British Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison believes he will take an important step along the road to his ultimate ambition of becoming world heavyweight champion when he makes his American debut this month. "It's always been my intention to go across the water," said Harrison, who fights a still-to-be-named opponent on the sell-out card in Atlantic City on November 29.
Fighting in the States will enable fledgling professional Harrison to escape the scrutiny of topping the bill on a live BBC show for the first time – but today he denied that will make any difference to his approach to the fight. He added: "The bottom line is you are fighting whether you are at the bottom of the bill or topping the card. It doesn't make any difference - it's still you and then opponent."
Highlights of two of Harrison's fights have been shown on the American ESPN channel, and he said: "There's quite a lot of interest in me out there. It's a different audience, and they haven't had the chance to see me yet. Being the Olympic gold medallist, these kind of opportunities open up. I'm aiming to take full advantage of them because, ultimately, my career will be in the United States. It's always been my plan to look at the American market."
Harrison, 31, insists his career is right on track despite some of the negative criticism he has received in Britain. He pledged: "By the time I'm 35 you are going to see me as heavyweight champion of the world. You will not even see the best of me when I win the British or European titles. You will see the finished article at 34 or 35 years of age."
Filed by Shane Murray
