Lewis warns Haye about Harrison

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has warned David Haye not to take Audley Harrison lightly, like he did with Frank Bruno 17 years ago.

Haye defends his WBA title against fellow Londoner and bitter rival Harrison in Manchester on Saturday, and goes into the fight as an overwhelming favourite with the bookmakers.

Lewis, however, had words of caution for the champion, citing his own difficulties against Bruno in his 1993 WBC title defence, when Bruno shocked him early in the fight before he came back to stop his countryman in the seventh.

Lewis said: "It was a really big fight, to see who was the best in Britain at the time and who could go on to defeat the world, and that was me.

"You can never take anybody lightly. I would see Frank Bruno on the TV and say 'That's a lousy fighter', 'Oh, he looks bad' and this and that then all of a sudden we got in there and he's hitting me with the jab and I was wondering what was going on.

"I was a bit cold in the first few rounds but he really turned it on. Then I warmed up and gave it to him."

Haye and Harrison share a mutual animosity stemming from a 2006 sparring session, at which Lewis was present, when Harrison believed Haye "took liberties" by trying to hurt him.

"It was a great sparring session," Lewis revealed. "As far as the 'liberty' aspect goes, I just look at it as two guys working together on different things.

"It's going to be an interesting fight. David is great on his feet and moves well in the ring. I think he will keep a little distance and choose his times when he's going to throw some serious combinations to try and get Audley out.

"Audley needs to put his weight on him, get that right jab working and keep him under pressure."