Harrison rates Samuel Peter as harder hitter than Wilder

Former Olympic boxing gold medallist, Audley Harrison, has weighed in on who hit him hardest during his stint in the sport, reports express.co.uk.

Despite getting flattened by renowned punchers Deontay Wilder and David Price, Harrison claims the biggest whack he ever received came from Samuel Peter.

Peter, briefly held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, before dropping it to Vitali Klitschko in his first defence. The 42-year-old retired from professional boxing in 2019 with a 38-9 record, including 31 wins coming by way of knockout.

Harrison faced Peter in the amateurs during a pre-Olympic tournament and says that the Nigerian Nightmare caught him a shot so hard that it sent shockwaves through his body.

“I always say the hardest puncher I ever faced in my career was Samuel Peter – The Nigerian Nightmare,” he told Mega Casino. “I boxed him in a pre-Olympic tournament, with a head guard on, he hit me on the top of the head, and it sent shockwaves all the way through my body!

“The thing with David Price, I went to sleep when he knocked me out. When you’re knocked unconscious like that, you don’t know too much about it. Deontay hit me and then he threw 100 punches after that, so it was just all a blur. I just took the Samuel Peter shot and the head guard probably stopped me from getting knocked out.

“But I know that was the hardest shot I faced because it put me on Queer Street. The David Price and Michael Sprott knockouts put me to sleep. I woke up and wanted to start fighting again, but my corner told me ‘Audley, the fight has been over for 30 seconds.’”

When Wilder fought Harrison in the Brit’s final walk as a professional, it took the Bronze Bomber just 70 seconds to dispatch his foe. Wilder rocked Harrison with the first right hand he landed before mauling against the corner post.

Harrison beat the count but was on unsteady legs leading to the fight being waved off by referee Terry O’Connor. Price also knocked out Harrison in the first round when they met each other in a British and commonwealth heavyweight title fight at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

After rocking Harrison with a powerful cross, Price swarmed the former world title challenger with a barrage of punches capped off by a right hook that sent him down and out. Harrison got knocked out four times in total during his professional career and was never known for having the best durability.