Harrison makes swift retirement U-turn

British boxer Audley Harrison has announced that he is coming out of retirement, only three weeks after declaring that he had decided to turn his back on the sport.

The 41-year-old, a gold medallist at the 2000 Olympics, decided to bow out as a professional on May 1 after a first-round knockout by American fighter Deontay Wilder in a fight in the northern English city of Sheffield.

However, in a statement published on his official website late on Tuesday, Harrison revealed that he had changed his mind.

“Recently retired Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison has announced his return to the ring immediately,” he said.

The defeat by Wilder followed another first-round loss to fellow Briton David price last October and took Harrison’s record to 31-7, with 23 wins by knockout.

Harrison has enjoyed only fleeting high spots during his professional career, but he said he had been convinced to make a comeback by the birth of his son.

“When I made the tough decision to walk away from boxing, I knew it was not going to be easy,” he said.

“As the days passed, I knew I would not be able to live with the decision. I wrestled with it for a few weeks, and spoke to everyone from the Boxing Board, to Lennox Lewis, David Haye, my dad, wife and many others... ultimately seeing my son born crystallised my decision.

“There is no way I am going to tell my son, ‘I gave up because I didn’t want to climb the mountain again, I didn’t want to dust myself off again, when I’m now in the best shape of my career, doing things I haven’t done for years, and back in love with the sport...’ “How can I retire, when I know I have another shot in me?”

AFP