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Harrison to take on Honorio

18/04/2006

Scott Harrison will defend his WBO featherweight title against Mexico's Martin Honorio at King's Hall in Belfast on May 20th, it has been confirmed today.

The 28-year-old from Glasgow will be making his seventh defence since regaining the belt by defeating another Mexican, Manuel Medina, in November 2003.

Harrison was initially intending to face undefeated Dominican Republic boxer Joan Guzman, the mandatory challenger, but he pulled out of the fight two weeks ago citing his desire to test himself in the super-featherweight division.

His withdrawal angered Harrison's camp, particularly the Scot's manager Frank Maloney, and the fight's promoters.

While Honorio, 26, has been praised for his late acceptance of the fight, he is ranked at a comparatively lowly 11th by the WBO and is widely considered to be well below the level of Harrison.

Therefore next month's meeting in Belfast will not only attract significantly lower viewing figures but will also have a diminished effect on Harrison's status should he avoid an upset and retain his belt.

Maloney has already voiced his anger at Guzman for pulling out of the fight and says he is already looking for a next high-profile opponent.

"We have been put in this position by Guzman's camp pulling out of the fight. All Scott can do now is put on a show against Honorio, hopefully knock him out and then we will try and move on to bigger things," he said.

However, who exactly that next high-profile opponent could be remains dubious, seeing as the majority of the featherweight division's top names have, as Guzman intends to do, moved up to the next level.

And this fact is not lost on Maloney who admits that Harrison may well be forced to follow a similar path if he is to forge a lasting legacy in the sport.

"It's not an issue with the weight because Scott still makes the nine-stone limit no problem," Maloney added.

"It's just the fact that all the big-name fighters like Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao have moved up to super-feather, so Scott will have to do the same if we want to make those kind of fights happen."

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