By Nate Anderson: Count me in as one of the few boxing writers that felt that Audley Harrison (23-3, 17 KOs) put on a fine performance last Saturday night against his tough Brazilian opponent George Arias (41-11, 29 KOs) whom he beat by clear cut decision. Harrison looked to be in his finest shape since winning a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Harrison showed better skills than I’ve seen from most of the top heavyweights in the division, including Wladimir Klitschko, Samuel Peter and David Haye.

And though Arias one a few rounds by fighting hard, it was only because Harrison allowed him to by fighting in a relaxed manner. Believe me, Harrison could have won all the rounds if he wanted to, but instead was looking to land a big shot with one of his powerful trademark uppercuts. Harrison afterwards predicted that he’d win a heavyweight title in 2009, something that will no doubt cause more than a few boxing fans to grin. However, I think that Audley is quite capable of pulling it off.

He really looks good, and appears to be taking his training seriously with new dedication. The fans at the M.E.N. Arena, Manchester on Saturday night were less than pleased with him, however, booing him from the first until the last round without stop. It didn’t seem to matter that what they were seeing was excellent heavyweight boxing at its finest.

Harrison did everything well, defending from attacks, using his long jab to control the distance and pounding Arias with powerful uppercuts. Having seen some poor performances of Wladimir Klitschko in the past year, I have to say that Harrison looks considerably better than him at this point.

Harrison may not have a big right hand like Wladimir, but his uppercut is more than a match for him, as well as his laser jab. I think Harrison can easily win a title in 2009 if he can get the matches. He’s got the talent to beat anyone in the division, but he’s got to move fast because his age will start becoming a factor in the next couple of years.

At 36, Harrison doesn’t have too much longer before he begins to slow down. However, he looks closer to 30 than 40, seeming much younger than his chronological age. I think he matches up well with any of the top heavyweights in the division, especially Haye, Klitschko and Peter, fighters that Harrison can use his uppercut and jab to control. A fight against Klitschko would seem remote at this point, for he’s scheduled already for a bout later on this year, and if successful, he’s possibly going to be fighting David Haye in 2009.

However, that still leaves quite a few other fighters out there like James Toney, who Harrison has been mentioned as being involved with talks a for a possible fight, or someone like Nikolay Valuev. A fight against Valuev would be intriguing, a match-up between two giants of the sport with both of them refusing to surrender their ground. I like Harrison in this fight, too. He’s got much more skills and movement than the slow-footed Valuev could ever dream of having and he’s present major problems for him.

Harrison’s chin, which let him down in a loss against Michael Sprott, isn’t a concern for me. He was caught by a punch that he never saw coming and that’s the only reason he was knocked out in that fight. When Harrison is fighting in control and not taking risks, he’s hard to beat because of his size. He fights tall, uses his jab and straight left hand to control the distance. I think he’ll be ripe for a title shot in 2009, like he says, after defeating one or two more opponents.