By Terence Dooley
Carl Froch's worries about Nick Quigley's energy reserves going into his "Prizefighter: The Light-Middleweights II" finale with Robert Lloyd Taylor, at Bethnal Green's York Hall venue, came to pass over the final furlongs as Nick's tank emptied and Taylor's confidence soared over the last nine minutes of action. Fellow Sky pundit Jamie Moore had picked Quigley for the overall win yet no one could have predicted Quigley's tough route to the final, his semi with Kris Agyei-Dua had taken its toll by the time the first bell rang on the last fight.
Taylor's amazing story, from late sub to finalist after JJ Bird's shock withdrawal, picked up another character ahead of the showcase, Sheffield's Dave Coldwell joining Mick Williams and Johnny Eames in Robert's corner to help out. Lloyd ripped home uppercuts and smart counters in the opening session, adding body shots to his repertoire as the stanza developed.
Nick poured it on in the last minute of the final round after slipping further behind in the second, it was to no avail, Taylor picking his own shots en route to a 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 win.
"I feel ecstatic. I didn't perform too well my last few times on Sky so made up for it tonight. Prizefighter always opens doors so hopefully it brings me something decent," said Taylor when speaking to Sky Sports.
"I know Rob a little bit, I don't know him as a fighting man or how he'd react in the corner but he responded to what I told him and won the tournament. Well done to him," enthused Johnny Eames, the TKO stalwart had stepped in on the night to help Taylor to victory.
Coldwell could barely believe the events, "Johnny stepped in because Robert's trainer couldn't make it tonight. To be fair it could have shook a lot of fighters," Dave's analysis of the crazy evening.
SEMI FINALS
It was a case of quality versus quantity in the first "Prizefighter" semi-final bout as Robert Lloyd Taylor showed flashes of real skill in the face of a spiritied onslaught from Peter Vaughan. Taylor came into the tournament an hour before it was due to start after former Big Brother contestant JJ Bird feinted in his dressing room, the BBBoC deeming that Bird should withdraw from the competition. Indeed, Taylor assembled an ad hoc corner team of cutsman Mick Williams and TKO Gym trainer Johnny Eames for his night's work after getting the benefit of a coin flip at 7:10pm.
Taylor's ability surfaced at the midway point of the third stanza, a quality left uppercut dropping Peter heavily for the first count of the contest. Vaughan clambered to his feet and pressed forward but was unable to turn the tide, Robert powering home a left hook, left uppercut and right uppercut to force referee Mark Green's intervention at 2:45 of the final session.
"I sat down and let them go and got the stoppage. I am here to win it. I got the hardest draw and look forward to the final now," enthused Taylor as he talked to Sky Sports about his remarkable opportunity.
The second semi-final stanza saw Nick Quigley start quickly against Kris Agyei-Dua, the Liverpudlian buzzing his opponent towards the end of the first. Dua was dropped heavily by a left hook from Jeff Thomas in their quarter final fight and looked troubled in the corner after the opener.
Quigley tried to press his advantage early in the second, leaving his guard open as he looked to secure his first professional stoppage win. Agyei could not do anything with his tricky rival for periods of the round, sluggishly pouring forward in a bid to turn things around.
"Nicky landed some big, heavy shots. At the start of round two he put it on him and was like a man possessed. Quigley has blown the gasket a little but and is dangerous of totally blowing it in round three if he isn't careful," enthused WBC super-middleweight titlist Carl Froch as he summarised the fight for Sky Sports ahead of the final three minutes.
Quigley, though, sank home a left, right, left that wobbled Dua late in the second minute of the third round, dredging up some massive shots despite clearly feeling the pace. Kris had feet of clay by this point yet showed some real stones to survive to the final bell. Three scores of 30-27 handing the worn and frayed Quigley a deserved unanimous decision.
"That was right up my street," stated former British, Commonwealth and EBU 154lb boss Jamie Moore to Sky's Dave Clarke. "They stood there trading blows, it was great for the fans and great for us."
"Quigley has got age on his side, he'll recover," Froch's prediction.
QUARTER FINALS
Robert Lloyd Taylor made the most of his late call up to Prizefighter: The Light-Middleweight II by posting a split decision win over Margate's Takaloo in the first of the night's quarter finals. Taylor out-jabbed the former two-time WBU title holder to grab a 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 win. The Londoner praised Takaloo when speaking to Sky Sports immediately after the contest, admitting that his 35-year-old foe was boxing beyond his prime.
Taylor now meets Peter Vaughan in the first semi final after the 'Banbury Bull' took a hotly contested split verdict over Wayne Goddard. Wayne looked to have done enough to win the bout but scores of 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28 saw Vaughan move into the semis.
Jeff Thomas almost created his own Hollywood moment in the first round of his meeting with Kris Agyei-Dua, flooring his man with a left hook in the first session of their battle before letting his opponent box and bull his way back into the bout. The final bell saw a moment of Prizefighter history when a majority draw meant referee Terry O'Connor had to step in and cast the deciding ballot, the big man awarding the fight to Dua.
An all-Liverpool battle between Nick Quigley and Stephen Harkin set up the final semi final place, Quigley showing good foot speed and solid punch picking to take yet another tight decision on the night, scores of 29-28, 28-29 30-27 guaranteeing his progression through to the next round.
Semi finals:
Robert Lloyd Taylor Vs Peter Vaughan
Kris Agyei-Dua Vs Nick Quigley