Farrag to shock established names in Prizefighter

 

All eight competitors are confident

ONE of the most identifiable landmarks on the Merseyside landscape, the Liverpool Olympia, plays host to the 20th instalment of Matchroom’s one night eight man elimination tournament, Prizefighter, on Wednesday October 12. Sky Sports televise live.

The grand old theatre showcases the talents of the super flyweight division headed by British champion Lee Haskins 22-2 (11) and unbeaten English champion Craig Lyon 12-0 (4).  The line up, arguably the most competitive in the tournaments history, also includes former Commonwealth games gold medallist Don Broadhurst 11-2 (3), a pair of local fighters in the form of Mike Robinson 4-2  and Everton Red Triangle prospect Ryan Farrag 4-0, Usman Ahmed 6-4  and two unbeaten youngsters in Terry Broadbent 3-0 (2) and Nathan Reeve  4-0 (2).

Haskins, part of the Chris Sanigar stable of fighters in Bristol, is well aware of the pitfalls of entering a tournament such as this as a reigning domestic champion, but insists he has no choice due to the difficulty in finding an opponent to fight him.  “It’s good exposure and that’s why I’m in it” said Haskins.  “If I can beat three people on one night, it’s great, it’s better than one plus I’ve been struggling to get fights”.  On paper the awkward, sometimes difficult to watch Bristol puncher should start as the favourite, but he is more suited to championship distance fights and faces some tough opposition, notably in the form of 29-year-old English champion Craig Lyon from St Helens.  Unbeaten in 12, the former 2001 and 2003 ABA light flyweight champion comes into the tournament on the back of a technical draw with Josh Wale (Both fighters cut over left eye after clash of heads) at Bolton’s Reebok stadium in February in defence of his bantamweight title, but is in good form and trained by Oliver Harrison who has a terrific record in Prizefighters past, and has been heavily backed in the trade.  Another competitor gathering favour is 23-year-old Liverpool prospect Ryan Farrag who enters the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record, having done everything asked of him so far, and will have plenty of support on home soil.  Fellow unbeatens Nathan Reeve and Terry Broadbent are the youngest in the field at 21 and 22-years-old respectively, with both having inside the distance wins on their records and could be surprise packages. Birmingham’s 27-year-old Don Broadhurst can count himself lucky to get a slot in the tournament having lost quite convincingly to reserve Najah Alilast time out, but his boxing skills could see him trouble the betting favourites but I don’t expect him to be crowned champion when all is said and done. 

Internet sensation

Derby’s Usman Ahmed, knocked out spectacularly by English flyweight champion Ashley Sexton, says he is revelling in his underdog status and since linking up with the Ingles and working with a conditioner and nutritionist he feels strong at the weight and his all action style will suit the shorter distance “I’m probably the biggest name in it after the YouTube video” said Ahmed, referring to the Sexton KO which has become an internet sensation.  “It suits me because I like to throw lots of punches, hit and move and that will excite the fans”, “I use to give away lots of weight, Sexton outweighed me by over a stone but I’ve put on weight and feel strong”.  Whether he has recovered from that brutal knockout loss remains to be seen.  Local fighter Mike Robinson, involved in two close battles with the aforementioned Sexton likes to throw lots of punches and has a high work rate, but I’m sticking my head on the line and going for Ryan Farrag to pull off a shock in his home town and send the locals home happy.

The reserves, if called upon, are Dave Caldwell trained Najah Ali and former British champion Martin Power

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