Boxing: Stand-up comic could turn Harrison into a joke

Dominic Negus is a bouncer, minder, stand-up comic and tonight he is Audley Harrison's sixth opponent in the nominal main event at the Wembley Conference Centre.

Negus was once known as "the Milky Bar Kid" presumably because of his golden locks but now he looks far more like Negus "The Geezer" because of his shaved head. However, there is nothing remotely funny about the way Negus fights and there will be no comedy tonight when he gets the biggest break of his career in a fight that he could win. Harrison's progress from Olympic idol to the heights of heavyweight superstardom has dragged along slowly since he turned professional in May last year and Negus represents the sternest test he has so far faced. Yet Harrison will be four inches taller and about 40lb heavier when the first bell rings this evening.

Since his debut at the Wembley Arena, in front of over 7,000 people, Harrison has won a total of five fights and has barely broken a sweat against men who either had no chance of beating him of lacked the belief that they could beat him.

Tonight Negus will show Harrison what it is like to be in a fight that involved two contestants and not just one heavy favourite playing a waiting game until he is declared the winner. If Negus was taller and heavier there is no way that he would have been selected for tonight's fight but his lack of height and weight could very easily work in his favour if the fight lasts more than three rounds.

Back in May Harrison out-pointed Mark Krence but looked tired at the end of the fight and reacted horribly when he was caught with a solid punch. If Negus can get through the first three rounds he must have a chance, assuming that Harrison once again starts to blow and look for ways to get through the round without having to do too much.

Negus will bring to the ring the confidence that a bouncer and comic must regularly display on the doors and stages of London's East End where he earns a living when he is not fighting. He will not be afraid and he will certainly not underestimate all of the physical advantages that Harrison so obviously possesses.

"I know he is a big fella, but I have got a few ideas on how to deal with big fellas and I have to be honest and say that once or twice I've handled geezers bigger than him,'' claimed Negus but added: "It's never been easy.'' It will not be tonight.

Harrison, meanwhile, is a student of the business and sport of boxing and he will be painfully aware of his shortcomings even if in public he routinely denies that there are any problems with his progress. He will know that if he is tired after four rounds then he could very well lose and that would ruin his plans and undermine his earning potential.

If Negus stays calm and does not react to the hundreds of fans who will make their way from East London and Essex to watch him he has a genuine chance of surviving what will surely be an early onslaught from Harrison. This is the type of fight that even if it ends in the opening 60 seconds it will have been a good fight and will not suddenly become a mismatch.

"I'm actually thinking of putting on a serious face for this fight and not laughing and joking,'' said Negus, "But I know when I look over and see him get in the ring and see just how big he is that I'll start to laugh. I can't help it. That is just the way I am.''

Negus has won eight of his 13 fights and if he makes it nine tonight live on the BBC after the news it is unlikely he will be back on the door in the near future. However, Harrison simply has too many physical advantages.