The 35 year old from Peterborough had to settle for a draw with Mark Handley at the O2 Arena – despite scoring a first-round knockdown.
That left Handley needing to win the last two rounds to snatch a draw and, according to the judges, the Shrewsbury electrician put enough into the final four minutes to earn a share of the spoils.
Harley couldn’t hide his disappointment after the drawn verdict was read out and many at ringside had sympathy for him.
Harley did land a lot of clean punches in the last two rounds, but the judges’ voted for Handley’s aggression.
That sets up a rematch that promoters BKB TM have pencilled in for their show at the O2 Arena on Saturday, January 22.