The 28th edition of Prizefighter took place on the 19th January 2013, which saw eight boxers from across the U.K take part in the event at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton.
QUARTER-FINALS - Thompson vs Hunt : Eggington vs Evans : Gaynor vs Cooper : Foot vs Pearce
The first fight of the tournament was the first quarter-final which pitted 31-year old Rochdale born boxer Mark Thompson against 27-year old Stafford boxer Rob Hunt. Thompson was not only a heavy favourite to defeat Hunt he was the bookies favourite to win the tournament outright and the £32,000 top prize. Also, if any boxer successfully stops or knocks his opponent out before the end of a fight, he wins a bonus of £2,000!
In the first round, Thompson caught Hunt with a big left hand which rocked the Stafford boxer. It was an excellent round for Thompson and in the second things got better for him as he came out all guns blazing and caught Hunt with another big left hand which again rocked Hunt. It was one way traffic and was looking very bleak for the underdog. A clash of heads 0:29 seconds in to round 3 resulted in a bad cut for Hunt and this resulted in the referee having no alternative but to stop the contest after the doctor inspected the cut. Thompson was through.
The second quarter-final was a battle between two unbeaten boxers as 19-year old Birmingham lad Sam Eggington took on 21-year old Welshman Dale Evans
The opening round was terrific stuff. Both boxers were going toe to toe but Evans was getting the better of things and had Eggington holding on it seemed for dear life. Eggington responded well and came back at Evans. The Welshman took round 1. The first minute of the second round saw little action but from then on both boxers again went hell for leather and it was turning in to a mini classic. Evans won round 2, but it wasn't by much. More of the same in round 3 as both exchanged blow for blow and as the final bell sounded both boxers got a standing ovation from the crowd and boy, did they deserve it!
Eggington lost the fight and his unbeaten record after a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 unanimous decision verdict, but the 50/1 shot proved a much more difficult opponent to beat than what those odds suggested! This was one hell of a fight that you would not get bored of seeing again and again!
The third quarter-final was between unbeaten prospect Chad Gaynor of Rotherham against another unbeaten Brummie in Calum Cooper.
This was a complete mismatch. Gaynor simply could not miss the target in round 1 as he landed one big shot after another sending Cooper's head flying back. It looked at times like Cooper's head might actually take off in to orbit! Gaynor was the superior boxer and Cooper simply could not compete with him, but credit to him for standing his ground and not going down.
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James McKnight