STILL training with one hand last week at the Gleason's Boxing Gym in Brooklyn, New York, Guyana's WBA junior welterweight ‘regular' champion Vivian Harris said he would no longer defend his crown in Germany next Saturday against Oktay Urkal, since he injured his right hand about three weeks ago in training.
Harris spoke to Chronicle Sport about his change of mind in fighting Urkal, ranked Number 4 by the WBA, in what would have been a non-mandatory title defence against the European champion who has since given up his crown to fight for the WBA ‘regular’ title held by the Guyanese champion.
"I have to rest my hand for five weeks. So I am not doing that fight. So it is cancelled right now," said Harris who was to be the main bout on the card in Germany.
He could not say if the fight was going to be rescheduled or the bout would be replaced.
From all appearances the fight is now cancelled.
Harris noticeably could not use his right hand as he went through his paces.
"Definitely my right hand is bad and I can't use my right hand. I am undergoing therapy. I hurt my hand a year ago and I have always been using my hands fighting and again I hurt my hand, but was still using my fists. But this time, maybe if the fight was right here (in the United States) I would have gone ahead and fight with one hand but it is in Germany and I need both of my hands going to fight somebody in their home town or country. That's why I cancelled the fight".
Harris added: "I promise not to ever let them down (Guyana). Whatever decision I make is a right decision because I am making it for my country and for myself".
His mandatory defence of the WBA ‘regular’ title is in March/April this year and he intends to honour that obligation.
Asked about which fighter he has in mind for upcoming fights, the outspoken Harris quipped: "I have stopped calling fighters’ names out because no matter how much I call fighters I am not getting to fight them."
He said that the way the boxing world turns now is that fighters do not want to fight the best to show they are the best.
"I am a threat in the junior welterweight right now. They know it, I know it, the world knows it. You know what I mean?"
Harris said unless someone offered a purse of $5 million to $6 million for any of the top fighters to fight him then that's the only way it seemed "I am going to get to fight them because they will fight for the money and after they lose they are going to have a big payday."
He said Zab Judah, Floyd Mayweather, Richard Hatton and others mouth his name but when it is time to sign to fight him they do not do what is necessary.
Harris said he was at the top of his game: "I will stop either one of these guys inside five rounds because they have had no competition. I am not even worrying about those guys."
On his current contract which expires in December this year (2004) Harris said he was going to give his management of Shelly Finkel and Main Events time to come up with a deal by early this month -- to do a new contract -- and if they do not he would try to exert pressure on them the best way he could.
He said he respected them but realised that they were handling too many fighters in the same weight class and while he was the world champion, the management seemed bent on providing fights for the other fighters and not for him.
The WBA champion said his goal right now was to be the undisputed champion of the 140lb class and "nobody can deny me that".
He said the fact was that he already was a world champion and he just had to keep it that way.
Saying that he is a believer in God, Harris declared: "I love my country and I promise I will never do anything to jeopardise my title and my country. It was a long way coming to be world champion, putting my country on the map. A lot of Guyanese fighters fought for it and lost.
Now the few Guyanese who were able to achieve it, should try hard to keep it. Keep the flag of Guyana flying".