WBO featherweight champion fit as a fiddle after stint in jail

Troubled WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison, 29, who is set to defend his title against Nicky Cook on December 9, told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek that the five weeks he spent locked up in Spain on several charges including assault were “an absolute nightmare.”

“Prison was ideal in terms of training preparations. But not having the freedom to walk out of the gates and get out at any time was an absolute nightmare.”

“Once the gates are shut,â€? Harrison said, “there’s no getting any kind of free time. After half-past seven at night I was banged up to half-past eight in the morning. Then you spend a few hours in the yard, then you have your lunch at two o’clock and you’re banged up from two to five.

“You’re trying to train and juggle your personal life as well – it’s hard work.”

Hard work or not, being a locked in jail, and locked out of taverns, was good for Harrison, whose problems with alcoholism and depression are part of the public record, because it enabled him to get and stay in shape.

Asked how he viewed his life through the prism of his confinement and recent release, he replied, “That’s a funny question. I’m 29 years old. That’s something you should be asking me when I’m 70 or 80 years old.

“I have had a good life up to now. I’ve a long way to go, and a lot of goals I’ve set myself.

“I’m defending my title, and I can make history. I’ll be up there with the likes of Willie Pep in the featherweight division. He is the longest reigning champion, and that’s one of the major goals. I’ve smashed every record in Scotland, and I’m going to be in this game for years, so I’m more than happy.”