2000 Olympic Champion Audley Harrison MBE is now considering his legal options given the information that came to light in his claim against MGN LTD, who publish the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror Newspapers. 

With the award of damages, a public apology, and an obligation to never attempt to intercept Audley’s voicemails again, Audley feels reinvigorated and now has the foundation to explore proceedings against other entities.

The evidence which came to light in the claim highlighted the following;

“After hacking & listening to a BBC Executive’s voicemail, The Sunday Mirror published a story indicating Audley was going to leave the BBC & join a Sky Channel”

Audley commented  ‘in early 2004, I was unbeaten and regarded as the future of the heavyweight division. While training for my upcoming fights against Richel Herisia, Julius Francis and Thomaz Bonin, my team and I were involved in intense negotiations with BBC Sport to secure an extension to our current 3-fight contract’. 

‘The contract negotiations were progressing well as far as I was concerned, but suddenly they broke down, and it drove me crazy, as I couldn’t figure out why …  this litigation has perhaps shed some light on what was happening at the time’.

“I am so overjoyed to finally have more clarity with this situation, as the breakdown of my relationship with the BBC destroyed me personally for a long time, sucking my passion and fire for the boxing ring, and affecting my world title aspirations right there in 2004” said Audley - - as I sat there listening to “we have decided to end our association immediately, there will be no more future fights on BBC” my heart sank to the floor, as I could not believe what I was hearing’, commented Audley.

“That week, leading up to my last fight on BBC, the stress and internal turmoil was incredibly difficult, as I was balancing the shock of my relationship with the BBC ending, focusing on boxing an unbeaten fighter, and dealing with all the drama that occurs during fight week. 

The day before my fight, superman cracked, and I was checked into hospital for a suspected heart attack.   I lost myself in an emotional rollercoaster, and ignoring the doctor’s advice, I somehow found the strength to get into the ring and box, but it took everything from me” said Audley.

“Although I tried everything to regain that fire and spirit I had before that breakdown, its fair to say I was never the same”

Teenage titan Jason Sillett plans to bulldoze his way to glory in the lightweight division, writes Glynn Evans.

The chunky 19 year-old from Barry Island has already stormed through five battle hardened journeymen - conceding four or more years in each instance – and fully expects to extend that run when he fights for the first time in his native Wales next weekend.

‘My dad Guy runs the Muscle Beach gym on Barry Island and is the strength and conditioning coach to both the Selbys (IBF feather boss Lee and British flyweight king Andrew),’ explains the 5ft 6in three time Welsh junior champion.

‘‘My strength is my strength. From the age of 14, I was following a weights program myself. As a teenager, I was definitely a lot fitter and stronger than the other lads I fought.’

While Sillett’s ox-like strength certainly accords him a leg up, he knows that brawn alone will not suffice for him to succeed in this most diverse of physical disciplines. Last year, after a decorated international amateur career, the Barry bulldozer sought out feted Stockport coach Lee Beard to incorporate the smarts needed to scale the summit.

And the globally regarded tutor is impressed with what he‘s seen.

 ‘Though Jason likes to come forward, he’s also deceptively quick and elusive. He’s compact defensively and has a stiff jab. He can box front foot and back. He’s developing a really good all round game,’ assesses Beard who earned his spurs working with world champions Ricky Hatton and Argenis Mendis plus Olympic medallist Vijender Singh.

‘He’s just 19 so I want to take my time with him; keep him unbeaten and learning until he’s about 21, 22. After this one, hopefully we can move him up to six, then eight round level where he’ll be far better suited.

‘Style wise, we’re still finding a balance.  He’s stocky and aggressive with a low centre of gravity. He’s already developing his man strength – his Dad is really good at what he does – and lately I can feel more devil when he punches the pads and body bag, particularly with his body punching.’

Sillett’s love of the gloves can be traced back to his primary school years.

He recalls: ‘Growing up I wasn’t really a scrapper but I always enjoyed the physical sports. I played rugby for a bit and done some Thai Boxing before dad first took me to the Barry Eastside boxing gym, aged nine.

‘I enjoyed it straight away, particularly the competition side of it. I had my first bout at 10. Back then, I was a bit of a fat kid but, by 12, I’d lost the weight.

‘After moving to the Splott Adventure club in Cardiff, I had over 50 amateur contests and won well over half. I won a Welsh Junior ABA title, a Welsh Youth title and a Welsh Boys Clubs title plus silver in the British ABAs when I was about 15. I travelled with Welsh squads to Denmark and Azerbaijan.

‘But from the very beginning, all I wanted was to be a professional boxer and I turned over as soon as I was able. I’m a physically strong box-fighter so my style was always going to be best suited to the professional game.’

In October 2015, the Welsh warmonger became Britain’s youngest prizefighter when he penned a deal with Beard and committed to developing his craft in England’s north-west. If he falls short of his ambitions, it’s unlikely to be through lack of dedication.

‘Monday to Thursday, I stay at Lee’s mother-in-law’s and train in Kerry Kayes gym in Denton, Manchester alongside the likes of Vijender Singh, Jimmy Kelly and Adrian Gonzalez. Weekends, I focus on S&C (strength and conditioning) work with my dad back in Barry,’ says quiet man Sillett.

‘I do quite a bit of sparring with Lee’s son Adrian (Gonzalez) and I’ve sparred Terry Flanagan quite a few times. Before that, I did quite a bit with Jack Catterall.

‘Lee’s got me using my skills and my brain a lot more rather than just threshing away. I’m starting to see things quicker. I aspire to be in 12 round fights so I know I need to be clever, break opponents down. I’m happy with the way I’m progressing.’

After a fistful of routine tutorials against grizzled domestic circuit fighters in the north-west, there’s sure to be an extra bounce to strongman Sillett’s stride when he makes an emotional return to the Principality – Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, to be precise – for a scheduled four rounder on Saturday week.

‘This has been a long time coming,’ he says.

‘I usually take a coach load of 50 or so when I fight up north but there’ll be more than double that for this one. Even though I’m the promoter’s boy, I’ve always felt like the away fighter in previous fights.  It’s easily the biggest promotion I’ve been involved with and I know the atmosphere will be amazing.

‘I’m very keen to show the Welsh fans what I can bring to the table; my skills, how I can adapt. Hopefully, it’ll be an entertaining fight so I can increase my popularity, climb the ladder and get my name out there.

‘All I’m focussed on now is to keep winning and keep learning. I’m like a steam train, full speed ahead. I plan to go all the way to the top. Otherwise there’s no point doing it.’

Liam Williams and Ahmet Patterson’s hotly-anticipated British title showdown is part of a huge night of boxing at the Motorpoint Arena. WBO World Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders makes the maiden defence of his crown against Brooklyn-based Russian Artur Akavov; Manchester’s WBO Lightweight Champion Terry Flanagan defends his World title for the fourth time against Puerto Rico’s Orlando Cruz; Liverpool’s Tom Stalker makes the first defence of his European Lightweight strap against long-term rival Craig Evans and Birmingham’s Tommy Langford faces-off with Sheffield’s Sam Sheedy for the Vacant British Middleweight title.

Wales is well represented on a stacked undercard; Gary Lockett-trained Middleweight Alex Hughes looks to go 9-0, Super-Flyweight Jay Harris looks to build on his explosive KO win at the Cardiff Ice Arena last time out; Ricky Hatton Heavyweight prodigy Nathan Gorman aims for another explosive KO, Market Harborough Super-Welterweight Rueben Arrowsmith looks to extend his unbeaten record to 8-0 and Wimbledon Welterweight Louis Adolphe goes in search of his sixth win.

Remaining tickets for November 26 priced £40, £70, £100, £150 and £200 are available from www.motorpointarena.com (029 2022 4488), www.eventim.com (0844 249 1000) and www.ticketmaster.co.uk (0844 8440 444).

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions, will televise this fight on Sky (SD Ch.437 and HD Ch.415), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon).

Renowned fight figure, Asif Vali, says undefeated protege Osman Aslam will be fast-tracked into title fights in 2017 after a hugely successful last 12 months.

The Bolton bantamweight has already blasted through five foes this year, and will want to end the year on a high when he appears at Manchester's Bowler's Exhibition Centre on November 18.

Former ABA winner Aslam, whose record reads 7-0 with two KOs, takes on Poland's Kamil Jaworek in his first 'eight-rounder' on the Bowler's card and will be aiming to force an early retirement.  Jaworek has won three of six fights but has only been stopped once and should prove a durable test.

"I know a bit about what it takes to get to the very top of this sport," explained Vali, former manager of Amir Khan, "and I sincerely believe we have a real talent on our hands in Osman.  He began boxing at the 'Bolton Lads and Girls Club', which is where Khan also started out and I see him following a similar path in the pros.

"Osman has all the skills, has extremely quick hands and he can punch very hard.  He's also got a great trainer in Alex Matvienko and is constantly learning and improving because he has a really sensible head on his shoulders. 

"He's got to get through this test first, and every fight is dangerous, but if he does win then we'll be looking to match him harder and move him into title contention next year.  He's in the smaller weight category, which means the big opportunities come around quicker, so 2017 will be a very exciting time.  I hope boxing fans in the Northwest get behind him because it's going to be a great journey.

"I also want to thank promoter Kieran Farrell for putting Osman on this upcoming show.  Kieran was a top fighter, is proving himself in the promoting business and it's great to be working with him."

Tickets available via 01204 528898 or 07855 497187.

JAKE HAIGH aims to pick up where he left off when returns to the ring this weekend.

The tall 22-year-old from Macclesfield made an explosive start to his time in the pro ranks with a second round stoppage of Tomas Kugler last month.

And he’s hoping to be equally impressive when he locks horns with Mark Till at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on Saturday (November 16), although he expects Till to be a tougher proposition.

“I really enjoyed my debut. I stuck to the game plan and got him out of there in two rounds. I hope to perform like that again but I know Mark Till is a real tough fighter,” Haigh, who is trained by Ricky Hatton, said.

“Till boxed my gym mate Chris Blaney on the show I made my debut on so I’ve seen him up close and I’m expecting a hard fight.

“He comes for a bit of a scrap and he’ll bring it to me. I just think that if I can use my reach and jab I can keep him at range and get the job done.”

Haigh only began working with Hatton at his Hyde gym in the summer, but many observers of his debut performance have said that he looks like a seasoned pro already.

“I’ve only had one fight so it’s too early to get carried away, but I think I’ve taken to the pros well,” he said.

“The training is a bit different to what I was used to in the amateurs and there’s a lot more things to learn with Ricky on the pads but things are really coming together.

“Every day is new learning experience and I don’t think I could have anyone better to guide my career."