Betfair Prizefighter Light-Middleweights III favourite Craig McEwan will face two-fight novice Larry Ekundayo in the opening quarter-final at York Hall in Bethnal Green after the draw threw up four exciting contests.
Scotsman McEwan and north London’s Ekundayo led the betting before being pitted against each other in the first fight of the night. Edinburgh’s McEwan is chasing title shots after returning from seven years in America under the watchful eye of Freddie Roach in the Wild Card Gym, while Ekundayo, despite being a two-fight novice after making his debut in March, has been tipped to take the tournament by storm.
There’s a potential all-Scotland semi-final clash on the cards after Paisley’s former British title challenger Kris Carslaw drew English title challenger Ryan Toms in the second quarter-final.
Prizefighter Light-Middleweight’s II semi-finalist Peter Vaughan takes on Birmingham’s Terry Carruthers in the third quarter-final before what looks like the fight of the night between unbeaten Rotherham man Nav Mansouri and big-hitting Curtis Valentine.
For the first time in Prizefighter there is a £2,000 bonus for every knockout and Valentine, with four of his five wins coming by KO, is hunting three KOs to add to the £32,000 winner’s cheque.
“I have a big bomb and I am looking to knock them all out,” said Valentine. “When I heard about the bonus I thought I want to knock them out even harder. I have never trained like this for a fight before; I am as fit as I have ever been during my life. I want this.”
The latest odds on the Betfair Prizefighter Light-Middleweights III with Betfair are here: http://sports.betfair.com/boxing/market?id=1.107200931
A limited number of tickets for tomorrow night’s action will be available to buy on the door – doors open at 6.30pm.
Quarter-final draw with weights:
QF1 Larry Ekundayo 11st 1lb 8oz v Craig McEwan 10st 13lbs 11oz
QF2 Kris Carslaw 11st 8oz v Ryan Toms 11st 1lb 12oz
QF3 Peter Vaughan 10st 13lbs 12oz v Terry Carruthers 11st 1lb 4oz
QF4 Nav Mansouri 11st 1lb 8oz v Curtis Valentine 11st 1lb 13oz
Reserves
Jack Arnfield 11st 14oz
Darren Bushbye 11st 13oz
