By Alexey Sukachev
At the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, England - Super featherweight Gary Buckland (21-2, 8 KOs) does the trick! The Welshman, who was barely a favorite at the start of the Prizefighter tournament, is it's sudden but deserved winner. In the final, Buckland, who previously lost by TKO in a spirited battle to the best British lightweight around, John Murray, found his revenge and got his second stoppage in a row after his unsuccessful opponent Derry Matthews (25-5, 12 KOs) was counted out at 1:23 of the second round after a punishing left hook to the solar plexus.
It wasn't any better for the Liverpool boxer in the first round. The Welshman went immediately into a brawling mode after the starting bell and never stopped delivering punches. He caught Matthews with a thunderous right hand at the end of the second minute of the first, and Derry was very lucky to get up and to not be immediately blown out by a hurricane of Buckland's punches. It proved to be his last success though. Buckland defeated Stevie Bell, Gary Sykes and Derry Matthews on his way to the Prizefighter championship.
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Semifinals
A sweet redemption is finally here for Liverpool's native and beloved son Derry Matthews (25-4, 12 KOs), who avenged his 2008 knockout loss to Mongolian veteran Choi Tseveenpurev (30-5, 21 KOs) in one of the best Prizefighter collisions in its history. Both fighters chose to brawl rather than to box for the crowd's amusement. Choi lost almost the entire first round but finished it extremely strong with two cracking right hooks which dazed Matthews at the end. The second stanza proved to be a possible frontrunner for the round of the year in Britain as both boxers continued a two-way brawl. Choi rocked Matthews at the starters but the Liverpool boxer came back in style to catch Tseveenpurev with some hard shots and to pin him to the ropes. A couple of uppercuts helped the Mongolian warrior to stage yet another comeback and both combatants slugged it out with the zeal until the end of the round with Matthews prevailing over Tseveenpurev with just a slight edge.
The third and the last stanza was also for Derry Matthews who found some much needed room to avoid a wild fury of Choi. After the final bell, judges' scorecards were rendered, and Derry Matthews was declared a winner by a unanimous decision: 29-28 x3. BoxingScene saw this thrilling affair as a draw: 29-29.
In a major upset, British super featherweight champion Gary Sykes (17-1, 4 KOs) suffered his first career loss in a crushing way after a righ hand of Gary Buckland (20-2, 7 KOs) sent him heavily down and almost out in just 45 seconds after the beginning of the first round. Sykes managed to get up on his feet but his cornermen stepped in to save the champion from an inevitable further punishment. Buckland advanced to the finals to meet revived Derry Matthews for this Prizefighter trophy.
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Quarterfinals:
In the first quarterfinal, hardcore Mongolian veteran, a 39-year old rugged enforcer Choi Tesveenpurev (30-4, 21 KOs) came back to the ring to outpoint determined upset specialist Ben Murphy (7-4-1, 3 KOs) over three rounds. That was a heated brawl but Choi prevailed in the first two rounds to get an edge even despite he visibly ran out of gas in the last stanza. All scores were identical: 29-28 - in favor of the first semi-finalist Choi Tseveenpurev.
The second quarterfinal, saw Derry Matthews (24-4, 12 KOs) getting his career back on track with a dominant third-round stoppage over suddenly too chinny Gary McArthur (15-2, 2 KOs). McArthur was down a couple of times under heavy bombardment by Matthews, mostly due to the body punishment. The end came 17 seconds into the third round after McArthur was hit with another combination and obviously was in no condition to continue.
British national champion Gary Sykes (17-0, 4 KOs) proved his mettle and skills with an easy drubbing of veteran Scott Lawton (27-7-1, 6 KOs). There were no knockdowns but Sykes was a much better boxer to accomplish a clean sweep over three rounds: 30-27 - on all the judges' scorecards. Sykes tagged Lawton with hard left hooks in the first to get the job almost done but was never able to deliver a finishing touch.
In the last quarterfinal, actor-turned-fighter Stevie Bell (18-3-2, 5 KOs) was unable to sustain the pressure from Welsh Gary Buckland (19-2, 6 KOs) and lost a spirited but clear-cut unanimous decision: 29-28 - on all scorecards. Bell was better in the first with his sneaky jab but shorter and more powerful and determined Buckland avenged the lost stanza in the next couple of rounds.
