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04/28/2004 Archived Entry: "Harrison to Fight Popov on May 8th"
Harrison to Fight Popov on May 8th
London, ENGLAND – Undefeated Olympic heavyweight gold medallist Audley Harrison (15-0, 11KOs) is now beginning to understand what the “hard road to the championship” actually means in boxing. As his stature grows and his career advances, Harrison’s European and US-based matchmakers experienced a more difficult time finding an opponent for his May 8 fight until undefeated 6’5”, 240-pound Russian heavyweight Nicolay Popov (12-0, 6KOs) agreed to face Harrison at the Whitchurch Sports Centre in Bristol. The fight will air live on BBC2 at 10:30pm.
Having earned the WBF Heavyweight title in March—which catapulted him to number 7 in the European rankings and won him praises from recently retired heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis— Harrison is now being mentioned throughout the world as a likely heir to the heavyweight throne. Fighters have either turned the opportunity down outright or have asked for out-of-budget purse amounts that have made it difficult to secure opposition who are willing to step in to the ring with the 6’ 5”, 245-pound southpaw giant. “I have had more fighters turn me down and more managers try to stick me up with this fight than ever before in Audley’s career,” said Johnny Bos, Harrison’s US-based matchmaker. “As his stature rises, he becomes more dangerous which has lead to several people - including Paolo Vidoz, Steffen Nielsen, Wladimir Virchis and Kevin McBride to name a few—turning down the opportunity.”
There are some, however, who feel that Harrison is just hype and Popov, whose last two fights have included a win over tough American Corey Sanders and a second-round knockout over then undefeated 16-0 John McDermott, is one of them. Having known for over a month that he could possibly face Harrison, Popov has been training hard and is ready to take on the man of his same size and stature. “I don’t see anything special in Audley Harrison,” said Popov. “We have similar experience and I actually think I have more than he does based on who I have fought compared to his opposition.”
Battle At Bristol is set for Saturday, May 8 and Harrison’s fight will be shown live at 10:30pm on BBC2. The undercard of this exciting night will feature WBF Super Featherweight Champion Carl Johanneson, middleweight Scott Dann, and local favourites Leigh Alliss, Michael Graydon and Lee Haskins among others as part of an nine-bout fight night. Tickets are priced at £75, £60, £50, £40 and £30 on sale now at The Whitchurch Sports Centre (01275 833 911, 0117 949 6699) and www.audleyharrison.com.
