Boxing: Harrison can win back fans

Audley Harrison is one fight away from proving that his Olympic gold medal is a useful tool in the professional boxing business.

Tonight at the ExCel Arena in London's Docklands, Harrison will enter the ring for the fifth time in a professional career that started in front of millions on BBC Television and 7,000 in attendance at the Wembley Arena exactly 12 months ago and is now firmly stuck between the limelight and the shadows.

In the opposite corner will be a part-time butcher and wholesome-looking lad called Mark Krence, from Chesterfield, who accepted £10,000 for his assignment and for risking his unbeaten record of 11 bouts against a man who will be simply too strong for him.

Harrison is also unbeaten, but his four fights since last May's debut have received mixed reviews to say the least and the decision by the BBC to move him from prime time on Saturday night to a late-night slot on Tuesday appears to suggest that something somewhere is not quite right. However, Harrison and his many advisors insist that all is going to plan.

Krence is an ideal opponent because, in addition to being unbeaten, he is British and tall at 6ft 5in. But, just three or four years ago, he weighed less than 13st and even though he will be over 16st this evening he will be conceding as much as 50lb in weight to Harrison, who is a truly big man.

Harrison has not put one foot wrong in the ring, but it is possible to argue that he has not put one foot right outside it. Tonight Harrison has the chance to utter a few well-chosen words and, it is hoped, win back some of the millions of television boxing fans who have deserted him during the last 12 months. A good performance in this fight would restore his credibility.

If, as expected, Krence is simply overwhelmed by Harrison's size and is unable to last beyond two or three of the scheduled six rounds then it will be a considerable result for the Olympic champion. There is a slight chance that the encounter could be interesting if Krence gets past three or four rounds and Harrison's untested stamina lets him down.

The good news about tonight's fight is that Harrison has only been away from the ring since last month and it is hoped that when it is all over this evening he will announce another fight in July. He needs to keep busy because that is the only way that heavyweights with appetites keep their shape because even two or three weeks away from the gym could swell his girth and put a blip in the learning curve of his career.