Tomorrow, WBA Jr. Welter-weight champ ‘Vicious’ Vivian Harris (22-1-1; 16 KO’s) will have his first title defense against number-one ranked Souleymane M’baye (27-0; 13 KO’s). Their fight will be on HBO’s undercard of Mayorga-Forrest (and Zab Judah-Chop Chop Corley).

In his final day of training before his departure for Las Vegas, Fightnews was at Gleason’s Gym in NY to watch Harris’ sparring session with a highly respected, local middleweight. As their initial round started off amicably, the instinct to dominate one another emerged and a large crowd quickly gathered around the ring to watch the excitement.

Harris’ viper-like body shots were amazing. The timing and accuracy of his counter attack was seamless. Harris states:

“This was my last day of sparring and I wanted to take it easy in there. I didn’t want to look sharp today because I want to save it for the fight. I tried to hold back, but I couldn’t. What I did today is what you will see in the fight. I think that body shots will help me in this fight with M’baye. He seems to get tired about the fourth round. So, once I start going for his body in the first round, and bring the pressure that I bring, I will wear him down.”

“I have tapes at home of M’Baye and I know he is a good fighter. He can box and fight. I respect him because he is the number-one contender. He worked hard to get there and he has to have talent to be in that position. But, I’m the champion and I have to keep my title. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”

Lennox Blackmore, Harris’ trainer offers: “Vivian will be fighting like he’s fighting for a title all over again with that same determination and hunger. We’ve been spending a lot of time working on body shots. If we have to box for this fight, we’ll box. If we have to fight, we’ll fight. Whatever M’baye brings, we’ll have an answer for it. M’baye is undefeated, but he has yet to face an opponent like Vivian. I am so confident in Vivian’s ability, that I know this fight won’t go the distance. It won’t go past six rounds.”

M’baye (27-0; 13 KO’s) is a 28 year old native of France born to Senegalese parents. It has been suggested that the reason Harris’ first title defense will not be televised is because the Frenchman is relatively unknown to Americans and will enter his first fight in the U.S. as a huge underdog. Harris adds “Sometimes, the fights that get no television exposure turn out to be the best fights of the night. I believe that my fight will be the best one on Saturday. M’baye is coming to take my title and I have to fight to keep it. We are both fighting because we want something very badly and that can make a fight very exciting.”

Promoted by Main Events, Harris will be fighting a Don King fighter on a Don King fight card. While some boxers might approach such a match up with anxiety and misgivings, Harris is unfazed. “It doesn’t matter to me that I am fighting a Don King guy. I don’t care. I don’t believe in getting robbed. I’ve gone to people’s home towns and won fights. I train hard and prepare mentally.

The will that God has given me, lets me win my fights. Besides, if you go into a fight thinking you’re going to get robbed, it will get to you.

When you let things get to you, it brings you down. You end up losing your focus and not doing what you’re suppose to do. So, I go in there and do what I have to do.”

While both Harris and Blackmore predict a quick victory for Judah against Corley, it brings one to ponder the intriguing possibility of a match up between Judah and Harris (both are fellow Brooklynites and Gleason’s fixtures). Blackmore states, “There has been a lot of talk going around town about Vivian fighting Zab. Zab is our homeboy and we would love to fight him. But, we would also like to fight (Kostya) Tszyu and Sharmba (Mitchell). But, I think a fight with Zab is bound to happen eventually. It will be a huge fight. It will be Brooklyn all over again!”

Indeed. A Harris-Judah match up in New York City would be a monster fight.

However, the 24 year old Harris (who was born in Guyana and moved to Brooklyn, NY at 14 years old) is never one to count his chickens before they hatch. “I’m not looking past M’baye. Because if I don’t beat M’baye, I won’t get Zab, Kostya or any of those guys. I can’t think about the future, I can only think about M’baye. I have respect for all fighters and never look past any of my opponents. I don’t like to predict anything. I leave that up to God. Whatever God has there for me, then that’s what is meant for me. I know He has a win for me because He gave me the strength to prepare very hard for this fight. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I know I will win the fight.”

Last October, Harris beat Diosbelys Hurtado for the WBA Jr. Welterweight title. Hurtado had not lost in four years and was looking forward to vindicating himself in a rematch with Kostya Tszyu - after his anticipated win over Harris. In that fight, Harris obliterated the Cuban champion and the fight was stopped in the second round. Hurtado has not fought since.

The day before that fight, tempers flared over the selection of gloves to be used for the match. The two fighters engaged in a verbal cofrontation which led Hurtado to spit in Harris’ face. That’s when all hell broke loose between fighters and team members.

Harris recalls, “When Hurtado spit in my face, I was mad at the time. But, after we left the hotel, we went to a mall and I walked it off. I forgot all about it. My mind was back on the fight. I don’t let anything bother me or let anyone get to me. That’s just the type of guy I am. I guess I’m not a stressful person. I think it’s a gift.

“Hurtado was empty, that’s why he did what he did. I’ve always been taught that an empty barrel makes the most noise. If you throw an empty barrel down to the ground, it will make a lot of noise. If the barrel is full, it is silent. With all the noise Hurtado was making, he was empty.

He was scared and did what he did to make me lose focus. I am strong. I believe in myself and God. I’m not empty. That’s why I am able to perform without all that noise and crap.

“What Hurtado did came right back to him. That’s why he got knocked out in the second round. God don’t like ugly. You do dirty, you get dirty.”

Born into a family of boxers, Harris’ brother (Wayne) fought middleweight contender Reggie Johnson for the WBA title in 1993. Their father, Herman, a Captain in the Guyana Defence Force, fought in the amateur ranks and instilled discipline in his sons at an early age. Although soccer was his first love, Harris quickly took to boxing. “When I was in school, a kid tried to challenge me. I was 12 years old, but I wasn’t boxing then. So, I went to the gym and I beat him up. That’s when I started going to the gym every day. It made me feel powerful to know that I could beat someone up.

“My father would wake us up very early in the morning to run and do drills. So, that discipline stayed with me for my training for boxing. It’s nothing for me to wake up at 5am every morning and run five miles in the sand. My trainers beg me to stop training so hard because they think I will burn myself out. But, I’ve never come close. I never feel burnt out.”

While Harris boasts of his endless stamina and enthusiasm for training, the young fighter was kept from the ring when he was stabbed (in the stomach) outside of a convenience store in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The random attack three years ago, was the longest downtime since he turned pro in 1997 (nine months between fights). “The stabbing kept me out for six months, but I started doing situps at home after one month. I came back to the gym after three months and began light training.”

Harris concludes, “God has a purpose for me. That’s why he helped me to survive the stabbing and let me win a championship. No one can tell what tomorrow will bring. I didn’t know that I was going to get stabbed. I could have died. This is why I don’t think past today. I take things one day at a time.” (Fightnews)