FRANK WARREN has expressed sadness over the wasted years of Scott Harrison's career, in the belief that the former world featherweight champion would have gone on to achieve a great deal more had he avoided the pitfalls of stardom.
Warren was Harrison's promoter when the 35-year-old ex-WBO title-holder from Cambuslang first went off the rails more than seven years ago in the wake of his 10th and final world championship bout. But he is refusing to turn his back on Harrison after praising the boxer's remarkable powers of recovery that has enabled him to at least partly resurrect his career.
Harrison was unsuccessful in his attempt to wrest the WBO lightweight title from 26-year-old Liam Walsh's grasp at Wembley Arena at the weekend. The judges – a Hungarian and two Americans – saw fit to award a unanimous points decision to the much younger Norfolk boxer, 98-92 and 97-93, twice. But the margin of his success flattered Walsh, for I had Harrison a nose in front at halfway and a loser by a round, two at most. Warren was also clearly sufficiently impressed to keep faith with the Scot.
"We'll give Scott another fight in June or July," he said. "We owe him that much and I am pleased for him that he is back in the ring because he needs to get focus back in his life.
"But it's also sad when you think what a great champion he was and what could have been. Scott had great skills and there were signs of them still being there even after more than seven years.
"He was up against a fresh and younger fighter and he gave the kid problems in the early rounds.
"I wasn't at all surprised by Scott's level of fitness, but it was more about his stamina in the closing stages and I don't know if he can get that back."
Harrison made it clear that he has no intention of giving up on his dream of winning a third world title. But it is remarkable that Harrison even made it back into the ring after all he has been through and even more astonishing that he was able to stand and trade blows with Walsh for 10 rounds.
Harrison offered occasional glimpses of the champion of old, opening up a cut above the champion's right eye in the opening round and proceeding to stun him with a right, quickly followed by a left to the head, in the fourth.
But raw courage is one thing, stamina and reflexes quiet another, and Harrison's skill and movement could not disguise the fact that he needs to rediscover the aforementioned attributes if he is to successfully negotiate a comeback to rival that of George Foreman, the heavyweight who somehow managed to bridge a 10-year gap between world championships.
Harrison reflected: "I feel hard done to as I thought I won the fight. I just nicked it, in my opinion. He became cagey the last few rounds and kept on moving while I was working inside him and whenever he caught me with his jab I hit him with two back.
"I was the one coming forward, but fair play to him for doing well. But I'm a warrior, and when you think what I've been through it's clear that I'm meant to be here.
"I'm fighting for Stacey, my three kids, my mother and father and for Scotland and I'll be back in the gym next week.
"I'm a survivor. People couldn't imagine how I could come back, but I have shown I can and there are very few fighters who could do what I've done."
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