RINGSIDE; ARMENIAN FRIGHT NIGHT FOR BOSS MALONEY
BY JIM BLACK
The Express
May 27, 2004
FRANK MALONEY watched a tape of Armenian William Abelyan for a bit
of light relief following his team’s FA Cup Final defeat – and ended
up seeing a horror movie.
Millwall fan Maloney was gutted after the Lions lost 3-0 to Manchester
United, but he was even more upset after watching Scott Harrison’s
next opponent in action.
The Scot’s manager revealed: “I wanted to cheer myself up by watching
tapes of Abelyan and looking to see what a devastating job Scott was
going to do on this kid.
Instead, it depressed me.
“What I saw was a fighter who could give Scott the toughest fight
of his life. If Harrison is not in sparkling form the title will be
changing hands.
“Abelyan knows how to box and force the pace.
He can also punch hard and spoil a fight. His unorthodox style will
give Scott problems and may take some working out.”
But despite Maloney reckoning that Harrison is in for the toughest
fight of his career when he comes face-to-face with Abelyan at Braehead
Arena on June 19, he is also convinced the WBO featherweight champion
will show the heart and class of a true star.
“I have said it before, Scott Harrison is the best fighter I have
ever managed and worked with, ” said Maloney. “He is special.
“Scott’s commitment, desire and strength is amazing and he will
destroy any man who gets inhis way. The challenge Abelyan represents
will certainly be motivating Harrison to do a real job on him.”
Maloney also believes the patriotic Scottish crowd will lift Harrison
on the night, when he makes the second defence of the title he regained
from Manuel Medina last November.
The fight boss added:
“Even though Scott will be in the ring on his own he will be lifted
by the support of thousands of loyal fans.
“When he hears them sing Flower of Scotland that really gets him going,
and if that happens we will see Scott at his destructive best like
he was against Julio Pablo Chacon and Wayne McCullough.”
Meanwhile, promoters Sports Network have confirmed that tickets bought
for the original May 29 date are valid for the rescheduled showdown.