By Mark Vester
At the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, Barry Hearn's latest Prizefighter tournament kicked off, “Prizefighter Heavyweights IV.” In the first quarter final bout, veteran Matt Skelton (24-5, 20 KOs) dominated Ali Adams (9-3-1, 3 KOs) for a three round unanimous decision. The scores were 30-37, 30-37 and 29-28. Future Klitschko title challenger Derek Chisora had picked Ali to win the tournament.
In the second quarter final bout, the last man to beat Mike Tyson, Kevin McBride (35-7-1, 29 KOs), won a three round split decision over Franklin Egobi (15-4, 10 KOs). The scores were 29-28 and 29-28 for McBride and 29-28 Egobi.
In the third quarter final bout, Shane McPhilbin (3-1, 3KOs) upset previously undefeated Declan Timlin (7-1, 4KOs) by way of a second round stoppage. McPhilbin dropped Timlin in the second round and then landed a few more punches before the referee jumped in to stop the fight.
In the last quarter final bout, Michael Sprott (33-15, 17KOs) was too much for Danny Hughes (7-2-2, 2KOs). Sprott easily won a three round unanimous decision. Sprott wobbled Hughes in the first. They exchanged punches in second, which opened up a bad cut on the left side of Hughes' face. Sprott was shaking him up with several big punches. A replace showed that the cut suffered by Hughes came from a clash of heads. Sprott easily won the third round by outfighting Hughes. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Sprott.
In the first semi-final bout, Matt Skelton (25-5, 20 KOs) won a unanimous three round decision over Kevin McBride (35-8-1, 29 KOs). The fans booed the decision.
After Skelton got the first round in the bank, McBride rocked him in the second and put him down but the referee missed the punch that landed and waved off the knockdown. Skelton was exhausted in the third round. They stayed close hitting each other on the inside. Skelton ended strong in the third with a good flurry but it was a very close round. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Skelton. In the post-fight interview, Skelton made no excuses about McBride hurting him in the second or the referee blowing the knockdown call.
In the second semi final bout, Michael Sprott (34-15, 17KOs) easily won a three round unanimous decision over Shane McPhilbin (3-2, 3KOs).
In the first, they came out swingin with McPhilbin being tagged with a huge Sprott counter hook. Sprott outboxed McPhilbin for the next two rounds with few issues. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Sprott.
The Final
In the Prizefighter final, and the third meeting between the two fighters, Michael Sprott (35-15, 17KOs) won a three round split decision over Matt Skelton (25-6, 20 KOs). The scores were 29-28 for Skelton, 29-28 for Sprott and 29-28 for Sprott. Sprott wins the Prizfighter tournament and the cash prize of 32,000-pounds.
The first two rounds were ugly and Sprott did a little of the better work. The third started with both trading punches. Sprott was jabbing for most of the third before they started trading big punches in the final twenty seconds. Skelton got the better of the final exchange. Skelton won both of their previous meetings.
