American Tor Hamer beat
pre-tournament favourite Kevin 'Kingpin' Johnson to win the Betfair
Prizefighter International Heavyweights live on Sky Sports at York
Hall, Bethnal Green.
New Yorker Hamer met Atlanta's
former World title challenger Johnson in the all-US final after
both men impressed on their way to the shoot-out for the £32,000
winner's cheque after both men recorded first round wins en route
to the finale.
Johnson stopped Moroccan novice
Noureddine Meddoune in the second quarter-final of the night in the
last second of the first round, and crucially, Hamer took just 29
seconds to blast out Kent's Tom Dallas in a brutal demolition in
the second semi-final to meet Kingpin.
It was that conservation of energy
that appeared to benefit Hamer, who was the busier fighter in the
final and that was enough to convince the judges to give him the
victory.
"I had more energy than him - he's
a smart fighter but I was in great shape and I outworked him for
the win," said Hamer. "It's a huge boost for my career - my name is
out there big time now and I'm hunting the big fights with the big
names."
Hamer moved through the gears in
his quarter-final win over Brazil's Marcelo Luis Nascimento before
his savage assault on Dallas in the semi - with a corking right
hand doing the damage after his lightening fast start to the
bout.
Johnson used the energy he saved
in his quarter-final to out-manoeuvre Pole Albert Sosnowski, the
pair both having fought Vitali Klitschko for the World title, and
taking a split decision against Sosnowski who beat Maurice Harris
in the opening fight of the night.
Dallas and Little served up a
barnstorming all-English quarter-final as three fight novice Little
put everything he had into the opening two rounds to scare Dallas,
before the Kent man came back at Little to stop the Hatfield
hitter.
Betfair Prizefighter International
Heavyweights results:
Quarter finals
Albert Sosnowski beat Maurice
Hamer - split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Kevin Johnson beat Noureddine
Meddoune - TKO 2.57 of round one
Tor Hamer beat Marcelo Luis
Nascimento - unanimous decision 30-26, 30-27, 29-28
Tom Dallas beat Tom Little - TKO
1.57 of round three
Semi finals
Kevin Johnson beat Albert
Sosnowski - split decision 29-28, 28-29, 30-27
Tor Hamer beat Tom Dallas - TKO 29
seconds of round one
Final
Tor Hamer beat Kevin Johnson -
unanimous decision 30-27, 30-28, 29-28
21/06/2012 21:54:40