By James Slater: Tonight in London, fans were treated to a good, pretty much all-action edition of “Prizefighter,” as the debut-making International Heavyweights installment of the tournament took place. As the odds-makers predicted, it was 25–year-old Cuban hope Mike Perez who pocketed the £32 grand prize money and the trophy to go along with it.
Now 16-0(12) and looking like a possible future world title challenger, maybe even world champion, the Cork, Ireland-based former amateur standout won the trophy with wins over: Kertson Manswell in his first fight (WU3), Gregory Tony in his second bout (TKO 1) and, in the final, Perez scored a quick 42-second TKO over the huge Tye Fields.
Southpaw Perez, who reminded the gutsy Fields of a young Mike Tyson, spoke after each successive victory about how he hoped his winning “Prizefighter” would open the doors for a world title shot. “The Rebel” is clearly thinking big, and who can blame him? We may have an up-and-coming big man who will have a genuine chance to become the next heavyweight star. Time will tell.
In tonight’s opening bout, Perez met the big but slow Manswell of Trinidad and Tobago. Perez jumped right on his man, landing a looping right hand to the head that staggered the older man. It was all Perez as he fired away with both hands. Manswell did well to survive the round.
Perez, possibly feeling a little tired, dropped his hands somewhat in the next two-rounds, content to jab and box his way to victory. In the end, it was a very wide, 30-25 (three times) decision for the Cuban defector.
In the second fight of the evening, the huge, 300-plus-pounds Evgeny Orlov of Russia met French champion Gregory Tony and we had the only controversy of the night. The man-mountain was clumsy, yet he appeared to do more work – even if many of his punches were of the wild-swing variety. But Tony was backing off all through the three-rounds and he was simply being outworked. Despite this, the Russian – who became something of a fan-favourite, winning over the crowd – went down to a split decision loss. The scores were 29-28 and 30-27 for Toney, 29-28 for Orlov. The crowd booed the verdict.
Fight three saw the best action of the night, as Britain’s Michael Sprott, a former winner of “Prizefighter,” met Canada’s gigantic Tye Fields. Fields attacked the body in the 1st-round, also using his underrated right jab to good effect. Sprott, so much the shorter man, was having trouble getting in close, but he did land a hard right hand to the head at the end of the opener.
The 2nd saw some real fireworks, as Sprott got inside and really went to work with both hands. Fields fired back at his man and the action was well received. Then a big left hand to the chin badly hurt Sprott, who wobbled all over the place for a few uncomfortable seconds. But then, as he was under fire, Sprott landed a left hand to the head and hurt “Big Sky.” Both guys were swinging shots now, until Fields went back to using his jab in the closing seconds of the round.
The third saw both guys chucking bombs, and Sprott again bullied his way in. Fields whacked him with stiff shots as his rival attacked, and the experienced Brit was forced to explode again – Fields was more than willing to trade. Fields finished the fight with a swelling at the side of his left eye but he had done enough according to the judges. Fields prevailed in a thriller via two scores of 29-28. Sprott got a 29-28 score on the third card.
Tonight’s fourth bout saw Romania’s Lucian Bot lose to German tough guy Konstantin Airich. A fast start by Airich surprised Bot and a left/right combo upstairs put the younger man down. Airich totally bossed the first three-minutes. The 2nd-round was way slower, and Bot came back into things as the German seemed to tire.
There was a good left hook to the chin from Bot in the 3rd, even though Airich was still the aggressor. Bot, possessing good boxing skills, was busier in this, the final round, but Airich had done enough earlier in the fight. Airich won via scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 30-28.
The fifth fight saw Perez make short work of Tony, as he simply tore through the man from France. A left hand, right hand combo to the head sent Tony down just seconds in, with neither shot appearing to land clean. Tony fell awkwardly and it was clear he’d hurt his left arm. Perez wasted no time in scoring a second knockdown, this time with a left hand to the head, and the ref dived in and stopped the one-sided affair at just 54-seconds.
Fields scored a quick, ultra-impressive win of his own in his semi-final, as he landed a smashing left hand body shot on Airich. On the ropes at the time, “Big Sky” uncorked a great shot that landed on the advancing German’s ribs. Down and in absolute agony on the canvas, Airich was never going to beat the count.
Then came the final between the two southpaws.
Fields, way more tired-looking and marked up than the Cuban, was caught early by a big right hand to the face. Stuck in a corner and under fire, the Canadian ate a left and three or four more rights upstairs, before the ref decided he’d seen enough.
Has Perez opened the doors he hoped he would with tonight’s tournament win? The 25-year-old is without doubt a heavyweight to keep an eye on!