Harris calls Gatti out for unification!

By G. Leon

10/03/2005

Harris calls Gatti out for unification!

"Main Events hasn't done nothing for me in seven years, it's about time they gave me the Gatti fight!"

WBA junior welterweight champion "Vicious" Vivian Harris told Boxingtalk.com that he would be  disappointed if Main Events,  both his and WBC junior welterweight champ Arturo Gatti's promoter, does not look towards a junior welterweight unification showdown for June 11, should Gatti's anticipated showdown with Floyd Mayweather continue to falter. You won't want to miss what the outspoken Harris had to say. Read on for more of this FREE must read interview

GL: Some people feel the Gatti camp is scared to fight Floyd. Do you think that's the case?

VH: "I don't think so, I don't think Floyd made the right business moves. Floyd had the opportunity to fight me and then fight Gatti to receive a 50-50 split, but he didn't want to take that opportunity. Now he has to take 25% at a purse bid and that's Floyd's fault. Floyd could have gotten Gatti if he would have tried to go through me, but he didn't want to fight me and now Gatti don't want to fight him."

GL: Main Events has expressed interest in making a fight between Floyd Mayweather and yourself. However, many myself included, feel Main Events wants that fight so badly because it removes Mayweather from the WBC, which would take him out of the Gatti sweepstakes.

VH: "That could be a good reason too, but in the long run he'd be able to get Arturo Gatti in the long run because the people want to see unification. I think this division should be unified. Now that I'm a champion you're not hearing about no unification. But since Main Events has Gatti too they should make the unification, let me take that belt from him and then beat Floyd when he comes for them."

GL: I'm sure you've been hearing all of the rumblings about Cotto and Corley possibly fighting again. How do you feel about that?

VH: "I'm upset about that because I would want to know why HBO would want to put another fight like that on when top guys in the division are willing to fight him. But that's HBO and the business they're doing with Miguel Cotto. Right now when it comes to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Kostya Tsyzu, Miguel Cotto, Arturo Gatti or anybody else, I'm definitely not going to be the reason a big fight doesn't happen. And I'm willing to give every one of them rematch clauses because I know I'll beat them twice."

GL: If Gatti and Mayweather doesn't happen, would you be disappointed with Main Events if somebody else other than yourself fought Gatti on June 11?

VH: "Definitely. I would be disappointed because they're talking about how good they want to do for my career and how they've got some big fights lined up for me, but they've got a big fighter and they don't want to put him in there with Vivian Harris. But the world already knows they don't want to put Gatti in there with me because they could've done it a bunch of times already. They'd rather put him in with Dorin and Leija. And now when Floyd was pressuring them for the Gatti fight they're trying to Floyd at me.

"I'm like the dude who if there's a bad man coming at their boy, they want me to take care of that man, but they won't put me in there with their boy. They don't want to put me in there because they don't want me to have his belt too."

GL: What did you think about the way Ricky Hatton looked on Showtime the other night?

VH: "It's about three months before the fight, but he looked fat. He's got some time to work it off but I think that's from all that beer he's been drinking over there. I don't know how he's going to get that off but he's got three months to do it."

GL: Based on how fat he looked do you think he will be able to do anything but train just to lose weight?

VH: "Definitely. His focus will be more on losing weight than concentrating on anything. He's not going to be able to focus on his strategy for the fight and that's going to hurt him when they fight. When you're fighting a guy like Tszyu you need to have plans one through ten.  But back to Gatti, I feel like Main Events hasn't done nothing for my career in the last seven years, so now it's time for them to step up and give me this Arturo Gatti fight."

GL: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

VH: "I want all my fans to keep their fingers crossed and hope Main Events and HBO make this fight happen."



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