‘He almost had my eye out’ – Audley Harrison reveals just how hard Deontay Wilder hits ahead of Tyson Fury fight
The WBC champion beat Harrison in just 78 seconds in Sheffield in 2013
Audley Harrison has revealed how Deontay Wilder almost detached his retina from his skull during a sparring session.
The heavyweight duo trained together before Harrison's fight with David Price in 2012, before coming face-to-face in a professional contest a year later.
On both occasions, Harrison was brutally knocked out inside the first round. However, the display by the Bronze Bomber was so brutal it effectively ended the Brit's career.
After a tentative start, the American landed a trademark right hand which Harrison never recovered from as he sagged on the ropes under a barrage of punches.
Speaking to the , Harrison revealed just how hard the 33-year-old can hit as he recalled the gruelling sparring sessions the pair undertook.
He said: "I had him in camp for sparring a year before we fought and he was over for about five weeks to prepare me for David Price.
"He almost had my eye out in sparring one day — he caught me with this shot and it nearly detached my retina and suddenly I had to stop training for eight or nine days.
"Aside from the power, Wilder is unique. He is very tall, very fast and very unorthodox in how he moves — you cannot pin him down.
"He can actually be quite ungainly but he is effective because he has that explosive hand speed."
Wilder will defend his WBC title against Tyson Fury on Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with many critics and fans being able to see only two possible outcomes.
Quite simply; Wilder wins by an early stoppage or Fury takes it on points.
However, fellow Olympic medallist Harrison gave credit to the technique of the 40-0 knockout artist.
"His punches come at you so fast — when the right hand caught me that ended the fight, I didn’t even see it coming," he added.
"The punch came at such an unusual angle and so fast there was no getting out the way.
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"One thing people don’t usually say about him and they should is that his jab is very good. But that right hand is the thing.
"Any fight you get knocked out you have a headache the next day and I did after that fight.
"It was actually the last fight I had before retiring but it wasn’t just because I lost."