- Michael Sprott
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Michael Sprott 
Statistics Real name Michael Sprott Rated at Heavyweight Height 6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m) Nationality 
BritishBorn 16 January 1975
Reading, Berkshire, England, UKStance Orthodox Boxing record Total fights 53 Wins 36 Wins by KO 17 Losses 17 Draws 0 No contests 0 Michael Sprott (born 16 January 1975) is a professional heavyweight boxer from Reading, Berkshire, England. Sprott briefly held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles, and was a European heavyweight title contender. He was the winner of the 14th Prizefighter series.[1]
Boxing out of Jim Evans' gym in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, Sprott is a regular sparring partner of Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko.
Contents
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 when it appeared he wanted to continue.
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 7 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 hard hitting Pele Reid (KO7), ex-British champ Michael Holden (KO4), puncher 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 outpointed by Olympian Paolo Vidoz in a European title fight, both fights in Germany. 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.
Sprott recently fought former WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster and lost a unanimous decision on 14 March 2009.
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 October 9, 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.[4] 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 FC.[6]
Professional boxing record
36 Wins (17 knockouts, 19 decisions), 17 Losses (8 knockouts, 9 decision), 0 Draws [1] Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss 36-17 
Alexander DimitrenkoUD 12 24/09/2011 Dima-Sportcenter, Lohbruegge, Hamburg, GermanyFor 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 FieldsSD 3 27/05/2011 
Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, London, England, United KingdomPrizefighter Tournament, International heavyweight quarter-final. Scoring was 28-29, 28-29, 29-28. Win 36-15 
Serdar UysalUD 4 19/03/2011 Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyWin 35-15 Matt SkeltonSD 3 09/10/2010 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United Kingdom'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Final. Win 34-15 Shane McPhilbinUD 3 09/10/2010 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United Kingdom'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Semi-Final. Win 33-15 Danny HughesUD 3 09/10/2010 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United Kingdom'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Quarter-Final. Loss 32-15 Audley HarrisonKO 12 (12) 09/04/2010 Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London, England, United KingdomFor 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 KreiskottTKO 1 (4) 20/03/2010 Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyLoss 31-14 
Alexander UstinovUD 10 20/06/2009 Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyLoss 31-13 Lamon BrewsterUD 8 14/03/2009 Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, GermanySprott down at the end of round 3. Win 31-12 Zack PagePTS 6 19/11/2008 Royal Lancaster Hotel, Bayswater, London, England, United KingdomLoss 30-12 
Taras BydenkoUD 10 31/05/2008 Burg-Waechter Castello, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyLoss 30-11 Matt SkeltonMD 12 14/07/2007 O2 Arena (Millenium Dome), Greenwich, London, England, United KingdomFor 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 HarrisonKO 3 (12) 17/02/2007 The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United KingdomRetained 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 DettweilerSD 12 04/11/2006 RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle, Muelheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyRetained EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title. Sprott received point deductions in 10th and 12th rounds for head butts. Loss 28-10 
Ruslan ChagaevTKO 8 (12) 15/07/2006 Color Line Arena, Altona, Hamburg, GermanyFor WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title & vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title. Win 28–9 
Antoine PalatisUD 10 18/02/2006 
Meadowbank Sports Centre, Wembley, Edinburgh, Scotland, United KingdomWon vacant EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title. Loss 27–9 Volodymyr VyrchysUD 12 13/12/2005 
Freizeit Arena, Soelden, AustriaFor WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title. Loss 27–8 
Paolo VidozUD 12 01/10/2005 EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, GermanyFor EBU (European) heavyweight title. Win 27–7 Cengiz KocSD 10 23/04/2005 Arena Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyWon vacant EBU-EU (European Union) heavyweight title. Win 26–7 
Robert SulganTKO 1 (8) 10/09/2004 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United KingdomSulgan down from a right uppercut. Loss 25–7 Matt SkeltonKO 12 (12) 24/04/2004 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England, United KingdomLost BBBofC British heavyweight title & Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title. Win 25–6 Danny WilliamsPTS 12 24/01/2004 Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England, United KingdomWon BBBofC British heavyweight title & Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title. Loss 24–6 Danny WilliamsTKO 5 (12) 26/09/2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England, United KingdomFor 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 KennaTKO 1 (10) 01/08/2003 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United KingdomRetained BBBofC British heavyweight title. Win 23–5 Petr HoracekKO 1 (6) 10/06/2003 Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, United KingdomWin 22–5 Mark PotterTKO 3 (10) 18/03/2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England, United KingdomWon vacant BBBofC British heavyweight title. Win 21–5 Mike HoldenTKO 4 (8) 24/01/2003 Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, United KingdomWin 20–5 
Tamas FeheriTKO 2 (6) 12/12/2002 Equinox Nightclub, Leicester Square, London, England, United KingdomWin 19–5 Derek McCaffertyPTS 8 17/09/2002 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United KingdomWin 18–5 Garing LanePTS 6 10/07/2002 Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England, United KingdomWin 17–5 Pele ReidTKO 7 (10) 09/05/2002 Equinox Nightclub, Leicester Square, London, England, United KingdomWon vacant WBF European heavyweight title. Sprott down twice. Loss 16–5 Danny WilliamsRTD 7 (12) 12/02/2002 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, United KingdomFor 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 BarnesPTS 8 20/12/2001 
Topsportcentrum, Rotterdam, NetherlandsLoss 15–4 
Corrie SandersTKO 1 (8) 03/11/2001 Carnival City, Brakpan, Gauteng, South AfricaLoss 15–3 Timo HoffmannUD 8 24/03/2001 Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, GermanyReferences
- ^ "Sprott lands Prizefighter". Sky Sports. 2010-10-09. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12183_6436784,00.html.
- ^ Alan Hubbard (2004-04-18). "Boxing: From Reading removals man to heavyweight champion". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/boxing-from-reading-removals-man-to-heavyweight-champion-560307.html.
- ^ Mike Lewis (2007-02-19). "Sprott calls time on Harrison's dream". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/02/19/soboxx19.xml. Retrieved 2007-02-23.[dead link]
- ^ Alan Hubbard (2004-04-18). "Boxing: From Reading removals man to heavyweight champion". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/boxing-from-reading-removals-man-to-heavyweight-champion-560307.html.
- ^ Natalie Slater (2010-02-12). "Sprott family vow to fight stigma of depression". Reading Post. http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2065699_sprott_family_vow_to_fight_stigma_of_depression. | Alan Bunce (2010-06-17). "Emotional night for pal of Ginette Sprott". Reading Post. http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2072901_emotional_night_for_pal_of_ginette_sprott.
- ^ "Michael Sprott Prizefight Profile". Matchroom Sport. http://www.theprizefighterseries.com/profiles/michael_sprott.htm.
External links
Categories:- English boxers
- People from Reading, Berkshire
- 1975 births
- Heavyweight boxers
- Living people
- Prizefighter contestants
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