Prizefighter Preview: The Super middleweights
It’s back again. Prizefighter’s are about as common as England World Cup excuses these days, but much more enjoyable. This one takes place on a Wednesday night as Barry Hearn has a crack at mid-week boxing, could be a good idea. Let’s take a look at the contenders.
Daniel Cadman Won 11 (3 by KO), Lost 4, Drawn 0
Prizefighter is a great platform for those who are seeking redemption. In the case of Daniel Cadman he is looking for a way back in, having spent three years away from the sport. His career was going well with 10-out-of-10 wins, before losing three of the next four and disappearing off the scene.
Cadman is a big guy for a super-middleweight and even claimed that he ballooned up to 16-stone while his career was on hiatus. He’s better in the shorter fights so the three round format will suit him, but “Mr Slick” isn’t a power puncher, despite his size and he will be looking to out-box his opposition.
Bookies are not favouring him at all, but he might be a half-decent outsider just on a bad run of form. Worryingly he looked very rusty in his comeback against Lee Duncan in November, but maybe he was just blowing off the cobwebs.
Paul David Won 10 (4 by KO), Lost 4, Drawn 0
A tall awkward customer Paul David is the current English champion and will be more than familiar to other competitors seeing as he has previous against Danny Cadman and Tony Salam who had to pull out at the last minute.
David can be a handful and is a classy skilled pugilist, but he does lack power with 10 of his 14 fights going the distance. He has a decent durable chin and none of the competitors will relish facing the English champ. He has to be one of the favourites and is on a run of five wins out of six, his only defeat on that run was to Tyrone Wright and was promptly avenged. Definitely one to watch in this competition.
Carl Drake Won 5 (4 by KO), Lost 5, Drawn 1
Very late replacement for Tony Salam who withdrew due to personal reasons. It will be gutting for Salam to have to withdraw as he was voted in X-factor style by the public and was one of the favourites to win.
Still Drake profits from Salam’s misfortune and is a sturdy if unspectacular fighter. At 35-years old he is now the oldest in the competition. Throughout his career Drake has fought boxers with decent records and been in the ring with the likes of Danny Butler and Carl Dilks. Should put up a decent fight, but not among the contenders.
Jeff Evans Won 3 (0 by KO), Lost 0, Drawn 0.
The biggest name of the tournament was Scouser Tony Quigley, who mysteriously pulled out of proceedings. So inexperienced Welshman Jeff Evans has stepped into the breach left by the former British champion.
Interestingly he is trained by Garry Lockett and so far his three fights against journeymen has equated to three wins on the cards, which tells you very little, but you would think he is mainly there to make up the numbers. However Prizefighter is a great launch-pad for a fighter such as this. An unknown quantity can often cause an upset; look at Jon Lewis Dickinson and Willie Casey. Evans will be dreaming of a similar Cinderella story.
Peter Fedorenko Won 5 (3 by KO), Lost 2, Drawn 0.
The flamboyantly surnamed Peter Fedorenko is a middleweight who is moving up to 154lbs for the first time. One of the elder statesmen of the competition at 32 but has only got seven pro fights under his belt.
That comes as a result of a ten year break between Dean Ashton and Wayne Reed who he fought and beat last September. What was Fedorenko doing in those ten years nobody knows, perhaps gearing himself up for a glorious Prizefighter?
The Sheffield fighter floored Reed in the fourth with a left right combination, but needs to roll back the years and prove that he’s still got it against some much younger and more experienced fighters. However he is one of the few fighters in this competition that can boast genuine power in his shots and once knocked out Mike Gormley in a single punch 16 seconds into a fight.
Sam Horton Won 15 (2 by KO), Lost 2, Drawn 0.
You may recall Sam Horton from the time he spent on the end of James DeGale’s gloves back in May. DeGale and Cello Renda are the only two fighters to have beaten him in his 17 fights, but most of the competitors he has fought sported losing records.
Horton showed heart against DeGale, but was technically lacking. He has quite fast hands and is not afraid to throw-out but he can leave himself open to big counters. “The Man” got bullied out of it by a far superior fighter against DeGale but will be better for the experience and it should serve him well in Prizefighter because he is one of the most experienced pugilists if you go by minutes spent in the ring.
Eddie McIntosh Won 10 (2 by KO), Lost 1, Drawn 0.
The name “Eddie McIntosh” does not exactly scream world championship boxer, more world champion train spotter, but the Brummie former British-masters champion boasts one of the better records in the competition.
It is a very misleading record though, every one of his fights was against proper journeymen with appalling records and yet he has still only scored 2 KO’s. Even his sole defeat, to late edition Carl Drake, came against a fighter with a 5-5 record.
McIntosh is a cerebral-boxer who will try and pick his and choose his shots, but may struggle with the pace put on by some of the more gung-ho fighters, which could lead to an early elimination.
Patrick Mendy Won 5 (0 by KO), Lost 4, Drawn. Total 9 fights.
Patrick Mendy joins the Prizefighter cast with the distinction of being the youngest competitor ever to take part. The 19-year old from Maidenhead doesn’t boast the finest record, but word is a couple of those results were unfairly given against him and another came against Kenny Anderson who is no slouch.
He’s got fast fists but can be erratic; control will duly come with experience though. His record suggests he hasn’t found that knockout power yet and he will need to summon some big shots from somewhere given these three round formats. He is certainly an energetic fighter who will always give 100% to the cause.
Mendy will be well aware that this is the perfect opportunity to establish himself and he has the energy to certainly make an impact on Prizefighter. His first clash with Sam Horton has the potential to be the key fight of the tournament.
Reserves:
Eder Kurti Won 10 (1 by KO), Lost 4, Drawn 0
Anthony Fitzgerald Won 7 (2 by KO), Lost 2, Drawn 0
Prediction: Paul David
This is an incredibly hard Prizefighter to call and has suffered from the fact that three of the bigger names in Quigley, Salam and Tony Dodson pulled out. We are left with quite an inexperienced field but a closer competition could make for a more exciting contest, such as the previous edition at super-bantamweight.
The key bout in the first round is the opener between Mendy and Horton which could go either way. Mendy is the most exciting youngster in the contest and Horton is one of the more experienced and better competitors, so it will be an interesting clash of styles. Whoever takes it should get through to the final, Mendy’s youthfulness and energy could just see him overcome Norton in a tight battle.
Elsewhere three-fight newcomer Evans will take heart in previous good performances put on by Welshmen and boxfresh-fighters, but might find himself lacking in power against Fedorenko. It’s David who they will all have their eyes on though. The English champion is on fine form and is an awkward slick customer who might be too tricky to get to grips with over three-rounds. He should find himself in the final and will be a hard one to stop.
Keep an eye on the reserves though. They have played major parts in all the last Prizefighters and could sneak in and nick the trophy on the sly.
Fixtures
Quarter-final one - Patrick Mendy v Sam Horton
Quarter-final two - Daniel Cadman v Eddie McIntosh
Quarter-final three - Jeff Evans v Peter Fedorenko
Quarter-final four – Carl Drake v Paul David
Semi-final one: Winner of Quarter-final one v Winner of Quarter-final two
Semi-final two: Winner of Quarter-final three v Winner of Quarter-final four
Tags: