This Saturday, 14th May, sees the return of the
ever evolving Betfair Prizefighter tournament. This time it’s the return of the
Cruiserweights in what promises to be another exciting show brought to us by
Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promotions.
The format is simple; Eight fighters, seven fights, one
winner. The fights are based on three 3 minute rounds with the winner
progressing through each stage until ultimately being crowned Prizefighter
champion.
The contestants for this tournament are not short of talent
by any means. The 8 warriors who will step into the ring on Saturday night are
as follows;
Wadi “Machoman”
Camacho
Camacho, 27, is a seven fight pro boasting six wins in those
seven fights. Four of those fights he has won by KO. He has Only 1 defeat at
the hands of China Clarke in March this year and that fight was for the vacant
English cruiserweight title which Clarke took by stopping Camacho in round
seven. Camacho suffered a cut above the right eye in round one and was down in
the sixth. The 6ft 3 inch southpaw will provide plenty of food for thought for
his opponents, as southpaws so often do.
Nathan “The
Outlaw” Owens
Owens, 24, brings an impressive six fight record to the ring
with five wins and one draw. That draw, with Paul David, also came in March
this year. He has knocked two of his opponents out giving him. His most notable
victory came against the experienced Hastings Rasani in April 2012, beating him
on points over four 3 minute rounds.
Shane McPhilbin
McPhilbin, 27, has a fourteen fight record. He has notched
up eight victories with five of those victories coming by way of KO. He also
however has six defeats on his record too and has suffered one KO himself. He
has boxed some big names along the way including Michael Sprott, Enzo
Maccarinelli and more recently, John Lewis Dickinson for the vacant British
Cruiserweight Title. On all 3 occasions, McPhilbin was defeated.
Hari “H-Bomb”
Miles
Miles, 27, brings a record of seven wins and seven defeats
with him to the tournament. His last fight was against fellow Prizefighter
contender Wadi Camacho in August 2012 which he lost by stoppage in the seventh
round.
Conall Carmichael
Carmichael, 34, has only fought four times despite his
vintage. He has won all four of his fights, winning two within the distance by
KO. This gives him a KO percentage of 50% which on paper looks perhaps more
impressive than his record actually suggests. Activity, or lack of it, could
prove costly for Carmichael.
Tony “Conqueror”
Conquest
Conquest, 28, has a very impressive record of ten wins from
eleven pro fights, four by KO. He has lost only once to another of this year’s
Prizefighter contenders, Neil Dawson. That fight saw Dawson take the WBO
International Cruiserweight title away from Conquest by first round KO. It goes
without saying, Conquest will see this competition not only as a springboard
for his name to get back into the fray but also as an ideal opportunity to
inflict revenge upon Dawson.
Neil Dawson
Dawson, 32, has a record of twelve fights, eleven wins and
only one defeat. He has knocked out four of his opponents and suffered one
knock out himself at the hands of the talented Matty Askin. That fight was for
the vacant Central Area Cruiserweight Title in 2011. He bounced back a year
later with a win against Menay Edwards. This set him up for a shot at the afore
mentioned Tony Conquest in December 2012 where he snatched the WBO
International Cruiserweight title from Conquest.
Danny “The Big
Mac” McIntosh
McIntosh, 33, is stepping down from light-heavyweight for
this tournament. He has a record of seventeen fights, thirteen wins and four
defeats. Seven of his wins come by way of knockout and he has been KO’d himself
four times. Most notably in recent times, he was the stunning KO dished out to
him by light-heavyweight world title hopeful Tony Bellew in 2012. It’s worth
pointing out that his four defeats have come at the hands of Nathan Cleverly,
Eduard Gutknecht, Tony Bellew and Eleider Alvarez.
As you may have noticed, a lot of emphasis has been placed
on the contenders KO abilities, this is for one reason – the amount of money on
offer! Eddie Hearn offers a £2,000 bonus for each KO a fighter inflicts on
their opponent. Along with the overall £32,000 on offer for the winner,
essentially the victor could earn a tidy little sum of £38,000. This money
could be vital for any one of these fighters in order to financially assist
them in their career even further in the future.
The tournament rarely fails to deliver and offers a lot of
“tear up” style action which always pleases the adoring audiences. Speaking of
which, with the tournament being held in the prestigious York Hall in Bethnal
Green, there promises to be a collesium type atmosphere as always which I’m
sure will urge these 8 warriors on even more.
My ones to watch, in my own personal opinion of course,
would be Camacho, Dawson, Conquest and McIntosh. I personally feel that it
could be a night for Wadi Camacho to celebrate, however as always in boxing –
especially the way some of these fella’s punch – the prize is literally there for
the taking.
Either way, prepare yourself for a show. From my own
experience of watching, Prizefighter never fails to deliver.
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