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| Harrison pulls out of title fight | Harrison pulls out of title fight |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison has withdrawn from his title defence on Saturday and vacated his title, his father Peter says. | WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison has withdrawn from his title defence on Saturday and vacated his title, his father Peter says. |
| The Scottish fighter, 29, was due to fight Nicky Cook in the WBO featherweight title defence in London. | The Scottish fighter, 29, was due to fight Nicky Cook in the WBO featherweight title defence in London. |
| Peter Harrison said his son was unable to make the weight and would now vacate his title "on medical advice". | Peter Harrison said his son was unable to make the weight and would now vacate his title "on medical advice". |
| "Scott was unable to get under 9st 7lb and - on medical advice - was advised not to take the fight," he added. | "Scott was unable to get under 9st 7lb and - on medical advice - was advised not to take the fight," he added. |
| 606 DEBATE: Your reaction to Harrison's withdrawal | 606 DEBATE: Your reaction to Harrison's withdrawal |
| Harrison spent five weeks in a Spanish jail on assault charges and was released on 13 November amid doubts over whether the fight would go ahead. | |
| But the British Boxing Board of Control ruled the fight could go ahead after Harrison underwent medical tests. | |
| Frank Warren has been slow to tell the people that the fight is off Peter Harrison | |
| Peter Harrison said his son had trained three times a day over the weekend in a bid to get to the featherweight limit of nine stone. | |
| But, after consulting with Dr Niall MacFarlane of Glasgow University, his father decided Harrison would not make the weight in time for the bout against Cook. | |
| Peter Harrison added: "Promoter Frank Warren was notified on Sunday of Scott's difficulty in making the weight. | |
| "Frank Warren came back to Scott's manager Barry Hughes on Tuesday with the offer to fight Cook at 9st 6lbs. | |
| "The fight was really important to Scott but there was no way he was going to get down to 9st or 9st 6lbs." | |
| Harrison's father added: "Frank Warren has been slow to tell the people that the fight is off. | |
| "We've known it's been off since the beginning of the week. Scott needed this fight. It's been well-documented in the media that Scott has to pay his income tax and he was going to pay it off this fight. | |
| "But when you're talking about somebody's life you have to make the right decision and I feel Team Harrison has made the right decision." |