By Ben Carey
Darlington’s unbeaten heavyweight prospect Chris Burton is a clear favourite to win the second Heavyweight Prizefighter Series in Newcastle on Friday night after the draw could bring him face-to-face with two fighters he has already beaten.
Burton will face rank tournament outsider Dave Ingleby in the quarter-finals with the confidence of having stopped Ingleby in three rounds on his pro debut. Should Burton prevail, as is widely expected, he will meet the winner of Lee Swaby versus Darren Morgan in the second semi-final pairing.
Picking a winner between the big-hitting, barrel-chested Morgan and the fleet-footed Swaby isn’t easy. Both men are on losing runs but are more than capable of springing an upset. Welshman Morgan’s power poses a serious threat to any of his seven tournament rivals, as proven when he almost took out beaten finalist David Dolan in April’s inaugural Prizefighter competition. The question is, does Morgan possess the speed and the fitness levels to land one of his bombs to carry him to victory three times in one evening?
Slick southpaw Swaby has the skills to keep Morgan at bay for the contest’s three-three minute round duration but the former two-time British cruiserweight title challenger will concede nearly three stone in weight to the marauding Morgan. Much will depend on Swaby’s mental approach. The Lincoln man does have a habit of retreating into his defensive shell and folding under pressure. It’s imperative that he uses the full width of the ring to outspeed Morgan to fiddle his way to a points win.
Whoever triumphs between Morgan and Swaby, both will fancy their chances of upsetting Burton in the semi. If the betting favourite has a weakness it’s his lack of attention to his defence and a possibly questionable chin. This was highlighted in Burton’s last contest which ironically was against Swaby in May. Despite winning a clear eight-round points win, flooring Swaby in round x, Burton himself was shaken on more than one occasion.
Against a bigger hitter, Burton’s defensive limitations could be exposed. It will be interesting to see if the often cautious Swaby goes after Burton from the start armed with the knowledge that he can hurt him. The free swinging Morgan will need no such invitation should he overcome Swaby.
The second half of the Prizefighter quarter-final draw is equally intriguing. The evening’s opening contest between Sam Sexton and Pele Reid could be the fight of the night. Both men are coming off stoppage losses to Derek Chisora and John McDermott respectively. Pele has the power to trouble any heavyweight in Britain and the upright Sexton looks uncomfortable when backed up. Unfortunately for Reid, his unreliable chin and lack of survival instincts nearly always let him down when it matters. Sexton doesn’t seem to possess a dig of note but works well behind the jab and can box at a decent pace. It’s conceivable that both men could hit the deck in this one.
If Sexton is gunshy following his setback to Chisora he could play right into the dynamite fisted Reid’s hands. It’s important that he establishes the centre of the ring behind his jab and puts his punches together, as John McDermott did when overwhelming Reid in two rounds this summer. Tentatively, I think Sexton can come through, but not without a scare.
The second quarter-final pits local favourite and Prizefighter veteran (if you can call him that!) Dave Ferguson against late stand-in Luke Simpkin. Supported by a passionate Geordie following, the imposing Ferguson could go all the way. The big man already has the experience of competing under Prizefighter rules which saw him reach the semi-final last time where he lost on points to eventual winner Martin Rogan.
Ferguson will have considerable height and reach advantages over the smaller Simpkin but didn’t have everything his own way when outpointing the similarly disadvantaged Billy Bessey in the quarter-final of Prizefighter 1. In fact, Ferguson needed a first-round knockdown to seal a unanimous points win (29-28, 29-27 and 28-27) as Bessey came back into the fight after Ferguson punched himself out by going for the stoppage. Ferguson’s stamina, or lack of, contributed to his loss to Rogan who gave the big Geordie a working over to clinch a clear-cut points victory. Ferguson has vowed to be much fitter this time but I’m not sure he’s comfortable fighting at pace, let alone winning three fights in one night!
Little is expected of Simpkin, a late replacement for the perennially injured Ian Millarvie, but the Derbyshire journeyman is not to be discounted against Ferguson. Despite his size limitations, Simpkin does possess a decent engine and his fast start took Sam Sexton by surprise earlier in the year which saw Simpkin register a second round knockdown over the then unbeaten prospect. Sexton regrouped but was still battling for control when Simpkin was disappointingly stopped by a cut in round 5. Over the three-round distance Simpkin could prove a real handful for Ferguson. Home advantage could ultimately be the deciding factor in this one.
With little certainty, my semi-final line-up prediction is:
Sexton vs Ferguson
Burton vs Swaby
Sexton’s better handspeed, agility and stamina should be enough to overcome Ferguson who I suspect will be still fatigued following his duel with Simpkin. In the second-semi, Burton can repeat his points win over Lee Swaby though it will be most interesting if Darren Morgan lines-up in the opposite corner to the favourite.
My prediction for the final therefore is a clash between the tournament’s two heavyweight prospects, Sam Sexton and Chris Burton. I’m not going to go into depth to preview a contest that given Prizefighter’s wonderful unpredictability may not even happen. However, I think Burton will have a little too much for everyone, whoever he ends up facing tomorrow night.
Strong, mobile, fit with an impressive repertoire of punches, Burton has caught the eye in his short career to date. While his gaping defensive holes could prove his undoing, particularly in a tournament which encourages fighters to throw caution to the wind, I feel Burton will justify the bookies faith by winning the Prizefighter Heavyweights 2 competition and the £25,000 prize money to boot.
If you’re fancying the flutter, the odds, courtesy of SKY bet, are: 11/8 – Chris Burton, 7/2 – Sam Sexton and Pele Reid, 7/1 – David Ferguson, 10/1 – Lee Swaby, 12/1 – Darren Morgan, 16/1 – Luke Simpkin, 33/1 – David Ingleby.
