YORK HALL - This past Thursday (15^thof this month), Robert Lloyd-Taylor (11^st 2lbs) grabbed his opportunity with both hands to emerge from an action packed tournament as the latest Prizefighter as champion. Not part of the original eight man line-up of light middleweights, Lloyd Taylor, from Hayes, entered as a late sub for J. J Bird and strolled off with the trophy and £32,000 in prize money in a real Cinderella story.    

The final was one of the more cagey and technical bouts of the evening, understandable with so much at stake. In the opposite corner, Liverpool's Nick Quigley (11^st 1lb 7oz) performed heroically considering the fast turn around he had after a barn-burner of a semi final. Robert worked off a solid jab all night and started the final in a similar vein. Quigley worked manfully to get inside but found opportunities limited in the opening session. In the second rounds Quigley enjoyed more success but Lloyd-Taylor stayed equally busy although the exchanges were often scrappy. The final round was a test of character for both fighters as the rigors of the preceding bouts caught up with them. Quigley, in particular,  was clearly running on fumes but battled bravely to the final bell, both fighters looking to unload with eye catching bursts. Over the course of the rounds Lloyd-Taylor's superior jab and ring smarts earned him a 29-28 victory on all three cards.    

One of the reasons Nick Quigley was clearly flagging in the final was because of three epic rounds of crowd pleasing action in the semi final against Kris Agyei-Dua (11^st 1lb 4oz). The pair went toe to toe from the off with little regard for defence, and both landed with plenty of hurtful shots. Quigley's work was the cleaner of the two though as his left jab, straight right combination found the mark on a few occasions. Nick poured it on at the start of the second and it looked briefly as though he might have his man out of there but Kris weathered the storm and even fought back with a body shot and two big hooks upstairs at the end of the round. The went at it again in the final round, understandably at a slightly less frenetic pace than the previous two. Again Quigley landed the cleaner shots and finished the stronger to score a 30-27 winning margin on all three cards. Although I have no complaint with the scoring, it's a shame that it doesn't really reflect Agyei-Dua's contribution to the fight of the night.  

In the other semi final, Robert Lloyd Taylor picked off and stopped the brave and dynamic Peter Vaughan of Banbury (11^st 14oz), who was roared on by a large and vociferous support. Vaughan maybe shaded the first round on work rate even though Lloyd-Taylor caught most of the punches on his arms and gloves. Vaughan came charging out again for the second,  often leading with his head but Lloyd Taylor began to assert his jab and also smashed a few uppercuts through Vaughan's porous defense. Vaughan finished the round with a nasty looking cut over the left eye but was still very much in the fight. However, in the last round, despite Vaughan showing great heart, Lloyd-Taylor began landing almost at will with uppercuts and hooks. One left hook dropped Vaughan for a count meaning that he had to throw caution to the wind and this played right into Robert's hands. He continued to land shots from all angles on the wilting Vaughan and eventually forced the stoppage at 2:45 of the third.  

The quarter finals also provided plenty of entertainment with Robert Lloyd Taylor scraping a split verdict over veteran ring warrior Takaloo (11^st 1lb 5oz). Takaloo started slowly but had warmed to his task by the third round and the result could well have been different over a longer fight. Lloyd Taylor had done enough early to go through 29-28 on two cards while Takaloo had the same score in his favour on only one.

  Next up saw Peter Vaughan squaring off against Morden's Wayne Goddard (11^st 1lb 3oz). The two young, hungry fighters served up 3 rounds of non stop action as two all action styles clashed head on.  Vaughan means every shot he throws and catches the eye with his big hooks but I felt that Goddard's tidier punching trumped Vaughan's constant aggression over the course of three rounds. The judges thought otherwise however and Vaughan took a split verdict 28-29, 29-28 and a very generous 30-27.  

  Lytham St Anne's Jeff Thomas (11^st 1lb 8oz) entered the tournament off the back of an internet campaign to have him included. He rewarded the faith of his supporters by landing the punch of the night, a textbook left hook, on the jaw of Kris Agyei-Dua and dropped him to the canvas in the first round of their contest. Thomas started brightly and showed fast hands, impressive considering this was only his second professional fight in five years. However, after the knockdown, Kris had the upper hand and took the last two rounds resulting in Prizefighter's first draw. The casting vote went to the referee who scored 29-28 for Agyei-Dua.

  The last quarter final saw a Merseyside derby pitting fellow Scousers Nick Quigley and Steve Harkin (10st 13lbs 8 oz) against each other. Another action packed three rounds and another split decision . Harkin's rangy, ragged style proved awkward, but Quigley's more polished work earned him the nod on the judge’s cards 28-29, 29-28 and 30-27.  

  Possibly the best Prizefigher yet. A sell out crowd, knockdowns, toe to toe action, even contests and good sportsmanship showed by all fighters throughout. I think the best way to sum it up is that apart from the aging Takaloo, all the protagonists emerge from the tournament with their reputations enhanced. Jeff Thomas will be back in action in London as soon as Oct 7^th!

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