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| Monday, 21 October, 2002, 09:07 GMT 10:07 UK Scotland's best boxer? ![]() Scott Harrison can become the richest and best boxer Scotland has seen, according to Frank Warren. Can he go on to achieve the legendary status attained by the likes of Jim Watt and Ken Buchanan? Harrison's defeat of WBO featherweight champion Julio Pablo Chacon on Saturday made him Scotland's eighth boxing world champion. And boxing promoter Warren believes Harrison has the quality to become one of the best boxers in the world. Scotland has had a number of great boxers over the years, but not since the days of Watt and Buchanan has the country produced a truly world-class fighter. Can Harrison join those ranks and go on to beat boxers of the calibre of Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera? This debate is now closed Too soon to place him anywhere near the great Ken Buchanan. It's too early yet, don't put him on a pedestal to be knocked off. Give him time, so far so good. Keep it going. He's looking good, but give him time. Scott Harrison is not only one of Scotland's finest but also the UK's. His performance Saturday night was amazing against a real tough fighter - Chacon - one of the best in the world. Scott Harrison is pound for pound a far better fighter than Prince Naseem. Question is, when he has defended a few times will it be Barrea next?
He wins one fight and gets touted as the best Scottish fighter ever. Try Ken Buchanan for that title. If in doubt, ask the great Roberto Duran, who admmitted Buchanan was robbed against him once and wouldn't fight him again. Harrison was superb on Saturday night but he was getting hit too much for his corner's liking. I agree that it is too early to start calling him the best ever and I can't wait to see how he intends to deal with the threat of Wayne McCullough in his first defence. Forget Hamed, bring on the likes of Barrera and Tapia! Scott Harrison has now shown that he is a world class fighter but it's much too early to start comparing him with the likes of Ken Buchanan who is not only the best boxer to come out of Scotland, but perhaps Britain as well. Only time will tell if Harrison can emulate the likes of Buchanan, Jim Watt and Walter McGowan and some very tough fights await him in the next few years. Only then can a fair judgement be passed on his right to sit in the top echelons of Scottish boxing. I am out of the country right now but friends (former amateur boxers) called me yesterday to say that Harrison looked incredible; that he has real promise of being a world class champion.
I just hope Warren delivers his promise of making Scott "millions" though and he avoids being a debt ridden tragic figure later in life. Scott should hire a good independent accountant right from the start. "Richest" and "best" are far from the same thing. Harrison is a good fighter and will hopefully get better. He's not even defended his title yet and people are already lumbering him with the "best ever" tag. Give it a few years and you can answer this question better. Scott Harrison is saying all the right things and doing them. At the moment I'd have Ken Buchanan ahead of him in terms of "the overall package" having noticed some of the flaws in Harrison's style. But as Scott has said himself, he is not the "finished article", so improvements are yet to be made to make him a boxer who can live with the best in his division. Buchanan was appreciated more in the US since he had four of his toughest career- defining fights there. After seeing Harrison's fight in Madison Square Gardens it showed he can travel well and put on a masterclass. Harrison is steeped in history and will want to make his mark by fighting in the US. But first he needs some defences to get ready for the really big fights ahead of him. If anyone can do it, Scott can. Harrison looked stronger and more determined. He is world-class and can only go from strength to strength. |
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