Tony Harrison will be fighting on Saturday without someone who has been his corner from day one: his father.
Ali Salaam, who has trained the junior middleweight contender for almost his entire career, died of complications related to COVID-19 in April of last year. LJ Harrison, his brother, has taken over the training duties.
Of course, the loss of his dad and mentor was difficult for Tony Harrison. However, he feels emotional fit entering his fight with Bryant Perrella at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles (Fox).
“I wouldn’t [fight] if I wasn’t ready,” said Harrison, who is coming off an 11th-round knockout loss to Jermell Charlo that cost him the title he won by outpointing Charlo a year earlier. “He taught me how to fight. All I can do now is relive what he told me in my mind to keep me going.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t be in the ring if I wasn’t ready to fight. It’s always hard losing a father but I’m ready.”
Tony Harrison said he has confidence in his brother, a mainstay at Salaam’s SuperBad Boxing Gym in Detroit since he retired as a pro basketball player overseas in 2014. He has specialized in strength and conditioning but also learned the technical ropes from his father.
Salaam was an old-school disciplinarian, which obviously worked in his son’s case. LJ is a more modern, more subtle coach. Tony is comfortable with that approach.
“Our chemistry is good,” the fighter said, referring to LJ. “Just having youth on our side, just having him understand how times are rolling. My dad was a little strict in everything he did. My brother is a little more lenient. He was a professional athlete himself.
“He understands what I need and when I need it. He’s not so head strong that things be done his way.”
The brothers have a significant task in front of them: rebuilding after the loss against Charlo.
Harrison said he doesn’t think much about the setback but acknowledged that it gnaws at him when he does. He tells himself that he was doing well – the fight was close on the cards – and that victory was within his grasp.
And then it was over. A left hook led to two knockdowns and ultimately a stoppage.
Can Harrison bounce back from that kind of loss? Setbacks – even brutal ones – are part of the sport, he said. As long a fighter accepts that and focuses on what got him there in the first place, he should be just fine.
“The fight game sometimes is a game of inches, like football,” said Harrison, whose cousin is former San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates. “A wrong inch one way or another can cost you a fight. That’s how it is.
“You just have to stay fundamentally sound, you just have to stay disciplined. And, at 30, I’m the most disciplined I’ve ever been.”
The comeback starts against Perrella (17-3, 14 KOs), a capable southpaw who is coming off a last-second knockout loss to Abel Ramos in February of last year. And it comes after a 16-month haitus, the longest of Harrison’s career.
He respects Perrella, who is moving up in weight to face him. And he’s as curious as everyone else about whether he’ll be rusty after the layoff, although he said he worked hard and felt during his first training camp with his brother as head trainer.
The only thing he knows for sure going into the fight? He’s excited, excited to get back into the ring, excited to have his hand raised again, excited to get back on a path toward a world title.
“To be honest I am itchy to get back in there,” he said. “Sparring has been tough, losing the weight has been tough. All in all, the journey has been worthwhile. I’m looking forward to getting back into the ring.
“I’m really fired up. I’m ready to do this for everyone, for me, for [my brother], for Ali. I’m ready to showcase what I can do.”
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