Thrilling Prizefighter Cruiserweights event lives up to the hype - 20/05/2009
THE seventh Prizefighter series event was billed as the best yet – and the action lived up to the hype.
A packed crowd at the Earl’s Court in London were treated to seven thrilling fights – three of which finished inside the distance – with boxers hitting the canvas six times, more than in any previous Prizefighter.
Ovill McKenzie eventually triumphed after an action-packed three hours with all the action screened live on Sky Sports
Here is a fight-by-fight report of all the action.
FINAL – OVILL McKENZIE BEAT JOHN KEETON – PTS – 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.
Both had showed their heart and skill in reaching the final. McKenzie started well in the final and instantly took control, peppering Keeton with shots to the head and at the end of the first round McKenzie had landed 15 shots compared to only three from Keeton. 
Ovill McKenzie takes control in the final
But the fighter known as ‘Buster’ refused to give up and was working hard with a dogged, gritty performance, similar to his previous efforts throughout the night. McKenzie though was proving too good and a lovely shot to the head in the dying seconds of the second showed the difference between the two.
Keeton had to step up his performance in the last and, although he threw everything into it, never really had McKenzie in trouble. The man from Derby continued to find the target and left Keeton struggling to see out his bruised eye. Keeton deserved to hear the final bell and did so but it was no surprise when McKenzie’s arm was raised and he was declared Prizefighter Cruiserweights Champion.
SEMI-FINAL 2 – OVILL McKENZIE BEAT DARREN CORBETT – RSF ROUND 2.
Darren Corbett made a bad start to the second semi-final as he appeared to slip while entering the ring and it looked as if he hurt his leg.
The opening round was a bit scrappy as referee Ritchie Davies warned both boxers for hitting the back of the head with neither fighter landing much in a round that would’ve been tough to score.
But the action sprung into life in the second as a big left from Corbett to McKenzie’s body was followed by two to the head from the Derby man.
Corbett tried switch-hitting to confuse McKenzie but it was not a successful tactic as a big left hook sent the Irishman down.
He got up but McKenzie, sensing victory, threw a massive over-hand right before a powerful left, right, right combination to Corbett’s head saw the fight stopped, although Corbett was furious with the stoppage after two minutes 33 seconds of the third round.
SEMI-FINAL 1 – JOHN KEETON BEAT DEAN FRANCIS – KO ROUND 1.
Tournament favourite Dean Francis had looked in superb form in his opening victory against Neil Simpson and Francis was priced at a clear 1/9 on favourite to advance to the final. 
Dean Francis is counted out against John Keeton. Picture: Lawrence Lustig
Indeed, in the opening seconds it looked as if Keeton would have a tough task as Francis danced around the ring. But then Keeton caught Francis on the top of the head with a chopping shot and Francis crashed down. He managed to continue but had not cleared his head and was floored again soon after with another shot to the head, this time just over the ear.
This time he could not get up as Keeton secured his place in the final with one of the biggest shock victories in Prizefighter history. Francis had landed with six punches and Keeton had only landed with three, but two sent his opponent to the deck.
“I felt good, I couldn’t believe it,” said Keeton. “I was listening to my stablemate Junior Witter and he was saying ‘right hand, right hand’.
“Dom Ingle has me in fantastic shape – it’s unbelievable. I’ve just beaten Dean Francis. Unbelievable!”
QUARTER-FINAL 4 – DARREN CORBETT BEAT MICKY STEEDS – PTS – 29-26, 30-27, 30-27
Both fighters had a large following at the Earl’s Court and this fight had always promised to be a cracking encounter. It was.
Both came out swinging in the opening seconds but Steeds, looking to attack, got caught with a left and was down, slumped into the ropes.
Steeds continued but was taking a lot of punishment from Corbett, who even managed to do some showboating as he was spinning his arm around before throwing the punch. Steeds came back into it in the later stages of the opener but Corbett, who had landed 16 punches compared to nine from Steeds in the opening three minutes, knew he had made a good start.
Corbett continued his good work at the start of the second by boxing beautifully but Steeds was not going out without a fight as he landed a big right to Corbett’s head with one of the best punches of the night.
In the third Corbett was warned by the referee by constantly talking and taunting Steeds, although it made little difference as he was given a convincing points decision by all three judges.
However, despite the big victory, Corbett was unhappy with his performance. He said: “I’m here to win but I just did everything wrong in that fight. It was a pity the knockdown came to early but I can box better. I like the big punchers and I’ve just beaten the youngest fighter here.”
QUARTER-FINAL 3: OVILL McKENZIE BEAT TERRY DUNSTAN – PTS – 30-25, 28-27, 29-28.
Terry Dunstan, a former IBF world title challenger, was second favourite to win Prizefighter, while Ovill McKenzie had come in as a late replacement for the injured Mark Krence.
But the fight did not go as expected as McKenzie quickly made his mark with two sustained bouts of pressure in the opener. A powerful staight left from Dunstan in the early stages of the second connected and the round seemed quite close before a short right from McKenzie saw Dunstan down on the canvas.
He got up although McKenzie immediately jumped on him looking to finish the job off in the second, which he could not do.
Dunstan needed something special in the third and went for it as the last round standing in frantic fashion, much to the delight of the capacity crowd. McKenzie was now on the back foot and trying to stay out of trouble as Dunstan was reduced to wild swings as he looked for the knockout that did not materalise. There was a contrast in scoring as one judge gave it to McKenzie by 30-25 but the other two had it much closer and scored it 28-27 and 28.
“I’m going all the way, 100 per cent,” said a confident McKenzie after the fight.
QUARTER-FINAL 2: JOHN KEETON BEAT BRUCE SCOTT – PTS – 29-28, 29-28, 28-27
A powerful left-right combination from Scott set the tone for a thrilling clash but a crucial point came when Keeton landed with an uppercut before a quick barrage of punches left Scott down. However, Scott felt he had been bundled to the floor instead of it being a clean punch.
But the punishment he had taken in the build-up to the knockdown saw Scott on unstable legs throughout the rest of the first round and needing time to clear his head.
The second round again highlighted why Prizefighter is becoming so popular with fight fans as Scott had great success with his right uppercuts while Keeton was effective with his little jabs. A total of 22 shots were landed in a thrilling three minutes, with 16 of them being thrown by Scott.
Both fighters continued to entertain in the third and Scott, showing a lot of heart to come back from his earlier knockdown, gave 100 per cent looking for victory. But Keeton, who was celebrating his 37th birthday, showed how durable, gritty and tough he was as he clinched a narrow points victory.
“I don’t get warmed up for three or four rounds but now I’m ready,” warned Keeton.
QUARTER-FINAL 1: DEAN FRANCIS BEAT NEIL SIMPSON – RSF R3
Both fighters had said Prizefighter was a make or break night for their careers and Simpson looked fired up. However, he was the massive underdog against the tournament favourite Francis, who showed why the bookmakers held him in such high regard by instantly taking control.
A left hook from Francis connected inside the opening ten seconds before a beautiful jumping left hook soon after also found his target as Simpson was stuglling to catch his much quicker. Simpson’s nose was bleeding by the end of the first and Francis did not let up in the second as another left hook rocked Simpson’s head back. Francis was gaining confidence and starting to land combinations as Simpson appeared to be getting caught every time he attacked.
In the third Francis stepped up the pressure looking to finish the job inside the distance. He did just that with a left hook and an uppercut as referee Phil Edwards stepped in, although Simpson was unhappy he had done so.
Francis had produced one of the most impressive performances seen in any of the Prizefighter competitions.
“I went in there wanting to do exactly what I did so for me it was a great fight,” said Francis.
Ovill McKenzie floors Darren Corbett. Picture: Lawrence Lustig
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