Dale does really well in 'Prize Fighter' punch-up!

Dale does really well

in 'Prize Fighter' punch-up!

St Clears rising young boxing star Dale Evans came within a single point of winning the hugely popular 'Prize Fighter' series on Sky Sports One last Friday evening.

Dale has been based at Graham Brockway's gymnasium in Merlins Bridge for many years and was a Welsh School' champion before he was a teenager. He is now looked after by Gary Lockett, who also manages Enzo Macarinelli and Gavin Rees, and also had the experience of Brockway in his corner as he came within a whisker of winning the eight-man tournament in Wolverhampton – and the £32,000 first prize that goes with it.

Dale moves through the rounds

Boxing at welterweight (10 stone 7lbs) Dale joined Mark Thompson and Glen Foot as undefeated fighters and after disposing of Sam Eggington in his first fight of the evening, over three rounds, Dale then took on Thompson in the semi-final.

As the most experienced of the eight boxers, Thompson started out as hot favourite but Evans showed his punching power to good effect as he gained another deserved points verdict that took him into the final against Foot, who was clearly favoured by the TV pundits before the protagonists had even entered the ring.

Foot winces at body punches

But they reckoned without the commitment that is very much an Evans' trademark as he overcame the fact that he only had 20 minutes to recover for the final, making a steady first-round start as he weighed Foot up before a better second round where he began to land some telling blows, especially to the body. In the final round Evans had Foot wincing from another series of punches to the ribs by Evans and twice Foot held on for so long in the clinches that he might have received a warning.

There was no doubt who was happier to hear the final bell and had there been another round then the three judges might not have needed to give their verdict. But although Evans was given a 29-28 verdict by one judge the other two gave a 29-28 result in Foot's favour and so he picked up the coveted 'Prize Fighter' trophy and substantial cash sum – although there was financial consolation for Evans as he picked up the runners-up cheque for £16,000.

“I was gutted with the verdict,” said Evans, “because I know how hurt he was in that final round but grabbed hold of to stop me getting him out of there. But at least it has given me great coverage on television and got me noticed at a higher level.

“I'm still only 21 and I still love the training as much as ever so I've got to knuckle down with Graham and Gary to train even harder and keep climbing up the rankings.”

Dale works hard

Dale works for Nolan Windows in Carmarthen during the day time and shows his dedication by travelling to Llantrisant twice a week for sparring and going to Merlins Bridge for his fitness work the other nights and sometimes on weekends too.

Graham Brockway looked after Dale throughout most of his career as an amateur boxer where he won over 60 of his 70-odd bouts, a superb record which included Welsh titles and international bouts galore.

Speedy finish on debut – and a welcome invitation

When Evans turned professional in the welterweight division he made an immediate impact as he knocked out Matt Wright in only 43 seconds at Newport – and followed up with a second round stoppage of Kyle Winters at the CIA Arena in Cardiff.

He had a minor hiccup as he drew with the more experienced Leon Findlay at Swansea's 'Oceania' but bounced back by stopping Johnny Creamer in the first round of their fight at the Rhondda Fach Leisure Centre.

Welcome invitation

This earned him a fight against Kevin Macaulay on a televised bill organised by Eddie Hearne, the son of Barry Hearne and boss of 'Matchroom Sport, and he must have impressed as he won on points because it was then that he was invited to take part in the Prize Fighter' Welterweight series.

He had to travel to the 'Egg Club' in London a week prior to the tournament for the publicity shots and admits that it was a long day, with lots of photos and camera work – but enjoyed being part of it.

“It was a bit like being a celebrity for a day but I just wanted to get down to the boxing and when it eventually came there was a huge crowd of over 3.000 there, with almost two busloads of my supporters turning out and letting me know that they were with me!”

As to the contest itself, Dale knew how hard it was going to be, with a fight in the quarter-final, then the semi-final and then the 'big one' with very little recovery time.

“It was all about trying to get a stoppage early or to conserve energy and I managed to keep going. I knew it was going to be tough but I have learned so much from the tournament so it is onwards and upwards for me now!”

Brockway is full of praise

Graham Brockway, himself a former pro boxer and highly respected World Kick-Boxing Champion, was full of praise for his protégée.

“We knew it was a tough challenge but I was very pleased with Dale's performance,” he said,” and Gary and I both know that he is a talented young boxer. If he can maintain his current rate of progress then he could go to the top.
“It will take a lot of hard work but he is a naturally good trainer and has real punching power to have others showing him respect in the ring – as they certainly did in 'Prize Fighter'!