Harrison set to fight next month
Wolverhampton light welterweight Dean Harrison has gone from one extreme to another this week but is adamant his next fight will happen next month.
Wolverhampton light welterweight Dean Harrison has gone from one extreme to another this week but is adamant his next fight will happen next month.
The 26-year-old had put been forward to fight Lenny Daws for the British title in Manchester on May 22, but the champion's camp are thought to prefer English title holder Steve Williams as his next challenger.
That decision has not been formally made as yet but is expected to be confirmed in the coming days, leaving Harrison with a Midlands title to defend against Gavin Deacon on May 8, at the County Ground in the challenger's backyard of Northampton.
'Deano' just wants to stay busy but the holy grail is another crack at the Lonsdale belt, after being stopped in four rounds by now-European champion Paul McCloskey in his first defeat as a pro last March.
And the Scotlands' boxer has an axe to grind with Daws, who pulled out of an English title bout with him in January 2009 on the week of the fight after failing to make the weight.
Harrison went on to lose two of his next four fights inside the distance before stopping Ben Lawler in one to take the area belt in March, and believes Daws' antics started the downward spiral.
He said: "All the critics would consider it will be an easy ride for him after what has happened to me over the last year or so and I am happy to let them think that, because it's going to make me look better in the long run.
"I am 100 per cent confident of winning the British title. If I don't get there, I will always feel that I have underachieved."
Harrison now moves on to the lions den with Deacon in the other corner, himself a former Midlands champion before losing to Lawler on a cut last year in a fight that was going his way beforehand.
'Deano' then blew the champion to take the area belt and will be expected to do the same in his first defence, but is expect a harder fight this time round.
He said: "I won't go in there expecting to stop him, I just want to look good and I could do 10 rounds today, that is how fit I am at the moment. No disrespect to Gavin or Ben Lawler for that matter, but I feel I am a level above them.
"Maybe Gavin is going to be a sterner test than Ben, I heard when those two fought if it hadn't been for the cut Deacon would have won the fight.
"He is a former champion and everyone wants to win titles, so he's coming to win and it will be a hard fight."
For tickets, contact promoter Paul 'PJ' Rowson on 07976 283 157.
