BIG DEAL
I’m an Olympic gold medalist boxer who inspired Anthony Joshua and is now earning a living in poker
His success was the re-birth of British boxing
HE was the Olympic gold medalist who shared the ring with the likes of David Haye and Deontay Wilder.
Now he's swapped the ring for chasing bracelets in his new career in the ever-growing world of poker.
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Audley Harrison shot to stardom by becoming the first Brit to claim gold in the super-heavyweight division at the Olympics in 2000.
The London-born fighter, 52, believes that success changed the British boxing landscape and inspired the careers of Anthony Joshua and Nicola Adams amongst others.
That's likely true, particularly after negotiating a £1million deal to bring boxing back to the BBC, which at the time was a momentous move for the sport and the broadcaster.
But his new career in poker - revitalised in 2017 when returning to the scene after taking five years off - has taken off and he's reportedly earned $2million (£1.54m) since retiring from boxing in 2014.
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Speaking from WSOP in Las Vegas - where he finished 1127th in the Gladiators of Poker event and 126th in the Seniors event to collect $6556 (£5,050) collectively, Harrison said: “I played my first tournament in 2006 and I finished 11th.
I have an edge on a lot of players I’m playing against.
Audley Harrison
"I was hooked from then, loved it, this thrill of going deep in tournaments.”
After taking that five-year break, he added: “I was horrible. I said to myself, ‘you’re gonna have to train up, or you’re gonna have to retire because you can't compete’.
“I’ve done the time and put the volume in. I started playing on ClubWPT, grinding, and it improved my game 100 per cent. I got to play all the different situations, trying things out.
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"I read the game well but being studied now gives me a bigger arsenal.
"I have an edge on a lot of players I’m playing against.”
Harrison has learned a lot from the art of poker after travelling around the world to do so.
He reckons the boxing spirit inside him has had to be cooled as a result as he chases down the top prizes in the game.
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He added: “Self reflection is massively important. A lot of people don't think about it, but being able to have an honest assessment of your game, your strengths and weaknesses. You need to keep improving your skills and improving your edge.
“How people view you is really important. People look at me and think, ‘He’s got a hoodie on, he looks like he plays aggressively’, and I do play aggressively, so I have to mix it up.
“Sometimes I just need to ease off the gas a bit. The boxer in me has to just chill out a bit.”
Asked about his boxing legacy as he makes a name for himself in a new circuit, he told : "Me winning the Olympics changed boxing.
"When you talk about the Amir Khan story, the Anthony Joshua story, the Nicola Adams story, James de Gale, Frankie Gavin.
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"None of that would have happened without me winning the gold. So that's my legacy.”
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