Prizefighter reaches new success!

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Last night (May 5th) the only recently created tournament Prizefighter reached a new success and a huge increase in popularity. It was the largest ever crowd for a Prizefighter tournament with over 4,000 fans crammed into the Kings Hall in Belfast.

The all-Irish tournament started off with an all-out brawl between the two favourites Eamonn O'Kane and Anthony Fitzgerald. O'Kane won the fight by two rounds to one and the crowd was already going crazy after just one out of eight fights. Ryan Greenem JJ McDonagh and Joe Rea were the three other fighters to join the tournament favourite Eamonn O'Kane in the semi-final.

After all four quarter finals the odds had changed dramatically, with O'Kane and JJ McDonagh both heavy favourites whilst Greene and Rea had odds of 17/1 and 6/1.

The first semi-final was between only two undefeated fighters of the tournament (O'Kane and Green) and someone's '0' had to go. O'Kane proved to be too strong for an overwhelmed Greene who was stopped by the referee late into the first round. The second semi-final was a little closer but McDonagh was still the clear winner as Rea just simply didn't do enough to persuade the judges.

The final was set up to be one of the best in the tournament's history but it just ended up very scrappy as both fighters were extremely tired and didn't have the energy to fight in the way that they usually do. O'Kane did just enough to get the result and became the first Prizefighter middleweight champion.

Corley hurt McCloskey on many occasions.

In the main event between Paul McCloskey and Demarcus Corley we saw one of the upsets of the year. It was set out to be a routine victory for McCloskey as he was facing a 'has-been' fighter. However, it was very different to how everyone had planned. Corley came out and outclassed 'Dudey' in the first few rounds but he did start to slow in the mid-stage of the fight. But, then to everybody's surprise, Corley threw a devastating right hand that made McCloskey shake from head to toe which caused the referee to step in and stop the contest.

I hate to say it but this has most likely ended any chances of McCloskey becoming a world contender as Corley is well past his best and is nothing compared to the big guys in the division such as Amir Khan, Juan Manuel Marquez and Lamont Peterson

Advertising scan on O'Kane's pants!

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Irish Prizefighter contender Eamonn O'Kane will trial a new marketing technique that encourages punters to sacn his crotch at the weigh-in for the tournament in Belfast on Saturday.

This has never been seen before as far as I know. O'Kane will weigh in wearing specially designed boxers by the event sponsors BetFair. The smalls boast a QR code on the front of the pants, which when photographed by a smartphone takes you straight to the boxing betting markets on Betafir.

"I’ve never thought of myself as an underwear model, but maybe I could have a second career when I retire from boxing," said the tournament favourite Eamonn O'Kane.

This is what BetFair's Alex Bake had to say about the new advertising technique: "The weigh-in is an important part of any fight and, from a betting perspective, will have an impact on our exchange prices. As the early favourite for the Middleweights crown all eyes will be on Eamonn, so any punter wanting to place a bet need just scan his pants." 

This advertising scheme has never been used in the world of boxing but it has been used in other sports. Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin had the QR code printed on their bikini bottoms at the beach volleyball championships.