By Ben Carey
Coleman Barrett’s speed and southpaw stance saw him narrowly outpoint former British heavyweight champion Scott Gammer in a lacklustre opening to Prizefighter III in London tonight.
All three judges, Marcus McDonnell, Dave Parris and Terry O’Connor favoured the unbeaten Irishman by 29-28 on the scorecards after three tepid rounds. Barrett, whose odds of winning the tournament have been reduced to 12/1 down from 20/1 following a flood of money, began brightly, peppering the static Gammer with snappy one-twos from the southpaw stance in the opener.
Gammer, who lacked urgency and looked overweight, tried to press the action in round two and backed Barrett to the ropes but the Irishman easily evaded his sluggish shots. The fight was in the balance in the third and final round and could have gone either way. Barrett’s quicker handspeed and more eyecatching blows was enough for him to get the judges’ nods. Personally, I thought Gammer, despite unimpressing, had done enough to edge the fight as the majority of Barrett’s flicking punches were out of range.
Barrett will now meet the winner of Danny Williams and Carl Baker in the semi-final.
