Prizefighter Moves to Excel: Ticket Stampede Forces Venue Switch

Posted on | September 2, 2009 | No Comments

Wednesday 2nd September

THE HUGELY successful Prizefighter event, scheduled for Friday 2nd October and featuring the cream of British heavyweights, will now take place at ExCel, London following unprecedented demand for tickets.

Originally slated for the York Hall, Bethnal Green, the competition featuring the likes of Danny Williams, Audley Harrison and Michael Sprott, sold out its 1,100 capacity within 48 hours of going on sale. In addition a waiting list has been created running into several hundred.

With a total of seven 3 x 3 minute round fights, Prizefighter’s explosive all-in-one-night concept goes from strength to strength, with Heavyweights III featuring some of British boxing’s biggest names.

There is £32,000 out of a total purse of £80,000 going to the winner as well as a glorious opportunity to use Prizefighter as a launch pad for a world title shot.

“We felt that a sold out York Hall would create a superb atmosphere for what is the most high profile Prizefighter yet, but with the unprecedented demand it was only fair to give everyone a chance to be at what will be boxing’s night of the year” said promoter Barry Hearn.

“We’re looking to go up to 5,000 seats at the ExCel and with the way tickets have been flying out the door, I am anticipating a sell-out.”

Taking part in Prizefighter are Danny Williams, Audley Harrison, Michael Sprott, Scott Gammer, Michael Holden, Coleman Barrett, Danny Hughes and Scott Belshaw.

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,100 hours of original programming across a range of nine sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, Prizefighter is the latest exciting initiative from the company that has been promoting British, European and World title fights for over 20 years.

Tickets cost £40 and £80 and are available from Matchroom Sport on +44 1277 359900.

THE EIGHT PRIZEFIGHTER CONTENDERS
Name: Danny Williams
Age: 36
Home town: Brixton, London
Professional record: W41 (31 by KO), L7, D0, No Contest 1. Total 49 fights
Achievement: Current British Champion, fought for WBC title, defeated Mike Tyson

Name: Michael Sprott
Age: 34
Home town: Reading
Professional record: W31 (16 by KO), L14, D0. Total 45 fights
Achievement: Former British Champion

Name: Audley Harrison
Age: 37
Home town: London / Las Vegas
Professional record: W23 (17 by KO), L4, D0. Total 27 fights
Achievement: Olympic Games gold medalist

Name: Scott Gammer
Age: 32
Home town: Pembroke, Wales
Professional record: 18 (9 by KO), L4, D1. Total 23 fights
Achievement: Former British Champion

Name: Michael Holden
Age: 41
Home town: Manchester
Professional record: W10 (6 by KO), L9, D0. Total 19 fights
Achievement: Former British Champion

Name: Scott Belshaw
Age: 24
Home town: Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Professional record: W10 (7 by KO), L2, D0. Total 12 fights
Achievement: Former Irish Amateur Champion

Name: Coleman Barrett
Age: 26
Home town: Galway, Ireland
Professional record: W8 (2 by KO), L0, D0. Total: 8 fights
Achievement: Undefeated

Name: Danny Hughes
Age: 23
Home town: Sunderland
Professional record: W6 (1 by KO), L0, D1. Total 7 fights
Achievement: Undefeated

NOTES ABOUT PRIZEFIGHTER

– Eight competitors in the same weight fight in four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final with all the action happening in one exciting night of boxing.

– Each contest lasts a maximum of three rounds with standard boxing rules applied.

– If there has not been a knockout or stoppage then the winner will be decided by three scoring judges at ringside.

– The winner of Prizefighter – Heavyweights III will receive £32,000, the runner-up gets £16,000, losing semi-finalists receive £8,000 and beaten quarter-finalists collect £4,000. The total prize fund is £80,000 – £11,000 more than for previous Prizefighter tournaments.

– A draw will be held before the event to find out which boxers will fight each other in the four quarter-finals.

– This will be the eighth Prizefighter competition. The first – Heavyweights I – was held in April 2008. The others staged were Heavyweights II (September), Welterweights (October), Middleweights (November), Light-heavyweights (February), Lightweights (March) and Cruiserweights (May)

The event website is www.theprizefighterseries.com

From left to right – Danny Williams, Michael Sprott, Michael Holden, Audley Harrison, Scott Belshaw, Danny Hughes, Scott Gammer and Coleman Barrett with the Prizefighter trophy.