Above all else, the proximity brought me closer to Harrison. We even spoke for the first time in the lead up to that Haye fight, not that it was easy pinning him down. He was, you see, now in the opposite corner and we, or just I, was treated as the enemy for as long as phoney warfare had a value. To get him for a pre-fight one-on-one, I was advised to contact someone called Eddie Hearn, who was responsible for dragging Harrison away from the casinos of Las Vegas and helping to reinvigorate him. Hearn, they said, was the son of Barry, the head of Matchroom, and would be able to assist me in getting hold of Harrison, his client, for an interview. Ideally it would be in person, with no other reporters around. At worst, it would be a phone call.
