Eye on the prize

Adam Smith reflects on Prizefighter and wonders if one more title shot can reignite Michael Gomez.

Gomez out to repeat his most famous victory in Glasgow

It's been a busy boxing week north of the border! The Kelvin Hall staged its first Prizefighter - the eight man knock-out tournament that has seen Martin Rogan, Sam Sexton, Michael Lomax, Martin Murray and Tony Oakey each capture the trophy and collect an appetising £25,000 prize. On paper 'The Lightweights' seemed one of the more competitive mixes as four unbeaten hopes put their records on the line, a couple of aggressive brawlers looked set to liven up proceedings, and added spice had been dished up by a draw featuring 'Scotland v England' across the board. There was a decent atmosphere for a cold and wet Tuesday night in Glasgow, many tickets having been sold personally by Clydebank's talented Gary McArthur. I had a sneaky feeling that the bookmakers had got the odds wrong on Gary too - he was a 7-1 outsider. I thought he, along with Liverpool's prestigious amateur Stephen Burke, had the best chance. It was another Scot Ryan Brawley who had long been the favourite. The baby of the bunch at 23, Brawley's technical skills are well-known, and he had done everything asked of him in amassing a 9-0 slate. Yet Brawley had suffered from injuries, inactivity and even nerves - we just weren't sure how physically strong, determined and gritty the youngster was. Brawley answered every question. A positive and confident start saw him outclass the marauding and pumped up Ben Murphy from Hove, while Sunderland's quietly assured Paul Holborn was too clever a southpaw and also had more fire than a rather bemused Charlie King. It was 1-1 in the England-Scotland battle as King saw his perfect record broken.

Cuts

The third quarter-final provided the best action of a night which was too scrappy and bitty all the way through to get the blood really boiling! But the night was absorbing because of the drama provided by the cuts. Gary McArthur shone in front of his noisy following, totally dominating the Wolverhampton warrior Steve Saville in what was the best display of the night. Then the shocker for McArthur, as a clash of heads in the closing round led to a nasty gash on his left eye. It looked bad straight away, and promoter Tommy Gilmour was jumping around at ringside. He knew his charge was in danger of forced elimination. The hard-hitting duo of Damian Owen and Gary Reid must have thought one of them would become the first reserve to be used in Prizefighter, and in hindsight that should have been the case: the time was right, and it would have added an exciting new scenario to the event. There was no post-fight interview from Team McArthur, who rushed their fighter back to the expert hands of Benny King - a brilliant cuts man who was supposed to be enjoying a night off - because of his relationship with several of the Scottish fighters! The dressing-room was closed off, and Benny was roped in to work his magic. Back at ringside, we saw three-time ABA Champion Stephen Burke shock us with his tactics as he elected to out-hustle and climb all over seasoned Stuart Green rather than utilising his boxing skills. Still, it worked and Burke booked his semi-final place. Brawley looked a slight step ahead of a very eager Paul Holborn in the first semi-final, but then there was almost a mirror image of what had happened to his compatriot McArthur as Brawley was also cut by the left eye as the contest drew to a close. He too was rushed into the hands of King, and fortunately the injury was not as bad as McArthur's. Still those on stand-by waited and hoped, knowing they could even go straight into the final. Yet there was no sign of any coin toss.

Bloody

All eyes were on McArthur's eye as he entered his semi-final battle with Stephen Burke, and what a bloodbath this quick first round saw. A mini-version of Amir Khan v Marco Antonio Barrera ensued as McArthur's eye opened up within seconds, and then a terrible head clash caused a gaping wound to his forehead. Burke's plan had been obvious - to worsen the damage and keep flailing away until the win was achieved. Seconds later it was, and McArthur's dream lay in bloody ruins. It was folly, really, that McArthur had continued after suffering that terrible cut. I know it's Prizefighter but health must come first. The doctors thought it was fine, but my feeling is that one of the reserves should have been given the opportunity. That is, after all, why they were there. Benny King continued his 'restful' evening patching up Brawley, and Burke entered the final as favourite for the first time since he was obviously going to repeat his tactic of aiming for the cut eye. This time the damage held up, and Burke's tactics back-fired. His reckless attacks were picked off by the sharp Brawley, who kept a cool head using fast, neat skills. So Brawley confirmed his pre-fight favouritism and became the sixth Prizefighter champion. The youngest winner so far really came of age on Tuesday night. Scotland had triumphed, and well done to Ryan Brawley, who will use the 25 grand to pay for his wedding to jubilant fiancée Claire. For me though, Gary McArthur was the stand-out Scot. He had such bad luck but he'll come again, especially with that fan base. The action was far from the most exciting, because the bangers didn't progress, and there were too many southpaw boxing stylists. It was actually a little like watching the amateurs at times as they fenced each other off. But when the blood ran you knew these were pros!

Legend

Heads have been banging together regularly of late, and when we return north of the border for Friday Fight Night we are bound to be in for some good old-fashioned 'nutty' behaviour from one of our cult characters of the modern game. They are making a movie about the life of Michael Gomez - that terrier of a fighter who has thrilled us with his roller-coaster career of excitement. Gomez is the stuff of legend - he was born in a car somewhere between Navan and Dublin, and his childhood was spent in and out of foster and care homes. Michael Armstrong found salvage in boxing, adopting the ring name of 'Gomez' after the great Wilfredo, and his followers have long donned the sombreros even though most are from Manchester! He's been through so many ups-and-downs, trainers and back-from-the-brink triumphs that one never really knows when it will be over. After recent defeats to Carl Johanneson and Amir Khan the bell might well toll on his career this week, but he won't go down without a real last hurrah. It's even possible that the former British super-featherweight champion could take the Commonwealth crown. To take the belt from Ricky Burns he will need to summon up the sort of effort he produced when he shocked Scottish boxing by taking Alex Arthur out in one of the most memorable fights we've had on Sky Sports. That was way back in 2003, though, and Gomez has appeared a faded force of late. He tells us he's going to destroy another Scottish boxing hope, and some believe he can pull it off - even in the twilight of his 14-year career. Personally - and as much as I adore Michael (he's been wonderful, colourful and dynamic for the game) - I think he probably should have called it a day by now. I'm just not sure he has enough left in the tank, but his drive, belief and passion still make this a fascinating title clash. It rather depends on Ricky Burns. The lanky Scot is not the biggest puncher, but he has improved. He surely possesses the height, reach and youth to defuse the early loaded gun that is Gomez, but he must box sensibly and prove he is strong at 9 stone 4lbs in the latter stages of a hard 12-rounder. It's bound to be an exciting fight, but I'm going strongly with logic and Father Time in this one. Boxing is primarily about two major factors - levels and timing. A peak Gomez would probably have hunted Burns down with his old skills before wading through him, but I fancy the timing is spot on for a 25-year-old Burns. He should retain his title, and if he doesn't it will tell us far more about him than Gomez.

Night to remember

Ian Napa saw his European Bantamweight title slip away last Friday in a strangely lacklustre performance against the awkwardly effective French-Algerian Malik Bouziane. Like Gomez, Napa has come back time and again, but on reviewing the fight I think things might just be catching up with him. He's had a wonderful revival and has had to fight above his stature and natural weight at 8 stone 6lbs. He will surely return, but it may be harder now he's 31. Huge congratulations to Bernard Dunne. The amiable Irishman gave Dublin a night that will long live in the memory - after the rugby boys had given them a day to remember when they won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1948! Dunne was a big underdog to overturn the highly-regarded world super-bantamweight champion Ricardo Cordoba from Panama, but in a fabulous up-and-down tussle Dunne prevailed in the final second of the 11th round. I'm told the atmosphere in the O2 Arena was sensational, and the place rocked until the early hours.

Fascinating

Freddie Roach will be pleased. He trained Bernard (who he called Ben!) early in his career. We will be seeing Freddie next week as we fly to the west coast of the United States to spend some time in camp with both Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. The fight of 2009 is just over five weeks away! On a final note, Amir Khan will not now be helping his stablemate Manny out in this build-up. Rather like Ricky felt when his friends Amir and Barrera recently clashed, Khan will sit on the proverbial fence for this one. Boxing is a fascinating sport, and it wouldn't surprise me if you found Hatton, Pacquiao, Khan and Barrera all having drinks and dinner together - looking back and smiling - when their ring business is completed. Who knows, maybe the meeting could even happen in Canastota - home of that 'Hall of Fame'...