That is one reason why The Times has been given a particularly rare interview
%26mdash; because he wants the board to believe it when he says he is feeling
%26ldquo;fantastic%26rdquo;. Or that: %26ldquo;I feel the same kind of buzz now as when I fought for
my first world title. Ive got my love for boxing back. Ive got my
motivation back, my focus, my drive. You know when youre feeling right for
a fight, you know youre going to win the world title. You know youre up
for it and that you havent got distractions out of the ring. Thats how I
am now, Im just waiting for that licence.%26rdquo;
He does not like to do interviews, that much is clear from the air of menace
and the apparently subconscious stroking of his knuckles with which unwanted
questions are greeted. Even as we speak, his fathers news that two Glasgow
journalists are in Fort William looking for him is a reminder of his
undisguised hatred for the media. He feels that the media have judged him.
The 30-year-old acknowledges that he had a string of brushes with the law in
Scotland and Spain, three visits to the Priory, pulled out late from two
bouts and %26ldquo;went completely off the rails%26rdquo;, but suggests that it is the
medias fault that he cannot work in his chosen profession at present.
The point, as far as those rails go, he says, is that he is now safely back on
them. He has pending for February 11 a court hearing for an alleged incident
two years ago, which incurred four charges including assaulting a police
officer. He also has not quite buried the incidents in Spain, the second of
which started with a fight, reportedly in a brothel %26mdash; %26ldquo;Im not so sure of
that,%26rdquo; his father said %26mdash; and after which he had his passport removed.
The Board of Control has a clause that errs against boxers bringing the sport
into disrepute and will be watching closely the events of February 11. It
was the events in Spain, though, that crystallised Harrisons mind. It took
eight months to get the passport back, during which time he was in
purgatory. By the end of it, he had been out of the ring for nearly two
years.
%26ldquo;The penny must have dropped when I came back from Spain, when I realised how
much Id lost,%26rdquo; he said. %26ldquo;I couldnt handle not boxing. Its a huge part of
my life. In fact, it is my life. So I have to come back and will be world
champion again.%26rdquo;
The boxing was not all he lost. %26ldquo;I basically got used to living in a money
bracket where my spending was totally different to what it was before I won
the world title,%26rdquo; he said. %26ldquo;So end result: I go bankrupt. That is why my
life hangs in the balance. If I dont get my licence back, Ill go to
America to fight. Ive been offered work over there. Ive got a family, two
kids. How else am I going to pay for clothes and food? And how can the board
tell a man he cannot work?
%26ldquo;I dont want to have to go to America. Ive split up with my ex, so its not
as if I can take my kids. Plus Im patriotic. I want to stay in Scotland. So
America would be my last chance. I have to make money.%26rdquo;
The question the board will surely be asking is whether Harrison is likely to
descend back to his old ways. This is where we see the menace; Harrison does
not want to talk about the old ways and he insists they are largely a media
fabrication, anyway.
%26ldquo;Dont get me wrong, Ive been through hell,%26rdquo; he said. %26ldquo;But I never had
depression . I was drinking too much. Partying too much. Excess living put
me in the Priory, not depression. That was it. I just went off the rails. I
went to the Priory to try and sort it out. To be honest, it made me worse. I
was in the Priory in Belfast for a good few weeks, that helped me the most.
%26ldquo;I was in the one in London for a day and left and in the Glasgow one for
about a week. But those days were a long time ago.%26rdquo;
Might they not return? %26ldquo;Why would I want to put myself through that hell
again?%26rdquo; he replied. %26ldquo;Id be absolutely crazy. Youve made a mistake once,
youd be fairly crazy to make it again. Im lucky that Ive got a second
chance.%26rdquo;
The deeper problem, he insists, was trying to make the 9st required of a
featherweight. %26ldquo;I lost my love for boxing because I was killing myself
trying to make the weight,%26rdquo; he said. %26ldquo;Torture, an absolute living torture.%26rdquo;
So moving up to super-featherweight is another reason why he believes a third
title is coming his way. That plus the lifestyle change. %26ldquo;I was partying a
good few weeks into my training camp,%26rdquo; he said. %26ldquo;Im feeling younger now.
%26ldquo;Scott Harrisons back, definitely. Ill be world champion this year. And all
the doubters who thought Id never come back %26mdash; theyre going to be eating
their words.%26rdquo; At least, they might be. They might if the board acquiesces.
And that is a hill that Harrison cannot climb on his own.
On the ropes
April 1996 Wins bronze medal at European Championships but misses out
on place at Atlanta Olympics after losing box-off
October 1996 Turns professional
October 2002 Beats Julio Pablo Chac%26oacute;n in Glasgow to win WBO
featherweight title
March 2003 One-sided points win over Wayne McCullough
July 2003 Loses title on split points decision to Manuel Medina
November 2003 Knocks down Medina four times to regain title
March 2004 At his best, stopping Walter Estrada in four rounds
June 2004 Cleared of assaulting builder in pub toilet
September 2004 Bound over after grabbing policeman by throat
October 2004 Booed as he stops Samuel Kebede in 59 seconds
April 2005 Banned from all pubs in East Kilbride for six months
November 2005 Beats Nedal Hussein on points in what turns out to be
last defence
March 2006 Pulls out of title defence against Joan Guzm%26aacute;n
April 2006 Charged with assault of police in Glasgow pub
May 2006 Arrested outside nightclub; pulls out of defence against Gairy
St Clair in Belfast; checks into Priory clinic
October 2006 Arrested in M%26aacute;laga, Spain, charged with car theft and
assault. Spends five weeks on remand in Spanish jail
December 2006 Stripped of WBO title for not making weight for defence
against Nicky Cook
January 2007 Boxing licence suspended after failing to attend hearing;
arrested for possession of diazepam. Fined 500
May 2007 Arrested in Spain after fight in brothel
July 2007 Declared bankrupt
