Parade of Champions Puts Audley on the Ropes

Byline: PAUL HAYWARD

FOR the 54th year in a row, a lot of scarily tough men assembled in a ballroom at The Savoy to eat, drink and talk

about violence and friendship.

Across the tables, the eye could pick out Frank Bruno, no longer sectioned under the Mental Health Act, no longer ravaged by cocaine, no longer under the misapprehension that he is, in fact, Frankie Dettori - one of the more surreal manifestations of an illness that reduced this stalwart of the ring to a ghost of his old fighting self.

On the top table, young Kevin Mitchell, an unbeaten 20-year-old super-featherweight from Dagenham, accepted his Best Young Boxer of the Year award and recalled how he would stand as a boy outside The Savoy, waiting for autographs from his heroes.

Elsewhere at Monday's annual dinner of the Boxing Writers' Club, the roster of ex-world champions included John H Stracey, Barry McGuigan, Colin McMillan, Lloyd Honeyghan, Charlie Magri, Terry Downes, Duke McKenzie, Alan Minter and Chris Eubank, who turned up in a tie but no shirt, thus encouraging speculation about what his creditors are currently doing to him.

Three Olympic heroes were there, too. Terry Spinks, Chris Finnegan and Amir Khan, an impeccable advertisement for British boxing. Spot the missing name yet? Correct, Audley Harrison, who …

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Publication information: Article title: Parade of Champions Puts Audley on the Ropes. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Daily Mail (London). Publication date: October 19, 2005. Page number: 75. © 2007 Daily Mail. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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