Fight 1 – Martin Rogan v Albert Sosnowski
Rogan dominated Sosnowski for the majority of the contest, rocking him in every round until a powerful shot caused Ian John-Lewis to call a halt to fight with all the Pole’s senses gone – even though he stayed on his feet.
Sosnowski did hit the floor in the second session, though literally, as the former world title challenger missed wildly with a swinging punch, falling through the ropes onto space below in front of Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn and a ringside David Haye.
Result: Martin Rogan (TKO 3rd round)
Fight 2 – Audley Harrison v Claus Bertino
Former European champion Audley Harrison made a successful comeback from his British title failure against David Price to score a technical knockout win in just 33 seconds against an out-of-shape Claus Bertino.
Audley, now boxing into his forties, landed a short left hand after a tentative start, and referee Marcus McDonnell pulled out the Dane. Bertino, 32, dropped a fifth loss in twenty bouts as Harrison improved his record to 29-6 and set up a semi-final rematch with Martin Rogan.
Result: Audley Harrison (TKO 1st round)
Fight 3 – Ian Lewison v Timo Hoffman
Londoner Lewison scored a somewhat controversial stoppage in the first round of their contest as referee John Keane waved the fight off after the German failed to follow his instructions.
Hoffman, 38, was asked to ‘walk forward’ by Keane after hitting the floor from a barrage by Lewison, although ‘The German Oak’ walked backward with his hands in the air to signal in his own way that he was ready.
The win propels 31-year-old Lewison to 7-1-1 as Hoffman left the ring livid following the translation error after suffering an eighth defeat in 50 contests.
Result: Ian Lewison (TKO 1st round)
Fight 4 – Travis Walker v Derric Rossy
In a drab affair, Derric Rossy stunned the pre-tournament favorite Travis Walker. The two American’s fought a low-key three rounds on the back of a trilogy of explosive bouts previously.
The New Yorker out-landed Walker for the duration of the contest, and after some delay, the three judges came back with cards reading 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 in favor of Rossy, who moves on to face Ian Lewison in the semi-final.
Result: Derric Rossy (SD 29-28 [2], 28-29)
Fight 5 – Semi-Final: Martin Rogan v Audley Harrison
Audley Harrison fought perfect tactics to out-point old rival Martin Rogan to improve his Prizefighter record to 5-0 and advance to another.
The former Olympic champion stayed at range throughout the contest. Using his jab and countering to frustrate Rogan. The judges seeing it the Londoner’s way 30-27 on all three cards.
Result: Audley Harrison (UD 30-27 [3])
Fight 6 – Semi-Final: Ian Lewison v Derric Rossy
Derric Rossy scored a split decision win over Ian Lewison in a scrappy affair. It set up a showdown with Audley Harrison for the £32 000 prize.
Result: Derric Rossy (SD)
Tom Stalker bt Kristian Laight on his pro debut in a pre-final four-round contest.
Fight 7 – Audley Harrison v Derric Rossy
Audley Harrison went into the final without a scratch on him in contrast to Derric Rossy. His opponent was busted up from his two split decision wins in the previous two bouts.
‘A-Force’ used his freshness to good effect. He dropped Rossy twice on the way to a comprehensive second-round win and becomes the first fighter to claim the Prizefighter trophy on two occasions.
Result: Audley Harrison (TKO second round).
