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How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 06:10
by Mimmy
Audley beat Michael Macquae in the Commonwealth games final to take a gold medeal however Michael Macquae did not turn professional so cannot make any comparrisons to how they both faired in the pro ranks. Then won the gold at Sydney against Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov, but again he hasnt turned pro so again cannot compare them either.

The Price fight was a shocker, Audley did not throw a punch and just had his right hand up all the time blocking like a bloody novice. After 35 fights you would have thought Harrison had learned something about the trade and fought like a gold medalist. It seemed to me even before the first bell when the referee was giving instructions Audley was shitting his pants. He came out real tentative like he knew he was going to get knocked out. He didn't come out at all with any guts and positivity that gave the impression that he was there to mix it up, early on Price knew that and proberly thought 'ok 1 punch is going to sort this out' which is exactly what happened.

From the first pro fight Harrison signed a £1 million deal for 10 fights, was that the mistake? Should he have taken a contract like most young boxers and earned his trade correctly rather than being swamped by money so early on? Do you think it would have been a different story if he had not won the gold medals and was just a young heavyweight novice? Was the fact that all the promoters TV etc thought, 'hello we have a gold mine here'?

Having his first pro fight according to wikipedia he had 6 million viewers watching his fight, thats a lot of audiance.

I think even in his last few losses hes been lucky getting the fights, was it his name on your record that made these boxers fight him, all the hype and extra cash flowing down the well. I'm sure he's made a ton of cash in his 35 fight career but has Audley Harrion take us all for mugs. I nearly paid the £10 to allegedly but luckily forgot last night as I would have been well pissed off with that, instead watched it this morning on Youtube. Well I hope its the last we've seen of the joker he's had a few quid from me even seen him live and spent a fortune in Manchester with 4 other lads but thats boxing.

Good bye Fraudley, as Jimmy Saville had on his grave stone, 'It was good while it lasted'

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 06:50
by Quixall
mimmy123 wrote:Audley beat Michael Macquae in the Commonwealth games final to take a gold medeal however Michael Macquae did not turn professional so cannot make any comparrisons to how they both faired in the pro ranks. Then won the gold at Sydney against Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov, but again he hasnt turned pro so again cannot compare them either.

The Price fight was a shocker, Audley did not throw a punch and just had his right hand up all the time blocking like a bloody novice. After 35 fights you would have thought Harrison had learned something about the trade and fought like a gold medalist. It seemed to me even before the first bell when the referee was giving instructions Audley was shitting his pants. He came out real tentative like he knew he was going to get knocked out. He didn't come out at all with any guts and positivity that gave the impression that he was there to mix it up, early on Price knew that and proberly thought 'ok 1 punch is going to sort this out' which is exactly what happened.

From the first pro fight Harrison signed a £1 million deal for 10 fights, was that the mistake? Should he have taken a contract like most young boxers and earned his trade correctly rather than being swamped by money so early on? Do you think it would have been a different story if he had not won the gold medals and was just a young heavyweight novice? Was the fact that all the promoters TV etc thought, 'hello we have a gold mine here'?

Having his first pro fight according to wikipedia he had 6 million viewers watching his fight, thats a lot of audiance.

I think even in his last few losses hes been lucky getting the fights, was it his name on your record that made these boxers fight him, all the hype and extra cash flowing down the well. I'm sure he's made a ton of cash in his 35 fight career but has Audley Harrion take us all for mugs. I nearly paid the £10 to Allegedly channel but luckily forgot last night as I would have been well pissed off with that, instead watched it this morning on Youtube. Well I hope its the last we've seen of the joker he's had a few quid from me even seen him live and spent a fortune in Manchester with 4 other lads but thats boxing.

Good bye Fraudley, as Jimmy Saville had on his grave stone, 'It was good while it lasted'
You need a different set of skills and mental attitude for professional boxing and Audley didn't have them, he never had them. However, he knew that if you could con people for long enough, he could make some serious money on the back of the gold medal, media exposure and the fact that he looked the part. He was a decent boxer in his prime, but nothing more than domestic / lower euro standard and a million miles of what you need to fight at world level.

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 07:38
by citybluechris
Amature and pro very different set up and experience lots of amature who turn pro dont like it.

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 07:41
by Adamj1987
he didnt become terrible he just didnt adapt to the pro game where harder hitting is encouraged and in the ams pitty patty punches win the fight

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 07:59
by hurlock
His achievements in Sydney shouldnt be tarnished because of professional failure

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 12:58
by dookus
Because pro and amateur boxing are very different sports

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 13:33
by Syntax Error
hurlock wrote:His achievements in Sydney shouldnt be tarnished because of professional failure
Very true, but I've never heard anyone give Harrison anything but praise for his gold medal in 2000.

The criticism he has received is for his failure as professional, which got off to a bad start when he disrespected Danny Williams by claiming he'd be British Champion within 5 fights.

I wouldn't have minded him saying that had he even tried to achieve that, but he spent his first 10 fights boxing fitness instructors, bus drivers, plumbers & Avon ladies & didn't even look convincing doing that.

He deserves all the criticism he gets IMO.

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 14 Oct 2012, 14:23
by Karl Jade
Apparently people don't know the difference between throwing and landing a punch.

Re: How did Audley Harrison win gold and become terrible?

Posted: 15 Oct 2012, 13:03
by Bricks
Hes a great human,a great story how he overcame adversity and (financially) was a success. a great talker and yes he was olympic champion but as a pro boxer he was lazy, he was never in shape in 1 fight in his career and he was a failure as a HW in terms of ring achievements (but financially a moderate success). He never developed his potentially world class skills. He never could take a shot. He wanted shortcuts. he never developed a proper HW punch or skillset. He was eating fried plantains before the haye fight and running like a pensioner. He never had stamina thats why in that fight he didnt throw punches.
Anyway good luck to the guy out of the ring, hes a great fella.
He may have made 4-5 million pounds in the ring but it could have been 20-30 million with his natural skills and size.