always reminded me of the old saying, Empty bins make most noise