Michael Sprott (born 16 January 1975) is a British former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He held the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 The Prizefighter series was a professional boxing tournament created by boxing promoter Barry Hearn and aired on Sky Sports. The format has an initial eight fighters, who compete in four quarter-finals of rounds (number and length of the rounds i ...

Career

After a quiet amateur career, Sprott turned pro in November 1996 under the old

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

trainer,

Terry Lawless Terry Lawless (29 March 1933 – 24 December 2009) was an English boxing manager and trainer who worked in London, most successfully during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Biography Born in West Ham, Lawless started his coaching and management ca ...

. 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 Timo Hoffmann (born 25 September 1974) is a German professional boxer and multiple-time European heavyweight title challenger. He is perhaps best known as being the only fighter for nearly a decade (from 2000 to 2009) to have gone the full dist ...

, who had lost only to

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

to face hard hitting fringe contender

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. 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 Keith Long (born 14 November 1973) is an Irish football manager and former footballer. He was most recently the manager of League of Ireland Premier Division team Bohemians Long is a former Bray Wanderers player, assistant manager and was ...

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

. 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

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 Paolo Vidoz (born 21 August 1970) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2011 and held the European heavyweight title from 2005 to 2006. As an amateur Vidoz won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics in the super-heavywei ...

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 Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...

. 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. 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 Lamon Tajuan Brewster (born June 5, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 2004 to 2006, and is best known for scoring an upset knockout victory over Wladimir Klitsch ...

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. 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. He lists his hobbies as weights, travelling and meeting new people. Outside boxing, Sprott enjoys

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

. His favourite football teams are

Reading FC Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...

and Arsenal F.C.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 42 Wins (17 knockouts), 29 Losses (18 knockouts), 0 Draws , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res. , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , 42-29 , align=left, Lukasz Rozanski , TKO , 2 , 2018-06-02 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-28 , align=left,

Ali Eren Demirezen Ali Eren Demirezen (born 2 April 1990) is a Turkish professional boxer who held the WBO European heavyweight title from 2018 to 2019. As an amateur he won a silver medal at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin, Turkey. Amateur career At th ...

, TKO , 5 , 2017-12-23 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-27 , align=left, Marcin Siwy , UD , 6 , 2016-11-05 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-26 , align=left,

Christian Hammer Christian Hammer (born Cristian Ciocan) is a Romanian-German professional boxer who held the WBO European heavyweight title three times between 2012 and 2018. Professional career Ciocan's first coach was Felix Păun. Hammer vs. Gregorin He t ...

, KO , 1 , 2016-03-18 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-25 , align=left,

Adrian Granat Carl Wilhelm Adrian Granat (born 26 April 1991), best known as Adrian Granat, is a Swedish former professional boxer who fought at heavyweight. Boxing career Having started boxing at age 13, he won gold in the Swedish Championship at 17 in 2009 ...

, KO , 1 , 2015-12-05 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-24 , align=left,

Carlos Takam Armand Carlos Netsing Takam (born 6 December 1980) is a Cameroonian-born French professional boxer. He has challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles against in 2017. As an amateur, he represented Cameroo ...

, KO , 5 , 2015-06-13 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-23 , align=left, Anthony Joshua , TKO , 1 , 2014-11-22 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 42-22 , align=left,

Kali Meehan Kalivati Gerald Meehan (born 9 March 1970) is an Australian professional boxer of Fijian descent. He turned pro after a career in rugby league. His son Willis Meehan plays rugby league and boxes. Amateur career Before becoming professional, ...

, KO , 1 , 2014-06-04 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 42-21 , align=left, Anthony Nansen , UD , 3 , 2014-06-04 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 41-21 , align=left,

Martin Rogan Martin Rogan (born 1 May 1975) is a retired Irish professional boxer. He won the first televised Prize Fighter 2008 defeating 3 fighters on the same night taken the title winning £25,000. He held the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 2009 and c ...

, MD , 3 , 2014-06-04 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 40-21 , align=left, Jason Gavern , UD , 3 , 2013-11-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 39-21 , align=left, Brian Minto , UD , 3 , 2013-11-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 38-21 , align=left, Damian Wills , UD , 3 , 2013-11-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 37-21 , align=left, Erkan Teper , TKO , 1 , 2013-08-31 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 37-20 , align=left, Robert Helenius , UD , 10 , 2013-03-23 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 37-19 , align=left,

Edmund Gerber Edmund Gerber (born 2 August 1988) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018. At regional level, he challenged once for the European heavyweight title in 2013. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2006 EU Juni ...

, MD , 12 , 2012-12-15 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 36-19 , align=left,

, TKO , 4 , 2012-09-15 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 36-18 , align=left,

Kubrat Pulev Kubrat Venkov Pulev ( bg, Кубрат Венков Пулев; born 4 May 1981) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the unified heavyweight title in 2014 and 2020. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight ...

, RTD , 9 , 2012-01-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 36-17 , align=left, Alexander Dimitrenko , UD , 12 , 2011-09-24 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 36-16 , align=left, Tye Fields , SD , 3 , 2011-05-27 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 36-15 , align=left, Serdar Uysal , UD , 4 , 2011-03-19 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 35-15 , align=left, Matt Skelton , SD , 3 , 2010-10-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 34-15 , align=left,

Shane McPhilbin Shane McPhilbin is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2014. He held the British cruiserweight title in 2012. Career From Bulwell, Nottingham, McPhilbin's professional career started in 2009. In October 2010 he compe ...

, UD , 3 , 2010-10-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 33-15 , align=left, Danny Hughes , UD , 3 , 2010-10-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 32-15 , align=left, Audley Harrison , KO , 12 , 2010-04-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 32-14 , align=left, Werner Kreiskott , TKO , 1 , 2010-03-20 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 31-14 , align=left, Alexander Ustinov , UD , 10 , 2009-06-20 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 31-13 , align=left,

, UD , 8 , 2009-03-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 31-12 , align=left, Zack Page , PTS , 6 , 2008-11-19 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 30-12 , align=left, Taras Bydenko , UD , 10 , 2008-05-31 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 30-11 , align=left, Matt Skelton , MD , 12 , 2007-07-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 30-10 , align=left, Audley Harrison , KO , 3 , 2007-02-17 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 29-10 , align=left, Rene Dettweiler , SD , 12 , 2006-11-04 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 28-10 , align=left,

, TKO , 8 , 2006-07-15 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 28-9 , align=left, Antoine Palatis , UD , 10 , 2006-02-18 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 27-9 , align=left,

Volodymyr Vyrchys Vladimir Virchis ( uk, Володимир Вірчіс; 18 August 1973 – 28 January 2022) was a Ukrainian professional boxer. Competing from 1999 to 2009, he held the European heavyweight title from 2006 to 2008. Life and career Virchis, b ...

, UD , 12 , 2005-12-13 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 27-8 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , 2005-10-01 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 27-7 , align=left, Cengiz Koc , SD , 10 , 2005-04-23 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 26-7 , align=left, Robert Sulgan , TKO , 1 , 2004-09-10 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 25-7 , align=left, Matt Skelton , KO , 12 , 2004-04-24 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 25-6 , align=left, Danny Williams , PTS , 12 , 2004-01-24 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 24-6 , align=left, Danny Williams , TKO , 5 , 2003-09-26 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 24-5 , align=left, Colin Kenna , TKO , 1 , 2003-08-01 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 23-5 , align=left, Petr Horacek , KO , 1 , 2003-06-10 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 22-5 , align=left, Mark Potter , TKO , 3 , 2003-03-18 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 21-5 , align=left, Mike Holden , TKO , 4 , 2003-01-24 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 20-5 , align=left, Tamas Feheri , TKO , 2 , 2002-12-12 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 19-5 , align=left, Derek McCafferty , PTS , 8 , 2002-09-17 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 18-5 , align=left, Garing Lane , PTS , 6 , 2002-07-10 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 17-5 , align=left, Pele Reid , TKO , 7 , 2002-05-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 16-5 , align=left, Danny Williams , RTD , 7 , 2002-02-12 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 16-4 , align=left, Jermell Barnes , PTS , 8 , 2001-12-20 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 15-4 , align=left,

, TKO , 1 , 2001-11-03 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 15-3 , align=left,

, UD , 8 , 2001-03-24 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 15-2 , align=left,

, PTS , 8 , 2001-02-17 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 14-2 , align=left, Wayne Llewellyn , TKO , 3 , 2000-10-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 14-1 , align=left, Tony Booth , PTS , 6 , 2000-01-18 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 13-1 , align=left, Chris Woollas , RTD , 4 , 1999-07-10 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 12-1 , align=left, Gary Williams , PTS , 6 , 1999-01-16 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 11-1 , align=left, Harry Senior , TKO , 6 , 1998-09-12 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 11-0 , align=left, Michael Murray , PTS , 6 , 1998-02-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 10-0 , align=left, Ray Kane , RTD , 1 , 1998-03-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 9-0 , align=left, Johnny Davison , TKO , 2 , 1998-01-10 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 8-0 , align=left, Nick Howard , TKO , 1 , 1997-12-06 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 7-0 , align=left, Darren Fearn , PTS , 6 , 1997-11-08 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 6-0 , align=left, Gary Williams , PTS , 6 , 1997-09-02 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 5-0 , align=left, Wladek Framas , PTS , 6 , 1997-05-20 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 4-0 , align=left, Tim Redman , KO , 2 , 1997-04-16 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 3-0 , align=left, Alvin Miller , KO , 1 , 1997-03-17 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 2-0 , align=left, Johnny Davison , KO , 2 , 1997-02-19 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 1-0 , align=left, Geoff Hunter , TKO , 1 , 1996-11-20 , align=left, , align=left,

References

External links

*
Danny Williams-Michael Sprott IIIn pictures: Audley Harrison vs Michael Sprott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprott, Michael English male boxers Sportspeople from Reading, Berkshire 1975 births Heavyweight boxers Living people Prizefighter contestants British Boxing Board of Control champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions