![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_JS323371517.jpg\")
Michael Sprott after winning Prizefighter: The Heavyweights in 2010(Image: by Dean Mouhtaropoulos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nYou never knew what would happen when Michael Sprott was in the ring, but he knows what would have been the outcome if he’d fought Mike TysonMichael Sprott after winning Prizefighter: The Heavyweights in 2010(Image: by Dean Mouhtaropoulos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
It’s the most obvious question to ask of someone like boxer Michael Sprott<\/a>, yet it\u2019s one that he can\u2019t answer: \u201cWho is the best you\u2019ve fought?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I get asked that all the time,\u201d he says. \u201cI should know the answer.\u201d He racks his brains again, for the umpteenth time, and still comes up short. \u201cNah,\u201d he says, with a shake of the head, and a self-deprecating laugh. \u201cSorry.\u201d To be fair, it\u2019s a lot to ask, to single out one fighter<\/a> above all others on a record that spans 71 professional contests<\/a> and almost every significant name in European heavyweight boxing<\/a> (and a few beyond this continent) over a stretch of nearly 22 years.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s nothing wrong with Sprott\u2019s memory. He shows remarkable levels of recall, with no signs of ill-effects from taking shots from some of the world\u2019s hardest-hitting men<\/a>. Not only does Sprott, at 50, look barely a day older than when I last saw him on TV, more than a decade ago, but he can tell you precise details about his fights, even those from long ago, right down to the exact shots he finished them with \u2013 or even those which finished him.<\/p>\n And so, one question that he does find easy to answer is that of who hit him the hardest. \u201cOne hundred percent, the hardest puncher I ever faced, by far, was Corrie Sanders,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Sprott had a brief shootout with the South African southpaw back in November 2001, rocking the former WBO champion before Sanders roared back and finished him, all inside half a round.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never met someone who punched so hard, and I don\u2019t know where it came from,\u201d he says. \u201cHe had no muscle definition, thin biceps, a soft body, small, soft hands, and he shook hands like a woman. But, oh my f****** God, he could punch!\u201d<\/p>\n Sprott was put down with a body shot but got up before the 10-count finished, ready to fight on, but failed to convince the referee and was ruled out. It was a disappointing ending to an eventful month in South Africa, but it could have been worse.<\/p>\n \u201cMy trainer said \u2018you\u2019re lucky he got you with a body shot \u2013 if he\u2019d hit you to the head, you\u2019d have been asleep for a week\u2019,\u201d says Sprott in another reminder of Sanders\u2019 vaunted power \u2013 something noticed even by the biggest names who fought him.<\/p>\n Sprott was in Austria for a sparring stint with the Klitschko brothers many years later when, trading war stories, Sanders\u2019 name came up. All three men had fought Sanders, who famously stunned Wladimir with a second-round stoppage for the WBO belt in March 2003, and then gave Vitali a wild ride for the WBC title 13 months later before losing in seven.<\/p>\n \u201cWladimir said \u2018I thought he was just some guy I was going to beat, and he tore me apart\u2019. Vitali just said \u2018woah\u2019,\u201d recalls Sprott, mimicking the Ukrainian\u2019s wide-eyed reaction to remembering Sanders\u2019 punching prowess. \u201cAnd Hasim Rahman said the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Rahman had traded knockdowns with Sanders en route to winning a slugfest in 2000, and still vividly remembered the encounter when he turned up in New Zealand 14 years later to box alongside Sprott in the Super 8 tournament, a Prizefighter-style eight-man elimination that also featured Kali Meehan and Martin Rogan.<\/p>\n Sprott beat Rogan in the semi-finals and lost to Meehan in the final. It was the fourth time he\u2019d boxed in such a tournament, having competed in three Prizefighters<\/a> in the UK, winning two of them. \u201cI did like the format,\u201d he says. \u201cIt suited me.\u201d<\/p>\n Evidently so, given he\u2019s one of only two boxers to win two Prizefighters, the other being Audley Harrison, one of his foremost rivals.<\/p>\n Sprott and Harrison split a pair of hellacious knockouts \u2013 Sprott rendering Harrison unconscious in the third round of their 2007 encounter, before Harrison got final-round payback three years later \u2013 and in between, both had entered a Prizefighter tournament in October 2009.<\/p>\n Sprott\u2019s presence would have added significant further intrigue to a field that also included Danny Williams, but sadly he had to withdraw after his sister Ginette passed away shortly before.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mum said \u2018you ain\u2019t getting in that ring unless you fight me first\u2019,\u201d says Sprott.<\/p>\n His rivalry with Harrison was just one of several storied feuds he engaged in over that long career. There were also three-fight series with Williams and Matt Skelton, both of whom he beat at the third time of asking, and he went 1-1 with continental contenders Timo Hoffman and Edmund Gerber.<\/p>\n Elsewhere on that long record are names like Wayne Llewellyn, Pele Reid, Mike Holden, Mark Potter, Colin Kenna, Cengiz Koc, Paolo Vidoz, Volodymyr Vyrchys, Ruslan Chagaev, Rene Dettweiler, Taras Bidenko, Lamon Brewster, Aleksandr Ustinov, Tye Fields, Alexander Dimitrenko, Kubrat Pulev, Robert Helenius, Erkan Teper, Damian Wills, Brian Minto, Carlos Takam, Adrian Granat, Lukasz Rozanski and even, well into the sunset of Sprott\u2019s career, a 9-0 Anthony Joshua<\/a>.<\/p>\n Usually, when you rattle off a long list of notable names on a boxer\u2019s record, you\u2019re talking about a journeyman, but while Sprott did close out his career as a road warrior, there was a time \u2013 more than once \u2013 when he was a contender, possibly no more than a fight or two away from a world title shot.<\/p>\n But while he was more than capable of springing upsets \u2013 he scored wins against roughly half of the top-level names he fought \u2013 Sprott never quite maintained enough momentum to break into the elite.<\/p>\n He was just as likely to lose to an underdog as he was to win as one. Whenever he made a breakthrough, a defeat would surely follow, and when he was written off, the Reading man tended to roar back with yet another upset. It was the ultimate yo-yo career.<\/p>\n It started well, with an 11-fight winning streak between November 1996 and March 1998, before a surprise defeat in a vacant Southern Area title shot to Harry Senior set the tone for the unpredictable form to follow. A man who could lose to someone like the 4-4 Senior would go on to beat the likes of Harrison, Williams, Skelton; and a man who failed at Area level would later win British and Commonwealth championships.<\/p>\n That honour came courtesy of beating Williams at the third attempt \u2013 especially satisfying not just for the revenge aspect but for the circumstances of their first two fights.<\/p>\n In February 2002, Sprott had been enjoying a family holiday when he received an offer he couldn\u2019t refuse.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in Barbados, having a good time for a few weeks,\u201d he says. \u201cI was enjoying myself, laid back, drinking, partying, lots of food. I got a phone call: \u2018Keith Long\u2019s pulled out [of a British and Commonwealth title challenge against Williams]; the BBC is desperate to keep the fight on\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018what have I got to lose?\u2019 and went back [to the UK]. My missus stayed out there with my parents. \u201c<\/p>\n Sprott flew back four days before the fight, holiday food and drink accounting for the 14lbs he\u2019d gained since his last fight, and was unsurprisingly stopped in seven one-sided rounds. (\u201cMy sister said, \u2018when you came out [to the ring], your belly was out here!\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n This article was originally published in BOXING NEWS, the world\u2019s oldest boxing magazine and the longest-running sports weekly. Published every Thursday, it offers unrivalled coverage of the sweet science. Buy it now here<\/a>.<\/p>\n But thereafter, Sprott hit the best form of his career, winning eight in as row, including resounding stoppages of Reid, Holden, Potter and Kenna, to earn another shot at Williams in September 2003 \u2013 this time with the benefit of a full training camp.<\/p>\n A much better effort ensued, but Sprott\u2019s spirited challenge ended in controversial circumstances in the fifth round when he complained about a low blow \u2013 not the first \u2013 and was flattened by a left hook before the referee could react.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in better shape, I\u2019d been stopping everyone \u2013 he knew it was a different me,\u201d Sprott says. \u201cI was winning that fight, that\u2019s why he started throwing low blows, to slow me down.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned to the referee: \u2018Are you gonna\u2026\u2019 \u2013 then boom! People were throwing coins at Danny, chanting \u2018cheat, cheat, cheat!\u2019. The Board gave us a straight rematch.\u201d<\/p>\n Which was when, in January 2004, Sprott finally got over the Williams hump with a close points decision that gave him the two belts. Not for the first time \u2013 nor the last \u2013 he finally seemed poised to push on towards world level. But, also for neither the first nor the last time, that progress would be immediately undone.<\/p>\n Next up was a mandatory title defence against Skelton.<\/p>\n \u201c[Manager] Dean [Powell] said, \u2018I\u2019ve got a bit of news for you \u2013 I was speaking with [Mike] Tyson\u2019s people, and they want to fight you \u2013 but you\u2019ve got to beat Skelton.\u201d Easier said than done.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was pushing me to the ropes, punching me to the back of the head; it exhausted me,\u201d says Sprott of the 12th-round stoppage defeat that relieved him of the titles three months after he\u2019d won them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll give it to Matt, he\u2019s strong. Not a technical boxer, but very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n The defeat cost him not just the belts but also the rumoured Tyson fight, which, in an example of boxing\u2019s weird logic, went instead to the man he\u2019d beaten \u2013 Williams \u2013 who would score a famous win over Iron Mike in July 2004.<\/p>\n If Sprott had got that opportunity instead, he wouldn\u2019t now be unable to name the best he\u2019d faced \u2013 and he also doesn\u2019t struggle for an answer when asked what would have happened had he fought Tyson: \u201cI\u2019d have battered him, mate!\u201d<\/p>\n He laughs, because he\u2019s aware it sounds far-fetched. But then so too did the idea of Williams beating Tyson.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard rumours he was struggling to do three-four rounds. For two rounds, he\u2019d have been very dangerous, but after that, the fight is yours.\u201d Which is exactly how Williams-Tyson panned out.<\/p>\n From there, Sprott went back and forth with a selection of European contenders until what was arguably his signature night, when he knocked Harrison spark out in Wembley Arena in February 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cI trained eight weeks for the fight,\u201d he says. \u201cI wrote \u2018Audley\u2019s chin\u2019 on the bag and kept training the right hand-left hook to land on it.\u201d And land it he did.<\/p>\n \u201cI caught him clean and knocked him out. I didn\u2019t even think about it; it just came.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, Sprott looked on the verge of a breakthrough. \u201cI thought I\u2019d go for the world title, then,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Again, though, defeat would immediately follow, and again, it came at the hands of Skelton, their July 2007 Commonwealth title fight going the way of the \u2018Bedford Bear\u2019 on points.<\/p>\n Want to keep up with all of the latest sport news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Off the Ball email newsletter!<\/p>\n From darts, boxing and UFC, to snooker, F1 and golf, get it all in your email inbox.<\/p>\n How do you sign up?<\/p>\n Simply click on this link<\/a>, then provide your email address and that’s it, job done. You’ll receive an email with all of the top football stories.<\/p>\n You can also sign up for our Daily Star Football email for all the latest transfer news and breaking stories, right here<\/a><\/p>\n But a world title shot would be teased once more, this time ahead of another rematch, against Harrison in April 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cCome fight night, I was in my changing room when I got a phone call,\u201d Sprott says. \u201cIt was Vitali [Klitschko, then WBC champion]. He said if you beat him and win this [European] title, I\u2019ll give you a shot at my title.\u201d<\/p>\n After 11 and a bit rounds, Harrison was hopelessly behind on points and suffering a torn pectoral muscle that had rendered him a one-armed boxer for much of the fight. All Sprott had to do was navigate three more minutes against a wounded foe who had no mathematical hope of victory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the last round; I could have just held, but my trainer said, \u2018Mike, he\u2019s gonna come out hard, you\u2019ve gotta show him who\u2019s the boss.\u201d<\/p>\n Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Sky Sports commentator Jim Watt was of a similar mind.<\/p>\n \u201cSprott was expecting a big drive from Harrison in the last round, but he\u2019s taken the play away from him \u2013 great tactics,\u201d said Watt \u2013 13 seconds before Harrison scored a one-punch sudden-reversal knockout.<\/p>\n \u201cI was gutted, mate \u2013 we only had half a round left,\u201d says Sprott of perhaps the greatest sliding doors moment in a career of many.<\/p>\n Harrison would fight for a world title in his very next fight, while Sprott would return to his win-some, lose-some ways, although among the wins were the two Prizefighter triumphs, one of which saw him finally get the better of Skelton.<\/p>\n His career came to an end in 2018, at the age of 43, but only because the fight offers dried up, not because of any deliberate decision to retire.<\/p>\n \u201cI just didn\u2019t get offered any more fights. I\u2019d have still fought.\u201d<\/p>\n And he still would.<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m back in training,\u201d he says. \u201cAt first it was just to get back in shape. I\u2019ve been doing PTs and coaching my sons Darnell [aged 24] and Nathaniel [21]. I\u2019m looking to get my own gym going. And I\u2019d fight again if the right opportunity is out there.\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of \u201cright opportunity\u201d might be out there for Sprott at 50?<\/p>\n \u201cI was chatting with Audley on Instagram and said we should do an exhibition. He said, \u2018Mike, we\u2019re old men now\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n That may be true \u2013 in an athletic sense, anyway \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t always stop old men fighting. Tyson boxed last year at 58, and Ike Ibeabuchi recently returned at 52.<\/p>\n \u201cIke Ibeabuchi, that\u2019s the fight I want,\u201d says Sprott, with a chuckle that, like the one which accompanied his claim that he could have \u201cbattered\u201d Tyson, suggests the presence of enough self-awareness to understand this is unlikely.<\/p>\n Unlikely, but perhaps not impossible. After all, his old foe Danny Williams had initially been lined up as Ibeabuchi\u2019s comeback opponent until he was injured in training.<\/p>\n Sprott, you sense, would take an Ibeabuchi fight if it was offered. After all, he made a career out of fighting the best.<\/p>\n He just can\u2019t tell you who WAS the best.<\/p>\n This article was originally published in BOXING NEWS, the world\u2019s oldest boxing magazine and the longest-running sports weekly. Published every Thursday, it offers unrivalled coverage of the sweet science. Buy it now here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You never knew what would happen when Michael Sprott was in the ring, but he knows what would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[6565,2560,80335,7879,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-251487","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-anthony-joshua","9":"tag-boxing","10":"tag-danny-williams","11":"tag-mike-tyson","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Corrie Sanders punched harder than any man Michael Sprott ever faced(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/157675_1.jpeg\")
Michael Sprott says training with Wladimir Klitschko helped him win Prizefighter Heavyweights IV<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762616351_664_1_JS323371517.jpg\")
Michael Sprott after winning Prizefighter: The Heavyweights in 2010(Image: by Dean Mouhtaropoulos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/73357640.jpg\")
Michael Sprott knocked out Audley Harrison in their 2007 meeting(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"2007:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Audley-Harrison-Career-in-Pictures.jpg\")
Audley Harrison is attended to by doctors after being knocked out by Michael Sprott(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2_Boxing-News-061125.jpg\")
The latest edition of Boxing News(Image: Boxing News)<\/p>\n![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_GettyImages-119882444.jpg\")
Mike Tyson pictured in 2005<\/p>\n![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/157564_1.jpeg\")
Matt Skelton and Michael Sprott<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755233891_29_2_Untitled-1-copy.jpg\")
Don’t miss a thing with sport updates!<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_Michael-Sprott-R-collapses-into-the-ro.jpg\")
Michael Sprott collapses into the ropes as Audley Harrison lands a knock-out punch(Image: AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n