Third time lucky - Sprott exacts revenge over Skelton to win Prizefighter

Matchroom’s Prizefighter returned to London’s York Hall last night as boxing’s flagship division delivered a pulsating evening of three-round excitement.  

 

Reading’s former British and Commonwealth champion Michael Sprott ultimately rebounded from his Audley Harrison disaster last time out to raise the silver cup and avenge two prior loses to Matt Skelton by edging the ”Bedford Bear” in the final.

 

 

Skelton kicked the first quarter off by laying into Hammersmith-based Iraqi Ali Adams from the opening seconds. Ali’s legs were gone and Matt charged into him eyeing to find a winning home for his crude but concussive overhand right.

 

Skelton also remembered to bring his normal roughhouse tactics to the party as he worked his head into Adams’ face time and time again. Adams’ repaid the favour blatantly and was read the riot act by referee Victor Loughlin.

 

Ali is blessed with a good chin but he is so upright and open. He was tagged over and over again as Matt slotted the big right over Ali’s knee-level left hand.

 

Adams finally got some respectable boxing going in the third as he jabbed and moved, but it was a case of too little far too late as Skelton took a unanimous decision by tallies of 30-27 twice and 29-28.

 

The Clones Colossus Kevin McBride seems to have been around forever. The one-time Mike Tyson conqueror returned for only the second time in three years as he looked fortunate to beat Tooting-based Nigerian Franklin Egobi 29-28 on all score cards.

 

Egobi looked the more skilled and sharp fighter of the pair in the opener. With a greying beard which makes the 37-year-old look about ten years more senior, Franklin looked to counter McBride with quick right hands. Kevin was coming forward but looked slightly bored as he tried the left hook.

 

The 20st 7lbs Colossus staggered Egobi in the second and mixed in some meaningful bodywork. Franklin scored with a lovely uppercut to stake his claim in a session that could have gone either way.

 

I thought Egobi took the last session. McBride was cut on the left eye and Franklin was more mobile and let his hands go. McBride looked gased to the close and I wrote down the word “robbery” in my notebook when the Irishman was announced as the victor.

 

Declan Timlin lost his unbeaten record in the second session of the third quarter final as he was floored and then stopped his feet by three fight novice Shane McPhilbin.  

 

The 35-year old US-based Irishman was out of his depth from the off as he simply walked on to shots. Timlin seemed to be rocking and staggering perpetually. The right hands and left hooks were simply tearing Declan apart.

 

Predictably, the left hook flooredTimlin in the second and than after two more clean shots referee John Keane wisely called a halt to the action.

 

In the final quarter-final, Michael Sprott shut-out Sunderland’s Danny Hughes. Sprott was looking for the left hook in the first and just falling short. Danny, significantly taller than the veteran Sprott, was trying to rain his straight right hand down on Michael.

 

There was high drama in the second. The pair started by having a professional-wrestling style push and scuffle but the third man didn’t indicate that anything other than a punch was responsible for a nasty gash on Hughes’ left eye. By now Hughes was fighting open-mouthed and Sprott’s left hook was getting far closer.

 

Danny was waiting too long to launch his punches in the final round. Both missed frequently but Michael’s hooks scored the points as he progessed into the semi-finals.

 

Matt Skelton was very fortunate to get a three-round decision over Kevin McBride in the first semi-final.

 

Absolutely nothing of note landed in the first. Kevin accepted Matt’s hugging and holding like a desperate lonely hearts singleton and the pair were just a tangled mess.

 

Shockingly, McBride pulled out a peach of a right hand in close that floored Skelton heavily in round two. Unbelievably, referee Victor Loughlin missed the punch and ruled it as a slip and told Skelton to get up. The only problem was the Skelton couldn’t quickly as his legs had gone. When Matt did get to his feet, McBride was too over eagar and rushed in far too close which allowed Skelton to survive.

 

McBride scored with heavy right hands in the last, but was clipped with solid left hook and hurt by a regrouped Skelton. The three cards all read 29-28 in Skelton’s favour and loud boos echoed around the hall.  

 

In a low-key second semi final, Michael Sprott wasn’t seriously troubled in anyway by Nottingham’s Shane McPhilbin. The affair was slow and fairly uneventful with Shane not nearly ambitious enough and Michael seemingly happy to be in control and take a breather on route to the final.

 

Shane was clipped regularly with the left hand and it was fairly disappointing that he didn’t let his hands go and push for an upset. After three routine sessions, the Jim Evans-trained man had his arm raised and he progressed into the final.

 

The finale of the evening was a third fight between Sprott and Skelton. Sprott lost his British and Commonwealth titles to Matt way back in 2004 on a final round stoppage. Then following his upset destruction of Audley Harrison at Wembley in 2007, Sprott dropped a majority decision to the brawler from Bedford in a close encounter at the O2 Arena.

 

There was nothing in it over the first three minutes. Matt was again looking for the big overhand rights and Michael started jabbing and putting his lovely boxing together.

 

Sprott got the better of the second by scoring with the left hook. He managed to repay Matt’s omnipresent use of the head with his own illegal butting. Matt was getting close with his right hand.

 

Both put on a grandstand finish in the last and really let their punches go to stake a claim for the £32,000 cash prize. Michael began to box the better of the pair as he narrowly managed to avoid the big right handers from Matt and land his own work.

At an emotional close, the razor thin decision read 29-28 in Sprott’s favour twice and one card exactly the other way around in favour of Skelton.

 

Interestingly, if Derek Chisora vacates his British title to challenge for the WBO and IBF world titles against Wladimir Klitschko, Sprott could fight Tyson Fury for the Lonsdale belt.