Prizefighter 2015: Middleweights Results, Scorecards, Prize Money and Reaction

Tom Doran defeated Cello Renda by third-round knockout in the final of Saturday's middleweight Prizefighter event, handing the 29-year-old his second loss in a Prizefighter final.

Renda looked like the fresher fighter going into the bout and dominated the opening round, but Doran recovered nicely and outboxed his opponent before ending the bout with an emphatic left hook. Sky Sports Boxing shared the final result:

Prizefighter remains one of the most unique events on the British boxing calendar, pitting eight little-heralded middleweights against one another for three rounds of intense action. The knockout tournament has few breaks in between, giving local fans plenty of action to enjoy. This year's tournament served as the perfect warm-up for the marquee bout between Brian Rose and Carson Jones.

Per Sky Sports, the winner walked home with a cool £32,000. That's not a bad payday for a maximum of nine rounds:

Here's how Saturday's event played out.

Quarter-Finals

• Cello Renda defeats Liam Conroy via TKO.
• Jack Arnfield defeats Mick Hall via split decision.
• Luke Keeler defeats Luke Crowcroft via unanimous decision.
• Tom Doran defeats Craig Cunningham via unanimous decision.

Semi-Finals

• Cello Renda defeats Jack Arnfield via split decision.
• Tom Doran defeats Luke Keeler via unanimous decision.

Final

• Tom Doran defeats Cello Renda via KO.

Quarter-Finals

Renda opened the 2015 edition of Prizefighter with a bang, beating Liam Conroy by TKO in the first round. Conroy suffered three knockdowns before the referee stopped the fight. While Renda's punches didn't seem to do too much visible damage, the decision was still the right one.

Professional boxer Chris Hobbs was impressed and noted Renda would advance to the next round without spending too much energy:

The same couldn't be said of the second fight, as Jack Arnfield defeated Mick Hall in a controversial split decision. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28.

Hall dominated the opening round and silenced the crowd supporting their local hero, while Arnfield clearly took the third round. Most assumed the second round would decide the fight, but one judge inexplicably gave all three rounds to Arnfield. Even boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was shocked:

So was former professional boxer Dermot Gascoyne:

Luke Keeler beat Luke Crowcroft by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favour. The 27-year-old looked excellent throughout the fight but appeared to hurt his right hand, with his status for the semi-final doubtful in the moments after the bout.

Hearn noticed it as well as soon as the fight was over:

Doran beat Craig Cunningham by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27) in the last fight of the quarter-finals, setting up a tasty semi-final against Keeler, who notified event organisers he would be able to box against Doran despite his earlier injury.

Semi-Finals

Renda and Arnfield served up another tasty bout in the first semi-final, with the former finalist deservedly taking a close win by decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). Renda was the busier fighter, but Arnfield showed some fantastic counter-punching ability, putting real pressure on his opponent in the first round.

Arnfield seemed to tire in the third, and with Renda fresh after his short win in the quarter-final, the result was predictable. He showered the local boy with hooks and body shots and booked his spot in the final, to the delight of light heavyweight contender Enzo Maccarinelli:

Hearn reminded everyone Keeler would enter the second semi-final with a damaged hand, while a cut under his left eye also bothered him toward the end of his fight against Crowcroft:

Doran took full advantage and fought a smart, patient fight to grab a unanimous-decision win (all three scorecards: 29-28) to advance to the final.

The cut under Keeler's eye opened up immediately in Round 1, but he held his own quite well despite his impaired vision. His head movement seemed to go in the second, however, and he was missing with the bulk of his punches. Doran did a good job of staying away from the left hand and easily won the round, but Keeler came back in the third, willingly throwing his right hand and leaving it all on the canvas.

Final

Event organisers had scheduled a four-round bout between Scott Cardle and Yordan Vasilev to give both finalists a breather. But the former knocked out his opponent after just 36 seconds, sending the two remaining competitors back into the ring well ahead of schedule.

After a patient start, Renda started to unleash halfway through the first round, hurting Doran with a massive right hand. The veteran continued to pound away, and by the end of the round, Doran's nose looked as if it might have been broken. First Class Boxing thought he was perhaps still feeling the effects of his semi-final bout:

Renda appeared to be boxing better than he had in the previous fights, where he just slugged it out with every opponent, and the blood gushing from Doran's nose looked like it impacted the latter's breathing. He recovered nicely in the second round, however, nearly sending his opponent to the canvas with a vicious body shot. 

The third round promised to be a good one, a straight shootout for the title, and with both men letting their fists fly, plenty of space opened up for a knockout shot. Doran eventually found the hole with a fantastic left hook, sending Renda to the canvas for the final time.

Sky Bet was in awe of the final shot:

Doran looked absolutely spent after the opening round, and with everyone writing him off, he told Sky Sports how great it felt to prove everyone wrong: "I like to prove people wrong, and it looks like I've done that tonight."

Hearn also chimed in on the night, praising both fighters: "Cello Renda, what a warrior. Prizefighter is a launchpad. Doran is a big part of the middleweight division."

Doran proved his toughness and endurance on Saturday by fighting all nine rounds in quick succession. His spectacular knockout was the cherry on top of a fantastic performance that should open doors for the 27-year-old, who has never been a top draw but could see his fortunes change drastically in the wake of this event.

Losing a second final no doubt hurts for Renda, who had Doran right where he wanted him early in the second round. As strange as it may sound, perhaps a less calculated approach simply works better for the man from Peterborough. 

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