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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing
Tony Oakey is the Prizefighter Light Heavyweight Champion.
Oakey, 33, claimed the title with a unanimous points decision victory over Oldham’s Darren Stubbs after a superb final.
“I got better as the night went on,” said Oakey, who wins £25,000 for the achievement.
“Prizefighter is all about entertainment and I would like to thank Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn for putting my name forward to be in it.
“I’ve won British, Commonwealth and WBU titles but this feels just the same and when I retire I will be proud of what I’ve achieved. This is another thing to go on my CV.
“It was very difficult and I think I had the toughest draw but deserved to win. I’m very proud to have done so and it was a team effort that has paid off.
“The worst thing was the first fight and after that I was very confident I would win.
“I was the most well known name in the competition and everyone was trying to make a name for themselves off of me but I was confident in my ability so it was worth taking the gamble.
“Winning this will open doors for me and we had gone back to the drawing board after the Nathan Cleverly loss for the British title in October.
“We knew we shouldn’t have taken that fight against Cleverly but this helps me get back up there. This ain’t too bad for an old man!”
This was the fifth Prizefighter competition and the all-in-one-night format where each contest lasts a maximum of three rounds has captured the public’s attention.
Once again there was a great atmosphere as the tournament was full of thrilling contests in front of a capacity crowd at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.
There was also controversy as an error by the British Boxing Board of Control saw Carl Dilks originally declared the winner in his semi-final against Darren Stubbs.
However, the judges had made a mistake with the scoring and Stubbs eventually advanced into the final before he was outclassed by Oakey.
Stubbs had earlier claimed the only victory inside the distance when he floored Ipswich’s Steve Spartacus with less than 30 seconds left of the second round.
Oakey was involved in some of the fights of the night as he claimed points decisions after gruelling contests with Billy Boyle in the quarter-final then Courtney Fry in the semi-final.
The other quarter-final results saw Fry, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist in 1998, defeat Shon Davies, while Dilks edged a tight contest over Bob Ajisafe.
All the action was broadcast live on Sky Sports 1 and the next Prizefighter event, this time at lightweight, will be staged in Glasgow on Tuesday, March 24.
© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing
RESULTS
Quarter-final
1. Courtney Fry bt Shon Davies – PTS – 30-27, 30-27, 30-27
2. Tony Oakey bt Billy Boyle – PTS – 30-28, 30-28, 30-28
3. Bob Ajisafe lost to Carl Dilks – PTS – 28-29, 27-30, 28-29
4. Darren Stubbs bt Steve Spartacus – TKO – Round 2
Semi-final
5. Courtney Fry lost to Tony Oakey – PTS – 28-29, 28-29, 27-30
6. Carl Dilks lost to Darren Stubbs – SPLIT DECISION – PTS -28-29, 29-28, 28-29
Final
7. Tony Oakey bt Darren Stubbs – PTS – 30-27, 30-27, 30-27
