Michael Sprott

Michael Sprott (born 16 January 1975) is a British professional boxer. He held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles in 2004 and the EBU European Union heavyweight title twice between 2005 and 2007. He was the winner of the 14th Prizefighter series.[1]

Michael Sprott
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
NationalityBritish
Born (1975-01-16) 16 January 1975
Reading, Berkshire, England
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights71
Wins42
Wins by KO17
Losses29

Career

After a quiet amateur career, Sprott turned pro in November 1996 under the old Frank Bruno trainer, Terry Lawless. He won 11 fights, including a points win over veteran Michael Murray before taking on Harry Senior in September 1998 for the Southern Area Heavyweight title. Senior, a respected sparring partner, had recently dedicated himself to being a full-time professional, and took Sprott out in 6 rounds with body shots. Sprott came back with 3 wins before falling apart in 3 rounds versus British contender Wayne Llewelyn in October 2000.

Seemingly relegated to journeyman status, In February 2001 in London, Sprott scored an upset when he outpointed the once-beaten German Timo Hoffmann, who had lost only to Vitali Klitschko. He travelled to Germany for the rematch, controversially outpointed by Hoffmann in a result that was jeered loudly by the German crowd.

In November 2001, he travelled to South Africa to face hard hitting fringe contender Corrie Sanders. In a brief and entertaining fight, Sprott rocked the southpaw before being decked himself, and suffering a controversial stoppage by the referee, with even the South African commentators deploring the stoppage.

In February 2002, Keith Long pulled out from a British and Commonwealth title fight with Danny Williams, and Sprott flew in from a holiday in Jamaica on only a few days notice. After a few rounds he ran out of gas and was stopped in the seventh round, but showed he could compete at national level. It was around this time that Sprott brought in trainer John Bloomfield, who spent six years with Frank Bruno.[2]

After this challenge, Sprott went on a successful run of form, winning 8 fights, including knockouts of Pele Reid (KO7), ex-British champ Michael Holden (KO4), Mark Potter (KO3), and Colin Kenna (KO1), setting up a rematch with Williams.

In September 2003, Sprott qualified for another shot at Williams and his titles, but after a far more competitive fight, Sprott was the victim of several low blows. When he complained to the referee he was controversially knocked out by a Williams left hook.

In January 2004, Sprott narrowly outpointed Williams in their third and final fight (115-114), lifting the British and Commonwealth titles. A few months later Williams would knockout Mike Tyson, however Sprott would lose his titles in his first defense, matched with fast undefeated Matt Skelton (12-0), Sprott was mauled and stopped in the 12th. His last fight of 2004 was a win against Czech heavyweight champ Robert Šulgan in Bethnal Green.

In 2005, Sprott would take the first of many trips abroad fighting top prospects, usually at short notice. In April he beat the German amateur star Cengiz Koc, but in October was beaten on points by Olympian Paolo Vidoz in a European title fight, both fights in Germany.[3] In December he fought future European champ Vladimir Virchis in Austria, but was once-again the victim of a controversial decision loss.

In February 2006, he outboxed veteran Antoine Palatis in Scotland, but in a WBA Eliminator in July was hammered in 8 one-sided rounds by undefeated Ruslan Chagaev. Despite the loss he went back to Germany and beat a third German prospect when he upset undefeated southpaw Rene Dettweiller in November.

During his travels in Germany, Sprott had picked up the second-tier European Heavyweight title, the "EU" title, which he defended against 2000 Olympic Gold medallist Audley Harrison in London, February 2007. Harrison had demolished Danny Williams in his last fight and was on course to face Matt Skelton in a world title eliminator. A 9/2 underdog with most bookies, Sprott came off the floor in the 1st round to score a rare stoppage win by knocking Harrison clean out in the 3rd with a left hook; and seemingly ending his career.[4]

On 14 July 2007, Sprott lost to Matt Skelton in a 12-round contest. The fight was of a very poor standard with Skelton winning on points.

On 31 May 2008, Sprott travelled to Germany to face hot prospect, and the WBA's #4 ranked contender Taras Bidenko. Sprott was outpointed in a 10-round unanimous decision, with 2 judges scoring the bout 97-93, and the other seeing it 97-94.

On 14 March 2009, Sprott fought former WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster and lost a unanimous decision.

He fought Alexander Ustinov on 20 June 2009, but lost by unanimous decision after ten rounds. However he beat German Werner Kreiskott by round 1 TKO in March 2010 and this earned him a shot at the vacant European Boxing Union title against old foe Audley Harrison at Alexandra Palace in April 2010. Sprott was leading the bout on all three scorecards before Harrison knocked out Sprott with seconds remaining of round 12.

On 9 October 2010, a 35-year-old Sprott competed in Sky's 'PrizeFighter' series (Heavyweights), reaching the final where he fought Matt Skelton. It was third time lucky for Sprott, who had lost his previous 2 contests with the 43-year-old Skelton, Winning on a split decision (29-28 Skelton 29-28 sprott 29-28 sprott) after the 3 round contest and winning £32,000 in 'winner take all' prize money. In September 2011, he suffered a third defeat in a European heavyweight title bout when he lost a unanimous points decision to Ukrainian Alexander Dimitrenko in Hamburg.

Outside the ring

Michael Sprott has a son called Darnell born around 2001.[2] Darnell's name is stitched on the shorts Sprott wears for his professional contests. In recent contests Sprott's shorts have also displayed the name of his late sister Ginette, who took her own life in September 2009 after a long battle with depression.[5]

He lists his hobbies as weights, travelling and meeting new people. Outside boxing, Sprott enjoys rugby and the Wimbledon Championships. His favourite football teams are Reading FC and Arsenal F.C..[6]

Professional boxing record
42 Wins (17 knockouts), 29 Losses (18 knockouts), 0 Draws[7]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 42-29 Lukasz Rozanski TKO 2 (6) 02/06/2018 G2A Arena, Jasionka 953, Rzeszów, Poland
Loss 42-28 Ali Eren Demirezen TKO 5 (8) 23/12/2017 Silence Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey
Loss 42-27 Marcin Siwy UD 6 05/11/2016 Hala ICDS, ul. Staszica 2, Lomianki, Poland
Loss 42-26 Christian Hammer KO 1 (10) 18/03/2016 Circus, Bucharest, Romania
Loss 42-25 Adrian Granat KO 1 (8) 05/12/2015 Inselparkhalle, Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, Germany
Loss 42-24 Carlos Takam KO 5 (8) 13/06/2015 Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, France
Loss 42-23 Anthony Joshua TKO 1 (10) 22/11/2014 Echo Arena, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK For WBC International Heavyweight title.
Loss 42-22 Kali Meehan KO 1 04/06/2014 The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand Super 8 Heavyweight Tournament - Final
Win 42-21 Anthony Nansen UD 3 04/06/2014 The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand Super 8 Heavyweight Tournament - Semi Final
Win 41-21 Martin Rogan MD 3 04/06/2014 The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand Super 8 Heavyweight Tournament - Quarter Final
Win 40-21 Jason Gavern UD 3 14/11/2013 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK 'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Final.
Win 39-21 Brian Minto UD 3 14/11/2013 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK 'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Semi-Final.
Win 38-21 Damian Wills UD 3 14/11/2013 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK 'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Quarter-Final.
Loss 37-21 Erkan Teper TKO 1 (10) 31/08/2013 Münsterplatz, Magdeburg, Basel, Switzerland
Loss 37-20 Robert Helenius UD 10 23/03/2013 GETEC Arena, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany Scoring 93-98, 93-97 and 92-98.
Win 37-19 Edmund Gerber MD 12 15/12/2012 Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg, Bayern, Germany
Loss 36-19 Edmund Gerber TKO 4 (12) 15/09/2012 Baden-Arena, Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Sprott, angry at the stoppage decision, appeared to push the referee to the canvas.
Loss 36-18 Kubrat Pulev RTD 9 (12) 14/01/2012 Baden-Arena, Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany For IBF International heavyweight title.
Loss 36-17 Alexander Dimitrenko UD 12 24/09/2011 Dima-Sportcenter, Lohbruegge, Hamburg, Germany For EBU (European) heavyweight title. Sprott penalized 2 points; 1 point in round 10 & 1 point in round 12. Scores were 119-108, 117-111, 116-111.
Loss 36-16 Tye Fields SD 3 27/05/2011 Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, London, England, UK Prizefighter Tournament, International heavyweight quarter-final. Scoring was 28-29, 28-29, 29-28.
Win 36-15 Serdar Uysal UD 4 19/03/2011 Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win 35-15 Matt Skelton SD 3 09/10/2010 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK 'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Final.
Win 34-15 Shane McPhilbin UD 3 09/10/2010 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK 'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Semi-Final.
Win 33-15 Danny Hughes UD 3 09/10/2010 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK 'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Quarter-Final.
Loss 32-15 Audley Harrison KO 12 (12) 09/04/2010 Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London, England, UK For vacant EBU (European) heavyweight title. Harrison who was behind on points coming into the 12th and final round and could not win on the cards, landed a left that knocked out Sprott in their rematch.
Win 32-14 Werner Kreiskott TKO 1 (4) 20/03/2010 Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Loss 31-14 Alexander Ustinov UD 10 20/06/2009 Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Loss 31-13 Lamon Brewster UD 8 14/03/2009 Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Sprott down at the end of round 3.
Win 31-12 Zack Page PTS 6 19/11/2008 Royal Lancaster Hotel, Bayswater, London, England, UK
Loss 30-12 Taras Bydenko UD 10 31/05/2008 Burg-Waechter Castello, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Loss 30-11 Matt Skelton MD 12 14/07/2007 O2 Arena (Millennium Dome), Greenwich, London, England, UK For Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title. Fight was marred by a lot of holding, prompting the referee to warm both fighters repeatedly.
Win 30-10 Audley Harrison KO 3 (12) 17/02/2007 The Arena, Wembley, London, England, UK Retained EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title & won vacant BBBofC English heavyweight title. Sprott was knocked down in the 1st round. Harrison was out cold from a left hook.
Win 29-10 Rene Dettweiler SD 12 04/11/2006 RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle, Mülheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Retained EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title. Sprott received point deductions in 10th and 12th rounds for head butts.
Loss 28-10 Ruslan Chagaev TKO 8 (12) 15/07/2006 Color Line Arena, Altona, Hamburg, Germany For WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title & vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title.
Win 28-9 Antoine Palatis UD 10 18/02/2006 Meadowbank Sports Centre, Wembley, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Won vacant EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title.
Loss 27-9 Volodymyr Vyrchys UD 12 13/12/2005 Freizeit Arena, Soelden, Austria For WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
Loss 27-8 Paolo Vidoz UD 12 01/10/2005 EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany For EBU (European) heavyweight title.
Win 27-7 Cengiz Koc SD 10 23/04/2005 Arena Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Won vacant EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title.
Win 26-7 Robert Sulgan TKO 1 (8) 10/09/2004 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK Sulgan down from a right uppercut.
Loss 25-7 Matt Skelton KO 12 (12) 24/04/2004 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK Lost BBBofC British heavyweight title & Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title.
Win 25-6 Danny Williams PTS 12 24/01/2004 Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England, UK Won BBBofC British heavyweight title & Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title.
Loss 24-6 Danny Williams TKO 5 (12) 26/09/2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK For Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title. Lost BBBofC British heavyweight title. While Sprott turned to the referee to complain about a low blow, he was knocked out by a left hook to the chin.
Win 24-5 Colin Kenna TKO 1 (10) 01/08/2003 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK Retained BBBofC British heavyweight title.
Win 23-5 Petr Horacek KO 1 (6) 10/06/2003 Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK
Win 22-5 Mark Potter TKO 3 (10) 18/03/2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK Won vacant BBBofC British heavyweight title.
Win 21-5 Mike Holden TKO 4 (8) 24/01/2003 Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK
Win 20-5 Tamas Feheri TKO 2 (6) 12/12/2002 Equinox Nightclub, Leicester Square, London, England, UK
Win 19-5 Derek McCafferty PTS 8 17/09/2002 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Win 18-5 Garing Lane PTS 6 10/07/2002 Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England, UK
Win 17-5 Pele Reid TKO 7 (10) 09/05/2002 Equinox Nightclub, Leicester Square, London, England, UK Won vacant WBF European heavyweight title. Sprott down twice.
Loss 16-5 Danny Williams RTD 7 (12) 12/02/2002 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK For BBBofC British heavyweight title & Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title. Sprott down in round 7. Sprott was a late replacement for Keith Long.
Win 16-4 Jermell Barnes PTS 8 20/12/2001 Topsportcentrum, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Loss 15-4 Corrie Sanders TKO 1 (8) 03/11/2001 Carnival City, Brakpan, Gauteng, South Africa
Loss 15-3 Timo Hoffmann UD 8 24/03/2001 Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Win 15-2 Timo Hoffmann PTS 8 17/02/2001 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Loss 14-2 Wayne Llewellyn TKO 3 (8) 14/10/2000 Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England, UK
Win 14-1 Tony Booth PTS 6 18/01/2000 Leisure Centre, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, UK
Win 13-1 Chris Woollas RTD 4 (6) 10/07/1999 Elephant and Castle Centre, Southwark, London, England, UK
Win 12-1 Gary Williams PTS 6 16/01/1999 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Loss 11-1 Harry Senior TKO 6 (10) 12/09/1998 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Win 11-0 Michael Murray PTS 6 14/02/1998 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Win 10-0 Ray Kane RTD 1 (6) 14/03/1998 Elephant and Castle Centre, Southwark, London, England, UK
Win 9-0 Johnny Davison TKO 2 (6) 10/01/1998 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Win 8-0 Nick Howard TKO 1 (4) 06/12/1997 The Arena, Wembley, London, England, UK
Win 7-0 Darren Fearn PTS 6 08/11/1997 Elephant and Castle Centre, Southwark, London, England, UK
Win 6-0 Gary Williams PTS 6 02/09/1997 Elephant and Castle Centre, Southwark, London, England, UK
Win 5-0 Wladek Framas PTS 6 20/05/1997 Picketts Lock Stadium, Edmonton, London, England, UK
Win 4-0 Tim Redman KO 2 (4) 16/04/1997 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
Win 3-0 Alvin Miller KO 1 (4) 17/03/1997 Marriott Hotel, Mayfair, London, England, UK
Win 2-0 Johnny Davison KO 2 (6) 19/02/1997 Town Hall, Acton, London, England, UK
Win 1-0 Geoff Hunter TKO 1 (4) 20/11/1996 Wembley, London, England, UK Professional debut.

References
  1. "Sprott lands Prizefighter". Sky Sports. 9 October 2010.
  2. Alan Hubbard (18 April 2004). "Boxing: From Reading removals man to heavyweight champion". The Independent.
  3. "Sprott falters in title challenge". 1 October 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  4. Mike Lewis (19 February 2007). "Sprott calls time on Harrison's dream". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  5. Natalie Slater (12 February 2010). "Sprott family vow to fight stigma of depression". Reading Post. | Alan Bunce (17 June 2010). "Emotional night for pal of Ginette Sprott". Reading Post.
  6. "Michael Sprott Prizefight Profile". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010.
  7. "Michael Sprott – Boxer". boxrec.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.