Harrison Maintains BBC Sabotaged His Career

Audley Harrison still believes the British boxing establishment orchestrated his professional downfall after he won Olympic gold in Sydney.

The former super-heavyweight champion, now 54 and based in Los Angeles, told The Guardian that the BBC and rival promoters worked together to undermine his career when he refused to surrender control of his self-managed promotional company. Harrison finished with a 31-7 record and never challenged for a world title despite early predictions he would succeed Lennox Lewis as Britain's heavyweight standard-bearer.

Harrison Credits Himself For British Boxing Revival

Harrison says his 2000 Olympic triumph triggered the funding boom that produced later champions. He claims credit for launching the Amateur Boxing Union petition drive in 1998 that secured government backing and sparked Britain's medal haul at subsequent Games, from Amir Khan in 2004 through Anthony Joshua in 2012. "If I didn't win the first gold medal, there would have been none of that money," he said.

The BBC paid Harrison over one million pounds to restore boxing to terrestrial television after Sydney, but the relationship soured as his early professional fights drew criticism for lack of action. Harrison averaged 2.2 million viewers but refused network demands to sign with approved promoters Mick Hennessy or Dennis Hobson. "The BBC wanted me to give up my company and just become a boxer," he told the paper.

Former manager Kellie Maloney confirmed to The Guardian that the industry worked against Harrison, recounting how she convinced his first opponent to demand double his agreed purse as a lesson in power dynamics. "Audley wanted to change the face of boxing," Maloney said. Harrison says he holds no bitterness and understands the system had to protect itself from what he calls a rogue agent. He now trains fighters in California and wants to guide a world champion from the corner.

Source: theguardian.com