Boxing proves a real knockout

Neilly believed Harrison's first fight was the hardest

BBC Sport's Jim Neilly was the man behind the mike when Audley Harrison captured Britain's first boxing gold medal since 1968. Here he reflects on that triumph and a memorable two weeks for the fistic art.

I remember being a student at university and working at Butlin's in the kitchens the last time Britain won a boxing gold medal at the Olympics.

I was listening to the commentary by Harry Carpenter, a man who I later became friends with. I never thought we'd have to wait 32 years for Britain to win gold again.

But what a huge pleasure and privilege it is to have commentated on such an occasion, on the last contest on the last day. What a perfect end to the Olympics.

Audley Harrison had to go through a number of qualifying tournaments to get to Sydney and gave the impression that he should have qualified easier than he did.

But then, when the draw was made and he was paired against the former world champion Alexey Lezin, everyone thought his Olympic bid would end quickly.

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To be fair, Audley made heavy weather of it against the Russian before tagging him with a terrific punch. That brought a standing eight count and led to the eventual stoppage.

Once he came through that fight, I felt Audley would have a great chance of coming out on top.

Audley took a big chance by refusing to turn professional after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games.

But the gamble has paid off - certainly in financial terms - now that he has won Olympic gold.

Audley is without a doubt one of the most articulate boxers around - a rare combination - and tackles post-match interviews as if he has had a couple of days to prepare for them.

I suppose 28 is not too old for a heavyweight to start a professional career - if you look at one of the men at ringside, Evander Holyfield. He is still fighting at 37 while Lennox Lewis is well into his 30s.

Being Olympic champion will give Audley the perfect platform and makes him extremely marketable.

There was an American gold medallist in the fifties, Peter Rademacher, who fought Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight tile in his first pro fight eight months after tasting Olympic glory.

It's a bit ambitious to think the same could happen to Audley but if he wants to make a quick million pounds then that is the route to go.

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One of the major surprises is the failure of the Americans to win a gold medal, the first time that has happened since 1948. I think they hyped up their team beyond its ability.

The one man who could have won gold was Michael Sims, who was dropped a few months ago for disciplinary reasons. But the others were found wanting.

The Cubans will be disappointed with just four golds, although the break-up of the old USSR means that a number of new nations have emerged as major players in world boxing.

It's worth noting that of the 48 semi-finalists, 23 came from countries which would have competed under the old USSR banner.

I think in terms of overall standard, its been a terrific boxing tournament. From the quarter-final stage, the capacity of the hall was increased to 10,000, yet there were still full houses.

Aside from Audley, my favourite boxer of these games was Russian light-heavyweight Alexander Lebziak.

Not only was he vastly superior to all the opposition he faced, he was the sort of guy who, if he said 'you're in my seat', you'd give him the seat and buy him a drink as well!