On Saturday, WBA junior welterweight champion Vivian Harris comes to Berlin,Germany for his third title defense, a rematch against Oktay Urkal. On April 17 of this year, Vivian Harris and Oktay Urkal had a terrific fight in Berlin, which Harris won by a very close majority decision [the judges scored 114-112, 114-112 and 113-113]. Fightnews spoke with Harris about that fight, the upcoming rematch, respect, and other things.

The last time we met was directly after your fight with Oktay Urkal in Berlin [2004-04-17] and you were cooling your right hand with an ice pack. How is your hand now?
My hand is OK.

You pulled out of the date originally scheduled for the first fight with Urkal because of an injury of your right hand.
Yeah.

Is your right hand particularly sensitive?
My right hand is good right now.

This upcoming rematch with Urkal was originally scheduled for September 4. Why did you pull out then?
Why I pulled out then? I have never agreed to a rematch until now.

At that time there was the information that you had agreed to have a rematch.
I never agreed to fight Urkal on September 4. Ok, I agreed to fight Urkal after they had made him a mandatory challenger, but I never agreed to fight him on September 4. That’s what they were saying and that’s what they wanted me to do. I never agreed to anything.

I was surprised when I read that you had challenged Ricky Hatton [36-0-0. KOs 26] for a fight.
Yeah.

Isn’t quite unusual for a world champion to challenge a challenger? What were your reasons?
The reason was that Ricky Hatton couldn’t beat me. I know that he has nothing to beat me. That’s why I wanted to give him the opportunity to fight for the championship. But when I gave him that chance he showed no respect. He wanted more and more. He wanted to be treated like a champion. That’s why I didn’t go ahead with this fight. I don’t think about Ricky Hatton anymore.

Before your last fight in Berlin you attended the rules meeting after the weight-in. [After the weight-in the officials, trainers and mangers meet to discuss the rules under which the upcoming fight will be held]. I never saw a fighter attending a rules meeting before. Do you usually do that?
I do it if I find it necessary.

Do you always control every detail of your career?
No, but I try to know about everything that’s going on in my career. I try to keep up with what’s going on. Because my career is my career. I do my best to be informed about everything.

After your last fight you fired your trainer Lennox Blackmore and hired Emanuel Steward instead. Why did you change your trainer?
I changed my trainer and my managers. I just did it. I had problems with this and that. But I don’t want to talk about that right now.

Your fight with Oktay Urkal was a close one. What’s your opinion on that fight?
It was a good fight. I appreciate everything. I appreciate everything God gives me in life. It was a great fight. I fought it, and it was good fight. When I look back at all the fights I had it was certainly one of the better ones. I mean - it’s all a game.

What special memory do you have of this fight?
The only memory I have is that I hit him a couple of times low and he was hitting me on the back of my head a lot, and the referee saw it but he didn’t take any points from him, but then neither did he take any points from me. But let us say I don’t have anything to quarrel about. It happens. This is the past. It’s not what matters at the moment.

Having been in the ring with your opponent for 12 rounds, how do you view his strengths and weaknesses now?
His strength is that he has the referee to protect him. He has no strengths. He has only a lot of weaknesses. He has no strengths.

Have you made any changes regarding your own fight plan?
No – no I haven’t changed my fight plan. I’m just working hard for this fight. Working hard, hard, hard!

Do you expect this fight to be easier or more difficult than the first one?
I don’t expect anything. Whatever God has in store for me when I come to Germany - I accept it. Whether it’s easy or hard it’s all the same to me. I expect nothing. Whatever is there I accept.

Which outcome of the fight do you expect or predict?
I’ll end up as a winner.

It seems your rather like Berlin?
I love Berlin! I love Berlin! I am planning to buy a place in Berlin right now.

So are you planning on staying a few days longer in Berlin when the fight is over, like you did last time?
Yes, definitely. I love the city. The people treat me well. They like me over there. They take care of me. I love Berlin.  

Does that mean defending your title in Germany makes you feel good?
Yes. I defend my title everywhere once the people treat my like a champion. If they treat me with respect I treat people with respect. If they show me respect I fight. If I don’t get treated with respect...I'm gonna do nothing.  

What are your wishes for the future?
First of all I am thinking of my next goal, the fight in front of me right now. All I want is to take care of this fight. My focus is on this fight right here against Urkal. This is why I am thinking about Urkal. I am thinking about Urkal. I am thinking about him right now. That’s all I am thinking about, nobody else but Urkal.