11.11.05 – Danny Williams reckons Audley Harrison will quit when the heat is on in their grudge fight on December 10 at the ExCeL London when he has flashbacks to their sparring sessions five years ago. Harrison went four rounds with the then British and Commonwealth Champion to toughen up before he went to the Sydney Olympics but Williams left him ‘huffing and puffing’ and wanting to get out of the ring.
Dynamite Dan said, “The Audley I see now is no different to the one I sparred with years ago,”
“I remember when he came to the gym and agreed with my trainer Jim McDonnell to go four rounds with me,”
“The first two rounds were good and I was getting the better of him and he was starting to blow like an old man,”
“At the end of the second round he said to Jim that he’d had enough and wanted to get out,”
“Jim said no as we agreed to do the four rounds,”
“He reluctantly stayed in for the third and that’s when I got to work on him and really started smashing him up,”
“At the end of the third round Audley said “That’s it, I’m getting out” but Jim tried to encourage him by saying “If you quit now your accepting the silver medal” to which he got back in and did the last round but he was in a right state after that,”
“Audley said he would come back and do some more sparring but we never saw him again and the first time I have since him since was at the head-to-head press conference to announce our fight ,”
“Of course in the meantime he has disrespected me by saying that he could win the British title in five fights after he won the gold medal whilst I was still the champion and by calling me a cockroach,”
Williams believes that the old Harrison will surface when he starts landing with his big punches.
He added, “All I can see is the old Audley having flashbacks from our sparring session and wanting to quit when the pressure is on him,”
“I can’t see how it will not affect him on the night,”
“He will claim that he was an amateur back then and that it was five years ago but in his head he remembers what he went through,”
“Audley might look the part at the moment with his unbeaten record but he hasn’t fought anyone as dangerous as me in his career and it’s taken him five years and 19 fights to come back and finally face me,”
“He reckons I’m damaged goods because of my fight against Vitali Klitschko but he couldn’t be more wrong and I will prove it on the night.”