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Vivian Harris: “My own worst enemy”
THU November 30, MIKE MOORE - “I want Cotto. I want Hatton. I want the guys the media talks about. How can they say they’re the best when they are fighting no one; they don’t give the people their money’s worth”, Harris emphatically states. “Junior Witter, Miguel Cotto…they don’t want to fight me; I feel like I’m my own worst enemy, because I look spectacular when I beat these guys I fight, and then nobody want to fight me.”
Less than two years ago, the Guyana to Brooklyn transplant Harris seemed poised to make a run to the top of the fight game. At the time, Harris was the WBA champion in what was unquestionably the deepest division in boxing, junior welterweight. After beating Oktay Urkal in their rematch, Harris was slated to fight the relatively unknown Carlos Maussa on the undercard of HBO’s ‘Thunder and Lighting’ pay per view. This was to be Harris’ coming out party. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, as the underdog Maussa took Harris’ title via 7th round KO.
“You know, I learned from the Maussa fight. I was overtrained and I wasn’t readily mentally. I was trying to be spectacular instead of doing what I needed to do, but I learned from it and it won’t happen again.” Harris says of the bout. This appeared to be evident when he dismantled the highly respected Stevie Johnston this past July on HBO’s Boxing after Dark, putting himself right back into the mix of the 140-147 pound landscape.
One thing you get from Harris is that he means what he says. Harris says that he will fight anyone at 140 or 147 lbs., and he truly believes that he can beat anyone on any given night.
“You have to prepare for different fighters different ways, you can’t fight everyone the same,” Harris states about the mistakes some of his contemporaries have made when fighting the likes of Cotto and Hatton. Vivian believes he has the game plan to beat these fighters, and is confident that if given the opportunity, he won’t fall short where so many others have.
Harris also had some words about the current pound for pound champion, Floyd Mayweather, and his upcoming superfight with Oscar De La Hoya. “De La Hoya is gonna do what he has to do. A guy with accurate punching is gonna beat Floyd. Oscar’s gonna be in top shape, and it’s gonna be the left hook…that’s the punch. The left hook. Floyd has never seen anything like that. Zab could have beat Floyd. I would have knocked out Baldomir if that was me, give the fans their money’s worth”
Regardless of what or who lies ahead for Vivian, he will most certainly be ready this time, and as always will put on an entertaining show for his fans.
Michael Moore can be reached at: mmoore@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions.
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