By Mike Lister: On another dreary night on Saturday in Manchester as one star was failing another was born in a modern Cinderella story, Breidis Prescott an unknown Columbian fighter sent ripples through not only the boxing world but making the front and back pages of every major newspaper in Britain after his annihilation of Amir Khan, Britain’s golden boy and one of the hottest young boxers in the game.
Much has been said about Khan and his abilities as a world class fighter since Saturday night in both the rags and hotly debated forums but what about the man who arguably has made the biggest impact in British boxing in under a minute? Born in Barranquillaman Colombia, Breidis Prescott was given a once in a lifetime opportunity leapfrogging a long cue of well established and deserving British pugs for a shot at the boy who was heir apparent to Calzaghe and Hatton.
On receiving the news of the match up Boxing forums were awash with comments asking who was Prescott and countless searched on youtube were made to catch a glimpse of him in action to no avail. Boasting a stellar record of 19-0 with 17 ko’s against very limited opposition, the general assumption was he was just another South American fighter spoon fed a plethora of obscure opponents. In an area of the world where crime and poverty are rife a lot of opponents were probably fighting for the next days meal. However, one thing was over looked, yes, his opposition was limited, but he did what was asked of him and did it in concussive style.
In the an interview leading up the fight Prescott said “Colombia is a very hard place to live, and I’ve had to fight all my life just to survive. I’ve got the toughness to survive. In Colombia you’ve got to go through gangs shooting at each other just to get into the gym and train and then you have to get home. I’ve had to learn boxing the hard way has Khan ever seen anything like this? Khan gets paid a fortune and lives a life of luxury in the UK, and I will prove that he is nothing but a pampered baby” This was highlighted when a TV crew from Sky Sports got in a taxi to see Prescott in action in his gym the taxi driver refused to take them as that area was just too dangerous. After eventually making it to the Gym former home to former world champion & top contender Ricardo Torres, Prescott showed the crew from sky sports his living accommodation above the gym which he shared with three other fighters which just consisted of a just a three old beds. A far cry from the celebrity life style led by Khan.
Leading up to the fight, Prescott was literally living and breathing boxing and it was becoming clear this really was becoming a Rocky Balboa Vs Apollo Creed match up. To Khan this was about his debut on PPV and his main concern seemed to be giving the fans a show, for Prescott as he has been quoted “this is a chance to make a name for myself and get a world title shot and all that it brings” With ten weeks preparation for the fight this hungry determined fighter was not going to be denied.
The Big question now is what happens next. If Breidis Prescott is the Cinderella man of fighting then Frank Warren is the Cinderella man of promoting. A man who has been knocked down more times than Rocky to get back up and successfully defend his undisputed crown as Britain’s and arguably Europe’s greatest promoter might have inadvertently got himself out of another tight spot. At first glance it would appear with so many of his former fighters having left his stable to start up there own promotional outfits and his only marquee star just being knocked out in under a minute in a huge twist of irony after drawing a fare amount of critics from both the press and fans on various forums for matching khan in effectively a non title fight against a unknown opponent on pay per view he has received exposure he couldn’t have wish dreamed of.
After building up his fighter up on ITV, Warren made the huge leap not just to Sky but to PPV and not just the fight fans but the general public will be more interested in Khan’s next fight, even if it is in a negative view than had he won in 54 seconds. Rumors are awash Warren (and being astute as he is) had promotional options included into the contract should Prescott win, now finds himself with potentially the hottest freshest prospect in a division filled to the brim with talent such as Pacquiao, Campbell, Valero, Juan Diaz, Marquez, Katsidis, Barrios and Casamayor to name a few. After investing a huge amount of time, money and resources on the 21 year-old Khan, although far from finished for at least a good time to come or till at least a rematch comes, which won’t be anytime soon, how does Warren match Prescott without risking the wrath of Khan? Warren can’t simply put Prescott in Khans shoes now and give him the fights intended for Khan, can he? How Warren can progress the two fighters and keep them both happy might be one of the biggest challenges of Warren’s career and will have to draw on his hall of fame experience to resolve this.
Prescott probably earned a minimal amount when he stole the show on Khans big PPV debut. However, big pay days now await him that can allow him and his family to move out of the slums and like Cinderella live happily ever after.