Prizefighter – New Venue, Same Old Characters
More Than One Prizefighter's Career Could End on October 2nd
The recent news that the latest installment of the Prizefighter series has been moved from its' traditional York Hall venue to the much larger Excel Centre gives a clear indication of the public interest that this event has generated.
A quick glance at the line up which includes the current British champion Danny Williams, as well as no fewer than three former British belt holders in Michael Sprott, Scott Gammer and Michael Holden, not to mention the enigmatic and always controversial Audley Harrison, demonstrates why the tickets are selling themselves. Boasting a couple of household names and several well-established rivalries this event certainly has the potential to be a classic, but also, given that most of the competitors know each other so well from past combats, a disappointment.
Danny Williams Focussed At Last?
It is no secret that all of the main protagonists are inconsistent performers at best and this means that there is no clear title favourite at the moment, although Williams, if he turns up both in shape and in the right frame of mind, probably has a slight edge over the others. He is the reigning British champion, has beaten Sprott, Gammer and Harrison, and faces being stripped of his title by the BBBC if he loses. So motivation should not be an issue this time.
However, the man who famously defeated the shell of Mike Tyson and lost a brave, yet one-sided challenge for Vitali Klitschko's WBC title has seen his weight yo-yo alarmingly in recent years and, after a devastating knockout loss to Albert Sosonowski followed by two close victories over the limited John Mcdermott, appears to be in terminal decline.
Audley Harrison Drinking in the Last Chance Saloon
The rollercoaster professional career of Audley Harrison has been well-documented elsewhere, suffice it to say that he has far from lived-up to his amateur promise, his sole title to date being the lightly regarded WBF crown. Harrison has lost four times in his professional career, most recently to former Prizefighter winner Martin Rogan, and surely retirement will be his only option should he fail to lift the trophy.
On paper the format of 3 x 3-minute rounds should suit the former Olympic champion, however Harrison is a notoriously slow starter and has always appeared reluctant to become involved in the kind of 'tear up' that the competition is designed to encourage.
One Final Twist in Sprott's Career?
Michael Sprott is a perennially-underrated former British, Commonwealth and EU belt holder with a habit of pulling-off unlikely victories and counts wins over Williams, Harrison and Holden on his résumé, but now at 34 years of age he is displaying worrying signs of wear and tear and has lost four of his last five fights.
Not only that, but judging by his most recent decision losses to Lamon Brewster and Alexander Ustinov he appears content to simply turn up and survive until the end of a fight and may not have enough left in the tank for one final hurrah.
Return Number Three for Gammer, Holden Also on the Comeback Trail
Similarly to Sprott, Scott Gammer has also lost four of his last five fights, not only that but he has retired a total of three times during this period (most recently in May of this year!) leading many observers to rightly question his commitment to the sport. Taking this into account it is difficult to see what Gammer is fighting for, although a decent performance on the night might provide an impetus for a focussed ring return.
The reasons behind Michael Holden's comeback are even less clear, the one-time British champion boasts a mediocre 10-9-1 record and is coming back from a six year hiatus. Holden fought to a draw against Czech journeyman Tomas Mrazek on September 4th and doesn't appear to have anything to trouble the main protagonists.
Of the remaining competitors, Scott Belshaw who recently lost to the highly-touted Tyson Fury and has one other defeat on his record will surely only make up the numbers, whilst Coleman Barrett and Danny Hughes are both unproven at this level and will do well to survive until the latter stages.
Who Will be the Last Man Standing and Does it Really Matter?
An intriguing night's boxing is in prospect on October 2nd then, although the event may not turn out to be as exciting as the organisers and the paying public hope. Of the three main contenders both Danny Williams' and Michael Sprott's recent performances appear to indicate that they are on the slide, whilst Audley Harrison's career, which initially promised so much, has never really built up any momentum.
Lastly, with all the fighters most likely to win on the wrong side of thirty, it's difficult to see what this tournament will achieve, aside from settling some frankly tedious domestic rivalries once and for all.
Prizefighter Tournament
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