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Michael Sprott

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Michael Sprott
Born (1975-01-16) 16 January 1975 (age 49)
Reading, Berkshire, England
NationalityBritish
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights71
Wins42
Wins by KO17
Losses29

Michael Sprott (born 16 January 1975) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2018. At regional level, he held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Commonwealth titles in 2004; and challenged three times for the European title in 2005, 2010 and 2011; and won the Prizefighter series in 2010 and 2013.

Career

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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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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

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Michael Sprott has a son called Darnell born around 2001.[1] 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

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71 fights 42 wins 29 losses
By knockout 17 18
By decision 25 11
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
71 Loss 42–29 Lukasz Rozanski TKO 2 (6), 0:24 2 Jun 2018 G2A Arena, Jasionka 953, Rzeszów, Poland
70 Loss 42–28 Ali Eren Demirezen TKO 5 (8), 2:59 23 Dec 2017 Silence Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey
69 Loss 42–27 Marcin Siwy UD 6 5 Nov 2016 Hala ICDS, ul. Staszica 2, Lomianki, Poland
68 Loss 42–26 Christian Hammer KO 1 (10), 1:51 18 Mar 2016 Circus, Bucharest, Romania
67 Loss 42–25 Adrian Granat KO 1 (8), 2:55 5 Dec 2015 Inselparkhalle, Hamburg, Germany
66 Loss 42–24 Carlos Takam KO 5 (8) 13 Jun 2015 Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, France
65 Loss 42–23 Anthony Joshua TKO 1 (10), 1:26 22 Nov 2014 Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
64 Loss 42–22 Kali Meehan KO 1 (3) 4 Jun 2014 The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand Super 8 Heavyweight Tournament - Final
63 Win 42–21 Anthony Nansen UD 3 4 Jun 2014 The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand Super 8 Heavyweight Tournament - Semi-final
62 Win 41–21 Martin Rogan MD 3 4 Jun 2014 The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand Super 8 Heavyweight Tournament - Quarter-final
61 Win 40–21 Jason Gavern UD 3 14 Nov 2013 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 32: UK vs. USA International Heavyweights - Final
60 Win 39–21 Brian Minto UD 3 14 Nov 2013 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 32: UK vs. USA International Heavyweights - Semi-final
59 Win 38–21 Damian Wills UD 3 14 Nov 2013 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 32: UK vs. USA International Heavyweights - Quarter-final
58 Loss 37–21 Erkan Teper TKO 1 (10), 2:41 31 Aug 2013 Münsterplatz, Basel, Switzerland
57 Loss 37–20 Robert Helenius UD 10 23 Mar 2013 GETEC Arena, Magdeburg, Germany
56 Win 37–19 Edmund Gerber MD 10 15 Dec 2012 Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg, Germany
55 Loss 36–19 Edmund Gerber TKO 4 (8), 2:41 15 Sep 2012 Baden-Arena, Offenburg, Germany
54 Loss 36–18 Kubrat Pulev RTD 9 (12), 3:00 14 Jan 2012 Baden-Arena, Offenburg, Germany For IBF International heavyweight title
53 Loss 36–17 Alexander Dimitrenko UD 12 24 Sep 2011 Dima-Sportcenter, Hamburg, Germany For European heavyweight title
52 Loss 36–16 Tye Fields SD 3 7 May 2011 Alexandra Palace, London, England Prizefighter 18: The International Heavyweights - Quarter-final
51 Win 36–15 Serdar Uysal UD 4 19 Mar 2011 Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Germany
50 Win 35–15 Matt Skelton SD 3 9 Oct 2010 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 14: The Heavyweights IV - Final
49 Win 34–15 Shane McPhilbin UD 3 9 Oct 2010 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 14: The Heavyweights IV - Semi-final
48 Win 33–15 Danny Hughes UD 3 9 Oct 2010 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 14: The Heavyweights IV - Quarter-final
47 Loss 32–15 Audley Harrison KO 12 (12), 1:05 9 Apr 2010 Alexandra Palace, London, England For vacant European heavyweight title
46 Win 32–14 Werner Kreiskott TKO 1 (4) 20 Mar 2010 Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
45 Loss 31–14 Alexander Ustinov UD 10 20 Jun 2006 Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
44 Loss 31–13 Lamon Brewster UD 8 14 Mar 2009 Ostseehalle, Kiel, Germany
43 Win 31–12 Zack Page PTS 6 19 Nov 2008 Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, England
42 Loss 30–12 Taras Bydenko UD 10 31 May 2008 Burg-Waechter Castello, Düsseldorf, Germany
41 Loss 30–11 Matt Skelton MD 12 14 Jul 2007 O2 Arena (Millennium Dome), London, England For Commonwealth heavyweight title
40 Win 30–10 Audley Harrison KO 3 (12), 3:00 17 Feb 2007 The Arena, London, England Retained European Union heavyweight title;
Won vacant English heavyweight title
39 Win 29–10 Rene Dettweiler SD 12 4 Nov 2006 RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle, Mülheim, Germany Retained European Union heavyweight title
38 Loss 28–10 Ruslan Chagaev TKO 8 (12), 2:54 15 Jul 2006 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany For WBA Inter-Continental, and vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles
37 Win 28–9 Antoine Palatis UD 10 18 Feb 2006 Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland Won vacant European Union heavyweight title
36 Loss 27–9 Volodymyr Vyrchys UD 12 13 Dec 2005 Freizeit Arena, Soelden, Austria For WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
35 Loss 27–8 Paolo Vidoz UD 12 1 Oct 2005 EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, Germany For European heavyweight title
34 Win 27–7 Cengiz Koc SD 10 23 Apr 2005 Arena Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany Won vacant European Union heavyweight title
33 Win 26–7 Robert Sulgan TKO 1 (8), 0:52 10 Sep 2004 York Hall, London, England
32 Loss 25–7 Matt Skelton KO 12 (12), 0:56 24 Apr 2004 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England Lost British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
31 Win 25–6 Danny Williams PTS 12 24 Jan 2004 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England Won British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
30 Loss 24–6 Danny Williams TKO 5 (12), 0:19 26 Sep 2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England For British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
29 Win 24–5 Colin Kenna TKO 1 (10), 1:28 1 Aug 2003 York Hall, London, England Retained Southern Area heavyweight title
28 Win 23–5 Petr Horacek KO 1 (6), 2:14 10 Jun 2003 Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, England
27 Win 22–5 Mark Potter TKO 3 (10), 1:25 18 Mar 2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England Won vacant Southern Area heavyweight title
26 Win 21–5 Mike Holden TKO 4 (8), 0:50 24 Jan 2003 Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, England
25 Win 20–5 Tamas Feheri TKO 2 (6), 0:26 12 Dec 2002 Equinox Nightclub, London, England
24 Win 19–5 Derek McCafferty PTS 8 17 Sep 2007 York Hall, London, England
23 Win 18–5 Garing Lane PTS 6 10 Jul 2002 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
22 Win 17–5 Pele Reid TKO 7 (10), 2:53 9 May 2002 Equinox Nightclub, London, England Won vacant WBF European heavyweight title
21 Loss 16–5 Danny Williams RTD 7 (12), 0:26 12 Feb 2002 York Hall, London, England For British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
20 Win 16–4 Jermell Barnes PTS 8 20 Dec 2001 Topsportcentrum, Rotterdam, Netherlands
19 Loss 15–4 Corrie Sanders KO 1 (8), 1:25 3 Nov 2001 Carnival City, Brakpan, South Africa
18 Loss 15–3 Timo Hoffmann UD 8 24 Mar 2001 Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany
17 Win 15–2 Timo Hoffmann PTS 8 17 Feb 2001 York Hall, London, England
16 Loss 14–2 Wayne Llewellyn TKO 3 (6) 14 Oct 2000 Conference Centre, London, England
15 Win 14–1 Tony Booth PTS 6 18 Jan 2000 Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
14 Win 13–1 Chris Woollas RTD 4 (6), 0:52 10 Jul 1999 Elephant and Castle Centre, London, England
13 Win 12–1 Gary Williams PTS 6 16 Jan 1999 York Hall, London, England
12 Loss 11–1 Harry Senior TKO 6 (10), 1:40 12 Sep 1998 York Hall, London, England Won vacant Southern Area heavyweight title
11 Win 11–0 Michael Murray PTS 6 14 Mar 1998 York Hall, London, England
10 Win 10–0 Ray Kane RTD 1 (6), 3:00 14 Feb 1998 Elephant and Castle Centre, London, England
9 Win 9–0 Johnny Davison TKO 2 (6), 1:45 10 Jan 1998 York Hall, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Nick Howard TKO 1 (4), 1:58 6 Dec 1997 The Arena, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Darren Fearn PTS 6 8 Nov 1997 Elephant and Castle Centre, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Gary Williams PTS 6 2 Sep 1997 Elephant and Castle Centre, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Wladek Framas PTS 6 20 May 1997 Picketts Lock Stadium, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Tim Redman KO 2 (4), 2:41 16 Apr 1997 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Alvin Miller KO 1 (4), 2:00 17 Mar 1997 Marriott Hotel, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Johnny Davison KO 2 (6), 3:00 19 Feb 1997 Acton Town Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Geoff Hunter TKO 1 (6) 20 Nov 1996 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England

References

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  1. ^ a b Alan Hubbard (18 April 2004). "Boxing: From Reading removals man to heavyweight champion". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Sprott falters in title challenge". 1 October 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Sprott lands Prizefighter". Sky Sports. 9 October 2010.
  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.
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