EXCLUSIVE
Liam Harrison has revealed all about his ill-fated fight with Floyd Mayweather.
In 2023, the kickboxing legend was briefly linked to a boxing match with Mayweather before he withdrew and was replaced by Geordie Shore star Aaron Chalmers.
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‘Hitman’, who has 91 wins and 50 knockouts in his own discipline, was recovering from the worst injury of his career when he got the call to face one of boxing’s biggest stars.
“I was waiting for the surgery on my ACL and MCL,” Harrison told talkSPORT MMA.
“All I was doing at the time was just trying to build my quad, glutes and hamstring up because I knew how hard the rehab was going to be.
“I was doing a bit of boxing pads and then all of a sudden, I got this call saying, ‘Floyd Mayweather is coming to fight in England, do you want to fight him? He’s got you down on a shortlist, there’s three people he’s going to pick between and you’re one of them.’
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“The next day, I’m on the phone with Floyd Mayweather’s manager and I’m thinking, ‘This is insane!'”
Despite his injury, Harrison didn’t immediately turn down the opportunity as he headed to the gym to see if he would be able to get through the fight without seriously hurting or embarrassing himself.
He added: “I can’t even stand up properly.
“So I taped my knee up as good as I could and I went to the gym, and I did some pads. It was alright, and I thought I should be alright here as there’s no kicking and not much pivoting.
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“Two days later, I started sparring, more pads and sparring before I took my strap off and my knee was just like an absolute balloon. I couldn’t walk for two or three days.”
Harrison ultimately decided he couldn’t go through with the fight after a doctor told him that it could leave him with a life-long limp and in need of another major surgery.
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The 38-year-old begrudgingly turned down the chance to fight Mayweather, but the message was blanked by his team, who went ahead and announced the crossover bout anyway.
Harrison continued: “I had one leg. And the thing is, I wouldn’t lay a glove on that guy with two good legs. So, if I would’ve gotten in there with one leg, I would’ve completely embarrassed myself.
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“I unfortunately had to say no. I told his management team, ‘Listen, I’m not going to be able to do this, I need surgery on my knee.’ They just ignored me and then went and announced the fight.
“I woke up the next morning, I had hundreds of messages on my phone. I thought someone must’ve died here, they must’ve done. I went on my phone and was like, ‘What is going on here? What has he done here?'
"I’m going to look like an idiot now.”
Harrison was forced to pull out of the fight on the same day it was announced to the public.
The 119-fight veteran had hoped to revisit his rivalry with Mayweather, but after watching his first visit to the UK for a fight with Chalmers fall flat, he’s not holding his breath.
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Harrison concluded: “I went down to the fight and was speaking to all the powers at be. They were saying, ‘If he comes back, you’ll be first in line.’
“It was a bit of a circus with that show, so I don’t know if he comes back. But if he does, they’ve said I’ll be first, so let’s see.”