It has been a frustrating period for many fighters and no-one is more frustrated than Liam Harrison. The Muay Thai fighter from Leeds is unable to train, let alone compete, due to the Covid-19 restrictions in the country.
It could not have come at a worse time for Harrison who signed a lucrative multi fight deal with ONE Championship and is coming off an impressive win over Mohammed Bin Mahmoud at ONE: ‘A New Tomorrow’. He is keen to compete again but says he can’t put together a proper training camp right now,
“I got offered a fight and I just couldn’t take it because I didn’t have the right training or the sparring I needed. I’ve not had any sort of routine.”
Bad situation
England recently entered a second lockdown as Covid-19 cases surged. Harrison is trying to make the best of a bad situation and hopes he might be able to fight again in the first quarter of 2021,
“The first lockdown ruined me. I’ve been injured ever since and I’ve struggled to get back to my old form, but I will keep plugging away, get back into a good routine, and hope for something in March or April.”
With most forms of indoor fitness banned and gyms shutting their doors Harrison says it has been difficult to stay in shape let alone get ready for a major international fight,
“It’s not been proper training, just ticking over. It’s been difficult to get the right amount of sparring, it’s been difficult to get all the guys in the gym at the same time. It was just starting to get back to some sort of normality with all the fighters in the gym, but it’s been hard getting everyone in at the same time.”
Online presence
There have been some positives for Harrison. He has a strong online presence but says no amount of success in other fields can compensate for being unable to do what he does best,
“My website has flown, I’ve set up my own YouTube channel for my podcast and my own clothing brand. They’ve all been flying, they’ve gone really well, but I’m a fighter and I want to fight.”
In Harrison’s absence a bantamweight Muay Thai tournament took place. He was an interested spectator and was particularly impressed by former opponent Rodlek PKSaenchaigym,
“Nong-O is still the champion but I thought Rodlek looked really good in that fight until he got caught. He was fighting really well and it was just one big right hand that finished it, but that’s just how good Nong-O is.”
Harrison would like to fight Nong-O one day and sees some weaknesses in the champion,
“I saw stuff in that fight that Rodlek was doing that worked really well, stuff that I am better at, so I took some positives from it. If I can get another big win after all this, I hope I can work my way in for a title shot somewhere.”
Wait and see
Harrison has won his last two ONE Super Series fights and is on track to reach the top five for the first time. He dreams of fighting for the belt but would be happy just to be able to fight
“I just want to be able to get back in and get fighting again. I’ve been having no less than five or six fights a year ever since I was 14 years old (so) hopefully I can get three or four fights in before this year is out, but we will just have to see.”
