For Vivian Harris, freedom is a job

TUCSON — The headlines in June called him a free agent, which doesn’t mean a whole lot in boxing or anywhere else for that matter. Free agents are little bit like free lunch. It only means you’re out of work and looking for a way to earn enough to buy your next meal.

Vivian Harris is free, free at last, of the free-agent label with a new contract from Golden Boy Promotions and a renewed promise that he will have his share of the wealth in the rich 140-pound division.

“Definitely,’’ Harris (29-3-1, 19 KOs) said Thursday as he prepared to go back to work Friday night at Desert Diamond Casino in an ESPN2 bout against Mexican Noe Bolanos (20-4-1, 11 KOs) after contract troubles with former promoter Gary Shaw kept him mostly idle with only one fight — sixth-round stoppage of Octavio Navarez last October – after losing to Junior Witter in bid for the World Boxing Council’s version of the title in September, 2007. “I stayed in the gym. Everybody knows how hard I work. Now, it’s just one fight at a time to get back into that mix.’’

In boxing’s here-today, gone-tomorrow mindset, it appeared as if Harris was long gone. When Golden Boy announced 10 days ago that it had signed Harris, there was lots of skepticism.

But, no, Harris trainer Tommy Brooks said, “he’s not washed up. Still, I guess that’s what he is here to prove.’’ There is motivation in that burden of proof for Harris, whose fierce pride is evident. It is hard for him to suppress his frustration at Shaw, whose name he didn’t mention. He didn’t have to.

“My promoter just wanted to use me, make some money off of me,’’ said Harris, a former World Boxing Association champion who had to re-acquaint himself with the scales Thursday when he made a third trip to make a mandatory 141 pounds after initially weighing 142. “But I do all the work, take all the punches.’’

By now, it’s pretty well-documented that Harris was left on the outside looking in at riches offered by the junior-welterweight division after on-and-finally-off negotiations for a bout earlier this year with Victor Ortiz. Apparently, talks broke down over – surprise, surprise – money. Ortiz wound up fighting Mike Arnaoutis. It would have very easy and even more predictable for Harris to just fade away. But he said he didn’t doubt there would be another chance. “Never,’’ Harris said when asked if he thought about stepping out of the ring and into something more reliable after boxing’s byzantine web of politics took him into a dead end.

At 30, Harris’s second chance might be his last chance at money generated in a weight range where all the profit potential leads to Manny Pacquiao, who has a date at 145 pounds on Nov. 14 against Miguel Cotto in a bout that presumably will set up the biggie with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Of course, Mayweather has to beat Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 1 9. Neither Pacquiao nor Mayweather looms as very likely for Harris, but you get the idea. There are plenty of potential money-making leftovers for Harris. There might even be another chance at Ortiz, also a Golden Boy fighter who will be seeking a chance to resurrect his reputation after he left some serious doubts about his willingness to fight in a TKO loss in June to Marcos Maidana, an unknown from Argentina. Ortiz-Harris sounds like a natural. They both call themselves “Vicious.’’ If nothing else, they could fight for the sole rights to the nickname. Just joking, although Brooks has seen enough to know it is perilous not to take Harris seriously.

“I don’t have time for guys who aren’t serious,’’ said Brooks, who has worked with Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, among others. “This guy gets to the gym every day before I do.’’

Harris’ power is unique, says Brooks, who has been training him in Hackensack, N.J., “He throws his jab like some people throw a right hand,’’ Brooks said of a junior-welterweight who only wants the freedom to throw often enough to prove that Golden Boy was right not to forget about him.

Still in Lacy’s corner Trainer Dan Birmingham is in Tucson Friday with junior-middleweight Keith Thurman (9-0, 9 KOs), who faces Travis Hartman (10-13-1, 7 KOs), before boarding a flight for Mississippi and Saturday night’s card in Biloxi where he will work the corner for heavyweight Lenroy Thomas (12-1, 8 KOs) against Gabe Brown (18-10, 12 KOs) on the Roy Jones Jr.-Jeff Lacy undercard.

Birmingham will be more than just a travel-weary spectator for the main event. He is Lacy’s ex-trainer, but there is nothing former about their friendship.

“Jeff has a key to my gym,’’ said Birmingham, whose workplace is south of downtown St. Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf Coast. “He’s in there sometimes when I arrive. We’ll always be close.’’

The bout against Jones puts Lacy, now trained by Roger Bloodworth, at a crossroads. Beat the 40-year legend and Lacy can recapture some of the potential he had before he suffered a loss to Joe Calzaghe in Manchester, England and a subsequent shoulder injury, Birmingham said.

“If he wins, he revitalizes his career,’’ Birmingham said. Birmingham likes Lavcy’s chances, but he says Jones still represents a formidable challenge despite his age, 40, which puts him loser to AARP membership than it does his prime. “Sure, Roy has got that name, but knows what he is doing and can still do it,’’ Birmingham said. “I’ve told Jeff he’s got put a lot of pressure on him. But, yeah, I think Jeff can pull it off.’’