Harris looks to right the Vicious Vivian Express

Harris looks to right the Vicious Vivian Express

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

April 6, 2011

It doesn't seem that long ago that “Vicious” Vivian Harris looked to be one of boxing's brightest young emerging talents, having lifted his first world title at just 24 years of age with a resounding second round stoppage of Diosbelys Hurtado to claim the WBA 140-pound championship back in October of 2002. Now Harris [29-5-1, 19 KOs] stands at the crossroads of his career against Golden Boy Promotions prospect Jessie Vargas [14-0, 7 KOs] in the headlining bout of a Telefutura Solo Boxeo televised card from Primm, Nevada this Friday.

Harris' three year title reign would be plagued by inactivity as he was unable to land big name opposition. He made three successful defenses of his title which included two wins abroad against Oktay Urkal in his opponent's stomping grounds of Berlin, Germany. In his first defense, Harris was able to rise off the deck against Souleymane M'baye to earn a wide decision.

He finally looked to be earning some spotlight as his defense against the unheralded awkward human punching bag Carlos Maussa served as one of the chief supporting bouts to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s HBO pay-per-view debut against Arturo Gatti. As the main event's result seemed pretty predetermined, Harris had an opportunity to announce his arrival if he were able to score an impressive win. Maussa was a substitute for Arturo Morua, whom Maussa had lost to just two fights prior by twelve round decision.

“Vivian Harris isn't going anywhere, I'm taking it one fight at a time,” voiced Harris prior to his showdown with Maussa. “Everybody will see that Vivian Harris is the best fighter at 140 pounds this Saturday.”

The always bashful Brooklyn, New Yorker by way of Guyana had gotten into a scuffle with Mayweather at the press conference for the card and had long claimed that Floyd was ducking him. Amongst hardcore boxing fans, Harris was perceived by many as a possible threat to Mayweather, and one capable of handing him his first career blemish.

In a division that, at the time featured Mayweather, Gatti, Miguel Cotto, and Ricky Hatton, Harris was easily the most often forgotten.

Against Maussa, it was evident early on that Harris was not quite prepared for his opponent's unorthodox fighting style. Maussa had the oddest of footwork which made his wide and loopy shots harder to avoid than would normally be the case. Harris started off the fight quickly, looking to land something meaningful to end the night early. Maussa ate his best shots and kept pressing forward, which didn't deter Harris much from trying to land the home run.

Harris had the luxury of having the incomparable Emanuel Steward in his corner, who offered up the advice in between rounds of working the jab more instead of firing off power punches. Despite the advice, Harris did not throw so much as a single jab, showing his lack of experience at the top level. It's hard to criticize Harris when he had a guy in front of him that windmilled his punches and left his chin right out to be blasted.

Despite the obvious separation in class between the two, Harris engaged in a fight that favored Maussa's awkward style, winging shots that he otherwise wouldn't dare throw against an upper level opponent. As the fight began to slip away, so did Harris' confidence and he got on his bicycle. A left hand in round seven sent Harris crashing down to the canvas and he was unable to beat the count.

Harris would rebound from the loss and win two HBO televised fights against a well finished Stevie Johnston and a close encounter against Juan Lazcano before once again going on the road in a world title bout, this time to the UK and Junior Witter.

In that bout, Harris looked listless before being stopped brutally in seven. A return to the ring came a year later and he was dropped twice in the opening round against journeyman Octavio Narvaez before scoring a stoppage in the sixth.

It was at this point that Harris was signed by Golden Boy Promotions, most obviously as an opponent to be used for some of their more touted fighters, such as Oxnard's Victor Ortiz. Harris was given a ESPN Friday Night Fights slot to earn a win on national television against Noe Bolanos in his first fight with the company.

Unfortunately for Harris, an accidental headbutt occurred in the second round. Harris walked around for a minute before collapsing to the canvas. Harris would leave the ring on a stretcher in a situation that had many worried for his future health.

Harris would return against hard hitting undefeated prospect Lucas Matthysse six months later and find himself again in a controversial situation. After four competitive rounds, referee Gelasio Huerta stopped the bout for no logical reason as Harris had not taken a high amount of punishment. Matthysse seemed intent on giving Harris a rematch, as did Golden Boy head Oscar De La Hoya, but alas, the opportunity never came. De La Hoya considered it one of the worst stoppages he had ever seen.

Instead, seven months later Harris would be fed to Victor Ortiz, who was on his own comeback of sorts after being stopped by Marcos Maidana. That fight would not be so competitive and Harris was done in three rounds.

Harris is not in over his head in this one, as Vargas has looked rather pedestrian in his most recent fights. Against trial horse and oft-used opponent Cristian Favela in February, Vargas failed to impress. His most impressive win to date is oddly over Arturo Morua, the man Witter was supposed to face instead of Maussa, where he scored a sixth-round stoppage in only his tenth professional bout.

In Friday's main event against Jesse Vargas, it could stand as Harris' last chance to reignite the Vicious Vivian Express. A loss to a level of opponent of Vargas, who is seen by many as a solid prospect, would most definitely slip Harris into a perennial opponent situation. If Harris suffers a defeat similar to the brutal ones he has before, one would hope he elects to hang them up. Either way, this bout will go a long way in establishing whether or not Harris has anything left at this point in his career. Here's hoping he has enough to make it through this bout unscathed.

This night of world class professional boxing is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Roy Englebrecht Promotions’ special edition of “Fight Club Primm,” and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. Doors open at 6:00pm PT, the first bell rings at 7:00pm PT and the televised Solo Boxeo broadcast begins at 11:30pm ET / PT (10:30pm CT).

Tickets, priced at $50 (Floor) and $20 (General Admission), may be purchased at the Star of the Desert Arena Box Office or online at www.primmvalleyresorts.com.