Dolan relying on Amateur experience to lead him to glory by British Boxing Apr 8th 2008

Sunderland boxer David Dolan believes his formidable amateur pedigree can lead him to glory in the Prizefighter heavyweight tournament later this week. Dolan, 28, is one of eight men competing in the first Prizefighter competition, which will be screened live on Sky Sports 1 from 9.30pm on Friday, April 11th. The event, organised by Barry Hearn's sports promotions company Matchroom Sport, sees four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and final all take place in one night at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. Each bout will last a maximum of 3x3 minute rounds and Dolan, who represented England 54 times at amateur level and won three national titles, is the bookmakers' favourite to win. Dolan, who also won a super heavyweight Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2002, believes his boxing background will be a big advantage as he battles for the £25,000 top prize. He said: "With the fights being short it's going to be like going back to the old amateur format. "In Prizefighter there are nine-minute fights, while they were only eight minutes in the amateurs. "I'm not going to go back to the way I boxed as an amateur but I will take things like the speed involved and try and box at a similar pace. "It's something different and I'm looking forward to it. I'm training hard and ready to give it my best shot. "The tournament has generated a lot of interest, which is fantastic for boxing and the heavyweight division. A lot of people are interested that might not be natural boxing fans and that's great for the sport." Dolan, unbeaten from seven professional fights, travelled to the Sky Sports studios last Saturday for the live draw on Soccer AM, and will meet powerful Welshman Darren Morgan in his first fight. The full quarter-final draw is David Ferguson (Wallsend) v Billy Bessey (Portsmouth), Alex Ibbs (Stoke-on-Trent) v Martin Rogan (Belfast), Paul Butlin (Melton Mowbray) v Colin Kenna (Southampton) and Darren Morgan (Swansea) v David Dolan (Sunderland). "I'm very confident and I do believe I can win it," added Dolan. "I think the format will suit me and I've got the speed but there's no guarantees in boxing. "Everyone that's going to be in this is going to want to win it. It will be a massive bonus for whoever does and more people will then want to see you fight." Ringside seats have sold out but there are a few tickets (costing £30) left for other areas of York Hall, including the balcony. These tickets can be booked by calling Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900.

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