Mike Tyson once made a wonderful observation about boxers putting aside any niceties, any compassion, any feelings and any friendships to scrap like birds after crumbs when they dip under the ropes into the ring.
Prizefighter puts Tyson's theory into practice - eight hungry fighters putting it all on the line in the hope of walking away with £32,000 - as was the case in last night's entertaining Super-Middleweights tournament, which took place at Liverpool's Olympia.
Prizefighter is always fun, it's always frantic.
Yes, it has its knockers. There isn't usually the room nor time for technical fights in which a skilled practioner is able to pick and move, duck and weave.
No, normally that all goes out the window and the three round fights turn into 'wham bam, thank you mam' affairs with blood and guts and hoarse fans willing on their men.
Last night offered a great platform for the likes of Jahmaine Smyle and Tobias Webb, who with only 10 fights between them, were catapulted into the limelight.
Prizefighter, in cliched yet still engaging fashion, throws up some interesting stories before it's even kicked off.
You had 40-year-old former world champion and porn star Robin Reid, knife attack victim Joey Ainscough and a former squaddie desperate for redemption after a first round knockout loss, Carl Dilks.
There were four local lads there on the night, backed by a passionate and partisan crowd, plus the legendary John Conteh at ringside.
What a night!
On the night wildcard Rocky Fielding triumphed after beating Webb in the final and was handed a trophy from Conteh.
A man of few words, Liverpudlian Fielding - who seemed a little awed by the cameras and questions - did say he planned to celebrate with a night on the town with his band of supporters.
Well deserved, for sure.
Here are my observations from the night:
* It might be stating the obvious but the sight of former WBC Super-Middleweight Champion shuffling around in ponderous fashion was sad to see. Credit to his opponent Tobias Webb for using good movement to take a well deserved win. Reid may have come into the fight in splendid-looking condition but he lacked sharpness. Perhaps he'd been concentrating too much on conditioning and not enough on sparring. His reaction to losing was a little disappointing.
* How does Jahmaine Smyle make the 12 stone mark? The muscle-bound puncher from Leicester, who gave a very good account of himself, looked enormous for the weight. Perhaps having very thin legs helps him hit the mark. For some reason, I thought of Jermain Taylor - a similarly-proportioned boxer.
* While Rocky Fielding may have triumphed, arguably Jahmaine Smyle and Tobias Webb made the greatest impressions on the night. Both inexperienced fighters will have picked up great experience from the night and can look to pushing on towards domestic title fights in the not too distant future if they carry on their progression. Fielding can be proud of his win but one could make a case for him having an easier route to the final where he faced...Tobias Webb, who had already pipped Reid and Smyle in close contests and was clearly drained by this stage. No matter, that's the fun of Prizefighter!
* Tobias Webb's uncle Enzo Maccarinelli was ringside and is said to be trimming himself down from Cruiserweight to Light Heavyweight. Most people have concerns the drop in weight will further weaken his punch resistance. He looked a little drawn - from the effects of dropping weight?
* Finally, on a slightly sour note, just how did Ainscough get the judges' nod against Wayne Reed? Ainscough was game and brave but knocked down in the third round and appeared to be outboxed in the first.
Prizefighter puts Tyson's theory into practice - eight hungry fighters putting it all on the line in the hope of walking away with £32,000 - as was the case in last night's entertaining Super-Middleweights tournament, which took place at Liverpool's Olympia.
Prizefighter is always fun, it's always frantic.
Yes, it has its knockers. There isn't usually the room nor time for technical fights in which a skilled practioner is able to pick and move, duck and weave.
No, normally that all goes out the window and the three round fights turn into 'wham bam, thank you mam' affairs with blood and guts and hoarse fans willing on their men.
Last night offered a great platform for the likes of Jahmaine Smyle and Tobias Webb, who with only 10 fights between them, were catapulted into the limelight.
Prizefighter, in cliched yet still engaging fashion, throws up some interesting stories before it's even kicked off.
You had 40-year-old former world champion and porn star Robin Reid, knife attack victim Joey Ainscough and a former squaddie desperate for redemption after a first round knockout loss, Carl Dilks.
There were four local lads there on the night, backed by a passionate and partisan crowd, plus the legendary John Conteh at ringside.
What a night!
On the night wildcard Rocky Fielding triumphed after beating Webb in the final and was handed a trophy from Conteh.
A man of few words, Liverpudlian Fielding - who seemed a little awed by the cameras and questions - did say he planned to celebrate with a night on the town with his band of supporters.
Well deserved, for sure.
Here are my observations from the night:
* It might be stating the obvious but the sight of former WBC Super-Middleweight Champion shuffling around in ponderous fashion was sad to see. Credit to his opponent Tobias Webb for using good movement to take a well deserved win. Reid may have come into the fight in splendid-looking condition but he lacked sharpness. Perhaps he'd been concentrating too much on conditioning and not enough on sparring. His reaction to losing was a little disappointing.
* How does Jahmaine Smyle make the 12 stone mark? The muscle-bound puncher from Leicester, who gave a very good account of himself, looked enormous for the weight. Perhaps having very thin legs helps him hit the mark. For some reason, I thought of Jermain Taylor - a similarly-proportioned boxer.
* While Rocky Fielding may have triumphed, arguably Jahmaine Smyle and Tobias Webb made the greatest impressions on the night. Both inexperienced fighters will have picked up great experience from the night and can look to pushing on towards domestic title fights in the not too distant future if they carry on their progression. Fielding can be proud of his win but one could make a case for him having an easier route to the final where he faced...Tobias Webb, who had already pipped Reid and Smyle in close contests and was clearly drained by this stage. No matter, that's the fun of Prizefighter!
* Tobias Webb's uncle Enzo Maccarinelli was ringside and is said to be trimming himself down from Cruiserweight to Light Heavyweight. Most people have concerns the drop in weight will further weaken his punch resistance. He looked a little drawn - from the effects of dropping weight?
* Finally, on a slightly sour note, just how did Ainscough get the judges' nod against Wayne Reed? Ainscough was game and brave but knocked down in the third round and appeared to be outboxed in the first.
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