By Mark Vester

At the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, first round action of the Prizefighter Cruiserweight Tournament saw Mark Krence (25-7, 6 KOs) win a unanimous three round decision over Zahid Kahut (4-2). Krence scored a knockdown in the first round. The scores were 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27.

In other action, Jon-Lewis Dickinson (6-0, 0 KOs) won a close three round split decision over Leon Williams (4-2, 2 KOs). The scores were 29-28, 29-28 for Dickinson and and 29-28 for Williams. Dickinson will face Krence in the semi-finals.

Darren Corbett (29-5-1, 16 KOs) won a three round decision over John Anthony (7-12, 5 KOs) in a very lackluster fight. The scores were 30-27 on all three cards.

The tournament favorite, Herbie Hide (49-4, 43 KOs) dropped Wayne Brooks (5-3-2, 2 KOs) in the first, but suffered a bad cut in the second round from a clash of heads. The two went to war in the second and third rounds. The judges gave Hide an overwhelming decision with scores of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26.

Because of the bad cut, Hide withdrew from his semi-final bout. He was replaced by a journeyman, Nick Okoth (8-27-5, 3 KOs).

The first bout of the semi-finals saw Jon-Lewis Dickinson (7-0, 1 KO) stop Mark Krence (25-8, 6 KOs) after one round of action. Dickinson battered Krence in the first round with a hard right hand, dropped him twice and continued to batter him until the bell. Krence was unable to come out for the second time. Dickinson gets his first career knockout win.

In the second semi-final bout, a major upset took place when Nick Okoth (9-27-5, 3 KOs) won a three round unanimous decision by outboxing Darren Corbett (29-6, 16 KOs).

In the finals, Jon-Lewis Dickinson (8-0, 2 KOs) won the Prizefighter Cruiserweight Tournament, with a third round TKO of journeyman Nick Okoth (9-28-5, 3 KOs). Okoth was dropped in the first round and went down two more times in the third before his corner threw in the towel to prevent further punishment.