The
Next Big Thing – AUDLEY HARRISON
 October
1st 2000 saw Audley “A-Force” Harrison claim Britain’s
first boxing Olympic gold medal for 32 years. It was a great
night for British sport and finally, the country had found
the kind of charismatic boxing hero that they had been longing
for since the early 1990s. Incredibly, over 2 million viewers
in the UK watched the fight despite the fact it was live at
4am on UK television. Shortly after this phenomenal success,
over 6,000 people crammed into the world famous Wembley Arena
to see Audley’s first professional contest with a further
5.4 million viewers watching on television. This was the 11th
highest non-soccer TV sports audience in 2001. It ended with
a superb first round KO and once more, Audley had excelled.
Just over four years later and Audley remains unbeaten in
the professional ranks. He has an impressive fight record
of 17 wins (12 by KO) from 17 contests. In that time he has
claimed the WBF Heavyweight Title and has now relocated to
Las Vegas in search of the bigger and better fights necessary
to reach his dream and become the heavyweight champion of
the world.
At
6ft 6” and just over 18 stone of pure muscle, Audley
Harrison has every attribute to go all the way to the pinnacle
of world boxing. Audley is a superb technical boxer who possesses
an explosive finish. Trained and guided by the legendary boxing
trainer Thell Torrence, Audley has all the tools in place
to reach the very top.
Outside
of the ring, Audley does not fit the regular stereotype of
a boxer. Having left school early, Audley re-educated himself
and completed a Sports Science and Leisure Management degree
that included a 10,000 word thesis on amateur boxing. Audley
was also awarded an Honorary Degree in recognition of his
services to the university and his outstanding contribution
to boxing. In 2001, Audley published an autobiography entitled
“Realising The Dream” and this became the third
highest selling sports autobiography in the UK that year.
Audley is involved with a number of charities in the UK. He
is a keen supporter of Crisis, a UK charity for homeless people
and has been involved in a number of activities helping to
raise awareness. He is also the honorary team captain representing
the Brain and Spine Foundation at the 2005 Flora London Marathon.
As well as this, Audley is patron of a charity supporting
people with the Niemann-Pick disease, a patron of the Jamaica
Hospital League Of Friends and also patron of the Northwood
Youth Club. This is a club local to Audley’s roots in
the UK that he attended as a youngster. His willingness to
help in any way possible is testament to his intelligence,
his commitment and his charisma. These are the main reasons
as to why so many charities and good causes have sought the
support of Audley. It is not often in this day and age that
sport finds a role model so agreeable and so accommodating
but Audley is proof that they do exist.
2005
is set to be a great year for the “A-Force” as
he sets about emulating his close friend, and now retired
Briton, the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the
world, Lennox Lewis. The notoriously hard to please boxing
critics are taking note of Audley’s undeniable talent
and the fans are supporting him in huge numbers. Watch out
for the name as the “A-Force” train is gathering
pace with the final stop being the Heavyweight Championship
of the World. Enjoy the ride!
Audley’s
next fight is on June 9th against Billy Zumrun from the USA.
The fight will take place at the Pechanga Resort & Casino
in Temecula, California and will be shown on FSN’s Best
Damn Sports Show Period (BDSSP).
Keep
visiting www.audleyharrison.com for more information concerning
this fight, Audley’s boxing career, his history and
the charities that he supports.
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