By Oli Smith

As each Prizefighter competition passes it does so with a mix of controversy and excitement. For many, the one night knock out tournament isn’t “pure”. The fights are sprints over a three round distance; often meaning those involved will abandon their styles in favour of accumulating rounds with eye catching flurries and quick bursts of activity, not unlike the amateur sport. Work rate is the main ingredient for victory. It is with this in mind that Gavin Rees entered the tournament as favourite to pick up the cheque at the end.

As the only World Champion to take part in the Prizefighter events so far, Rees certainly had the most to live up to and as was proved by Audley Harrison in the previous tournament at Heavyweight, the best fighter usually emerges victorious.

Whilst the pedigree lies decidedly in the Rees camp, no-one could argue that there was an easy route to the final; both Colin Lynes and Jason Cook are former European champions, Young Mutley put the first loss on Michael Jennings ledger on his way to the British Welterweight title and lost out to the aforementioned Lynes for European honours. Add in some real domestic contenders and this Prizefighter had the makings of the best one yet.

Jason Cook Vs Michael Grant

The first scheduled fight of the evening pitted the former European champion Jason Cook against the only undefeated boxer in the competition; Michael Grant. Cook entered the ring tonight just one fight removed from a four year layoff that many thought would be too much for him to surmount. Instead the veteran turned back the clock against the young prospect, he imposed his style on Grant, sometimes making for ugly tussles, one of which lead to a nasty gash opening above Grant’s left eye. Both men visited the canvas on more than one occasion, though not from the other man’s punches. Feet tussled, breaks were messy but ultimately Cook imposed his will on the slick, younger fighter. With less than a minute to go in the final round, the referee called a halt to the action as Grant’s team were unable to stem the flow of blood – meaning Cook could progress into the semi-final and had registered the first loss of his opponent’s professional career.

Ted Bami Vs Gavin Rees

In the night’s most anticipated quarter final bout, former World champion Gavin Rees was matched against another former European title holder; Ted Bami. Rees had taken nearly 18 months off after his battering at the hands of Andriy Kotelnik, returning in August to dominate Johnny Greaves – a man who had no business in the same ring as Rees. Still, it enabled him to shake off the ring rust as he was matched hard against Bami, one of the other tournament favourites. Rees was in no mood to be upset however and took to the task with relative ease. Dispite giving away both height and reach to Bami, Rees was able to get off with his shots first and worked tenaciously on the inside, throwing flurries to the body before landing chopping hooks upstairs. Bami attempted to control distance with the jab but was unable to stop the momentum once Rees was in his stride. The fight was spoiled somewhat by a messy third round as each man held on and didn’t allow any space for the other to work. Scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in favour of Gavin Rees saw him comfortably into the Semi-finals.

Colin Lynes Vs David Barnes

Next up was the other tournament favourite, a close second behind Rees; Colin Lynes. In taking on David Barnes, a dangerous two weight domestic champion, Lynes hoped to break a three fight losing streak that had started with Gianluca Branco for the European title and included a split decision loss to Souleymane M’Baye, again for the European title. Barnes entered the ring confident of victory and Lynes did his level best to beat it out of him. Though boasting an impressive record of 24-1-1, Barnes had never faced anyone of the same calibre as Lynes, who really hit his stride with short flurries on this inside and snapping punches on the outside. Barnes attempted to utilise the jab but didn’t throw it effectively, without any pop Barnes’ jab was no deterrent to Lynes who simply walked through it to land his own bigger, more eye catching shots. Barnes woke up a bit in the last round, landing a straight left to start and had the fight been longer than three rounds, he may have been able to make it more competitive. A split decision was read out in favour of Lynes; 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, deservedly winning with his sharper and more effective work.

Young Mutley Vs Barrie Jones

The last quarter final pitted the ever entertaining wildcard Young Mutley against Welsh contender Barrie Jones. Mutley has often been the perennial underdog, but those who underestimate him do so at their peril. At 33 years old it seemed he was on the slide after a KO loss Mihaita Mutu, his first opponent this evening has been matched tough most of his career coming up short against the excellent Kell Brook and latterly Souleymane M’Baye. The first round was closely contested as each man waited for the other to take turns as the aggressor, it was clear Mutley had the greater power and in the second round a perfectly timed left hook caught Jones way off balance and sent him reeling across the ring. Jones finally settled into the fight in the last round and dominated as Mutley changed tactics and went defensive. Jones however had left it too late to cause a serious problem and unanimous scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 were read out in favour of Mutley.

Jason Cook Vs Gavin Rees

The first semi-final was an all Welsh affair, both men cruised through their opening bouts; the winner of this match would likely enter the final as clear favourite for the competition. Starting as he left off in the previous bout, Rees was a whirlwind of activity, landing short flurries when up close and doubling up on the jab to give Cook an extra dimension to deal with. The gulf in class was quite apparent as Cook, a top domestic fighter, was run ragged by Rees, the former World champion. Both men came out all guns blazing in the second round but it was Rees who struck gold, a chopping left hand caught Cook right on the button, as the full force made its way through his body, first the knees wobbled, then his legs sagged and gravity took care of the rest. Cook rose at the count of seven and looked disgusted with himself. Knowing his tournament was all but over he gave it one last shot in the third round, only to come up short as Gavin Rees really started to hit his stride. Scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 were turned in in favour of Rees who booked his place as the first finalist.

Colin Lynes Vs Young Mutley

The second semi-final was in fact a replay of the July 2007 fight between Lynes and Mutley in which Lynes dominated and stopped the tough veteran in eight rounds for the European and British Light Welterweight titles. During the first round of tonight’s contest, Young Mutley seemed destined to even the score as he caught Lynes flush and countered him at will. Colin Lynes managed to find another gear in the second round and looked to turn the tables; he bullied his former foe back up against the ropes and actively sought to engage Mutley whenever possible. A controversial knockdown in the final round effectively ended Mutley’s chances of taking the victory. Though he protested vehemently, what was done was done and with just seconds to go in the round he wasn’t able to avenge the knockdown. Another split decision was read out, again for Lynes, who progressed to the final thanks to scores reading 30-27, 28-29, 30-27.

Gavin Rees Vs Colin Lynes – Final

And so the two tournament favourites met in the final. Lynes has never been an easy fight for anyone, tonight he had used work rate effectively to seal victories over his two adversaries. Rees had the gift of a longer recuperation period for the final bout, which was certainly a blessing for the man who had gassed badly against Kotelnik.  Like Lynes, he had also used his superior work rate and fitness to ensure victory in the preceding rounds. This time however, Lynes was unable to get into his rhythm. Rees once again proved that he was a cut above the domestic scene, this time in even more decisive fashion. He mauled Lynes from round two onwards, the crowd rose expectantly as he accelerated through the gears. It was to Colin Lynes credit that he managed to stay competitive enough not to be stopped. The third round provided numerous highlight reel tradeoffs as both men stood toe to toe and duked it out. Rees sealed the victory with scores that read 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.

Colin Lynes did nothing to hurt his stature with the loss; he remained competitive and has really put himself back in the domestic picture. Rees entered the competition with the pressure of expectation upon his shoulders. He handled that pressure supremely well and showed assets from his arsenal which will serve him well at European level and perhaps beyond. Tonight he demonstrated excellent hand speed when used in conjunction with his better than average reflexes. He showed that although he will give away height and reach in most instances, he is able to impose his style on others. Most of all, he didn’t show any hint of the vulnerability to the over hand right which Kotelnik peppered him with – the punch which cost him his World title – instead his defence was tight, his punch resistance was good and he proved he can still bang if needed.

Although the competition was far from elite tonight, Rees gave a good enough account of himself to realistically see him going beyond European level. How he fairs when he gets there is an answer that I for one am eagerly anticipating.