Harris made his professional debut on November 4, 1997, when he fought Levi Long and KO'd him in the first minute of the first round.
In December of the same year, Harris defeated Adam Salas, forcing the referee to stop the bout prematurely.
On October 19, 2002, Harris defeated Diobelys Hurtado and captured the WBA junior welterweight title.
In June 2005 Harris was set to fight Colombian boxer Carlos Maussa as a part of the Thunder and Lighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. v. Arturo Gatti pay-per-view.
Vivian Harris and Junior Witter met on September 6, 2007, in Doncaster, England, fighting for the WBC light welterweight belt.
Harris once again fell short of winning a championship, not able to answer the count of 10 in his second straight title fight.
Vivian Harris and Mexican Noe Bolanos met on August 14, 2009, in Tucson, Arizona, in the main event of ESPN's Friday Night Fights.
He left the ring on a stretcher, was allowed to briefly walk around the fighter area, and was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.