Adam Smith breaks down each bout as the light-welterweights take centre stage in Prizefighter.
Anyone can win but Barnes might be your best bet, says Adam
The high-octane, fast and furious Prizefighter series hits the capital again this Friday night, and the competition's really been gathering momentum.
The format of eight fighters in seven fights over 3x3 minute rounds, all to be decided on one night,has got people buzzing! The winner's cash prize has been increased from £25,000 to £32,000 and many boxers from all around Britain are desperate to be involved.
There are new fight fans out there who have been attracted to this all-action night of thrills and spills. The pace is so frenetic that the growing audiences are gripped, and it's hard for us to even catch our breath in the commentary positions at ringside! Updating fight statistics on the night is as much of a challenge as trying to remember exactly what happened in all the previous topsy-turvy fights!
Promoter Barry Hearn has really come up with a captivating idea - generating similar excitement to the Twenty20 in cricket. It may not have the trade's purists eulogising, but it's bringing in waves of new supporters - and keeping the dreaded UFC at bay.
The last couple of Prizefighters have been great. The cruiserweights provided a night of drama, intrigue and upsets; then the heavyweights brought in the big names of Danny Williams and Audley Harrison - and the seven fights did not disappoint.
There also seems to be a feel-good story that tends to develop on the evening; Ireland's outsider Coleman Barrett rallied the crowd in October, but it was Harrison who used the tournament effectively to finally have his 'party' night.
Now it's the turn of the light-welterweights, and this is unquestionably the best and most competitive line-up yet.
For the first time, Prizefighter throws a former world champion into the enticing mix. Welsh fireball Gavin Rees held the WBA title, and is joined by three ex-European champions in the classy box-fighter, Colin Lynes, the popular Brixton barber, Ted Bami and that exciting old Welsh puncher, Jason Cook.
The strong, come-forward Young Mutley and the brilliant but enigmatic David Barnes have both won British belts, and completing the eight are the bright former amateur star Michael Grant, and the underrated slickster Barrie Jones.
Rocking
Olympia will surely be rocking on December 4th; certainly if the quality and enthusiasm of the latest crop is anything to go by. They all came into our studios last week for some promotional work, and after interviewing each one (including two very fired-up reserves in Jonny Rocco and Peter McDonagh), I am sure this will be a fabulous event. They ALL have their reasons why they will be the last man standing and the spread of odds are very tight indeed this time.
I was with Floyd Mayweather for the draw in Las Vegas and when the awesome American picked the balls out of the bag, some terrific fights were made.
First up Maesteg's hard-hitting veteran Jason Cook tackles the slick and skilful Michael Grant, who's relatively unknown, but was an excellent amateur and is unbeaten as a professional. Both have had recent problems with inactivity - but that will obviously affect Cook far more as he approaches his 35th birthday.
Grant's just turned 26 so will be fresh, but his lack of a noteable dig worries me. The likeable Tottenham man may not be able to keep Cook off him. Jason looked very powerful on his return in September, and seemed really well last week. Cook has the knowledge too, and I think he'll beat Grant.
The pick of the quarters sees a clash of aggressive punchers as Gavin Rees and Ted Bami literally go head to head. This one's probably the best pairing we've had yet in Prizefighter, and should be very exciting. It's a real 50-50 fight .Rees was an accomplished Welsh amateur, has won the world title, and has only ever lost once - but he's not been busy.
Bami's kept active and was runner-up in Prizefighter The Welterweights, and so has the advantage of having been in this tournament before. The South Londoner is, though, slipping these days. I tentatively go for Rees, but whoever advances, will surely have had something taken out of them in what should be a captivating brawl.
Encounter
The other clash of the round is the skilful encounter between orthodox technician Colin Lynes and the southpaw enigma that's David Barnes. Lynes has been a great servant to British boxing, but he has now lost his last three - even though all were at a high level. He will have trained hard, but I wonder if Colin's not quite what he was.
I have always been a real admirer of Barnes. Ricky Hatton used to rave about David as a junior amateur, but he's had his difficulties out of the ring. He possesses so much class, but is extremely flaky. Can we rely on him?
David looked nervous and edgy last week - but there lies a good sign. I haven't seen him like that since I chatted with him on the day of his British showdown with James Hare. His destruction of the talented Hare later that night was David Barnes at his very, very best.
He has blown hot and cold, but I don't think he would have entered this if he hadn't felt absolutely right. He's not boxed for 17 months, and it is a risk picking Barnes, but I think he's matured, looked terrific when he came into Sky - and I think he'll do very well.
Barnes is a slow starter, but I don't think Lynes relishes facing southpaws. They were set to meet over 12 rounds a while ago. Now it's very different - just 9 hectic minutes to sort it out. Barnes is my selection in a close encounter of 2 quality operators.
The final quarter-final sees seasoned Midlander Young Mutley tackle young Welsh southpaw Barrie Jones. Mutley has been on the drift of late - and needs a good run in Prizefighter - but Jones is decent. He might have lost three of his 19, but he's been matched fairly hard, and I like what I see in Barrie; he's skilful, gritty and big for a light-welterweight. Jones has come in at three weeks' notice, yet he's only 24, and he's difficult to fight. His southpaw jab and movement can give Mutley problems, and I go for Jones in that one.
Battle
If those results happen, it will be Cook-Rees in an all Welsh semi. This should be a real dust-up, and I think Cook can come through a hard battle. As I said, the Bami fight will have been hard for Rees, and Cook's really, really up for Prizefighter.
Barnes-Jones will be an interesting all-southpaw match and it's one where the two-weight British champion from Manchester should have the know-how to work his way into the final. Jones is my outsider and I think the winner of this wins the tournament.
This is unquestionably the toughest Prizefighter to predict, but I can see a Jason Coo -David Barnes final - which will be a great contrasting clash of styles and should provide an excellent end to the night.
I nailed the first Prizefighter by having a sneaky feeling about Martin Rogan in the build-up. I picked Martin Murray to take the middleweights, and last time I went for Audley Harrison to win - with Coleman Barrett being the interesting 'outside' bet. But as with everyone, I have also got my fair share wrong!
When the names were announced I just saw a long list of good fighters. It is a wide-open field, and it wouldn't surprise me if one of five or six of these fighters took the trophy.
Cook and Jones are good outside bets at about 10/1, but the more I think about this - the more I quietly fancy David Barnes to win. For me, he's the best boxer in it; he'll be very fit under trainer Bob Shannon, and he's a southpaw (Michael Lomax used that stance to his advantage when he won the welterweight tournament).
At around 5/1, it's well worth a punt on David Barnes...
