York Hall on a Friday night is hardly the sort of place you would expect to find royalty, yet a prince made his presence felt with a display of regal boxing. The unfancied Prince Arron took home the Prizefighter spoils, beating Brett Flournoy in a tight final.
Prince Arron struggled to make the weight, only losing the extra pound and a bit an hour before the cut-off point, yet the lanky 22-year-old made his extra inches count as all the other fighters struggled to deal with his long reach. He has a fighting style similar to an aggressive stick insect and the 6ft 3inch pugilist caused all manner of problems with his awkward stance. Previously it has been said that Arron hasn’t utilised his frame to maximum effect, however he seemed a much more rounded fighter on Friday night.
It was quite a tame Prizefighter in terms of the fighting, only one knockdown came all night, but the drama of the elimination lent a degree of excitement to proceedings. The three-round bouts leave the fighters little time to build any sort of rhythm and all the fights went to the cards.
Aaron got himself off to the ideal start by trouncing the rank outsider George Hillyard in the first quarter-final. Hillyard was outclassed by Arron’s technique; he failed to cope with the long jab of the gangly Droylsden fighter and found that there was nowhere to run in what was a relatively small ring.
Meanwhile the two favourites Bradley Pryce and Neil Sinclair met up in one of the other quarter-finals, with Sinclair crashing out on points. The two contested a ferocious match; Pryce was looking for revenge over the former British welterweight champion following their last meeting in 2003. Pryce looked on good form against Sinclair and the Irishman received a cut to his left eye from an accidental clash of heads that ultimately curtailed his chances.
Perhaps Pryce put too much work in against Sinclair as he looked very weary in his semi-final bout against Arron. Pryce moved around the ring much slower than he did against Sinclair, leaving Arron the opportunity to pick him off from afar.
Meanwhile dark-horse Flournoy was making a stealth-like journey to the final. The Birkenhead fighter beat Danny Butler comprehensively in the opening match setting the tone for the rest of his tournament. Butler is no tomato-can but Flournoy made light work of the Bristolian. Flournoy is known as “The Soul” and he showed plenty of spirit in his semi-final matches up with Steve O’Meara, just nicking the points victory in a tight match.
The final saw Arron and Flournoy cagily go at each other, Arron as ever looking to extend his jab, keeping Flournoy at arm’s length at all times. Flournoy kept moving about trying to find an angle but could never get the combinations going. The pair circled each other for the first two rounds before Arron found a way round Flournoy’s defence in the third and unleashed a flurry of shots that forced The Soul down to the ground. In the closing moments Flournoy desperately tried to equal the knockdown but it was too late and the trophy went to Prnce Arron.
Talk of crowning Arron as the next big thing to come out of British boxing might be premature, but it’s clear that he has improved. He now uses his full frame to his advantage and looks more comfortable in the ring. His height is so awkward in this weight class but in truth he should be looking to move up a division as he will continue to struggle to make the weigh-in at light-middle.
It wasn’t a proper coronation, but there is a good chance this Prince could go on to become a king.
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