Scottish Amateur And Professional Boxing |
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Scott Harrison is back in Glasgow after two weeks of fitness training in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Andalusia ahead of his WBO title defence against Victor Polo.
Harrison is now being put through his paces in the Phoenix Gym where he has been sparring with Light Welterweight prospect Lee Beavis and Lightweight Haider Ali who won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games when boxing at Featherweight. Both are taller than Scott Harrison and Beavis is also a southpaw - as is Victor Polo.
Meanwhile, Harrison's camp are already looking beyond Polo to a fight with either Injin Chi or Marco Antonio Barrera. "I’m already talking with two big names in order to get Scott the fight he craves, and negotiations could start with a third fighter," Frank Maloney said on the Sports Network website.
But nobody is taking the threat posed by the Columbian lightly.
Maloney has gone on record saying that he thinks Victor Polo could jeopardise Scott Harrison's chances of a career defining fight with the likes of Barrera.
Maloney had already hand picked four possible opponents from the WBO rankings, including Frankie Archuleta, and each would have filled the role of opponent without being a serious threat to Harrison's WBO crown.
But after the farce of the Kebede fight, Scott demanded a higher quality of opponent. And the paying public also want to see a higher quality of opponent too. Scottish boxing fans believe Scott Harrison is the best in the world and naturally enough want to see him prove it against the best in the world.
Victor Polo certainly offers that higher quality.
"I would have preferred that he'd have been more cautious and taken a less risky fight at this time," Maloney said. "I would have preferred someone with less proven world class experience than Polo as we're trying to set up a super fight this year with one of the top feather or super feathers."
But if Harrison is to be in the same ring as the likes of Barrera, he needs to be in with boxers with Polo's experience. No disrespect meant, but fights against the likes of Tiger Smalls and Frankie Archuleta would prove nothing to nobody. Maloney knows this too of course, but it's his job to factor in any risk associated with mixing it with the best against future pay days.
Polo should satisfy everyone then as an opponent.
Although past his best, he remains a name on the world boxing stage, more so in America where we know TV is all important when it comes to boxing and matchmaking. If Harrison can take Polo out in style, the American TV bosses will sit up and take notice and the Barrera fight comes a step closer.
Maloney will talk Polo up for all he's worth - that's how you put bums on seats - but deep down he knows that Scott Harrison will emerge victorious. Polo won't stop Harrison and he won't outwork him either so at worst it goes the 12 rounds and Harrison retains his title on points. And if Harrison stops Polo it really will be a night to remember.
For the fans it will be perhaps the last chance to see Scott Harrison fight on home territory before he goes to America to prove that he is the best Featherweight or Super Featherweight in the world.
And not only that, they'll see him against a seasoned fighter who likes to comes forward and who certainly won't be coming all this way to lose.
Our money's naturally enough on a Scott Harrison win, but Polo's no mug. And if he still has the heart for a fight, it should be one of those old fashioned tear ups we all love to see.
Whatever the outcome, Scott Harrison deserves a full house for this one.
Tickets to see Harrison v Polo are available from the Braehead Arena on 0870 444 6062.