Tony Oakey is the new light-heavyweight Prizefighter champion, lifting a �25,000 first prize at York Hall on Friday night - and avoiding a ban from his TKO Ultrachem Gym in Canning Town! Oakey, 33, claimed the title and received the trophy from Matchroom

Tony Oakey is the new light-heavyweight Prizefighter champion, lifting a �25,000 first prize at York Hall on Friday night - and avoiding a ban from his TKO Ultrachem Gym in Canning Town!

Oakey, 33, claimed the title and received the trophy from Matchroom boss Barry Hearn after scoring a unanimous points decision victory over Oldham's Darren Stubbs in the final.

He earned the congratulations of his large-sized supporting squad at a packed York Hall and TKO Gym trainer Johnny Eames who had earlier insisted: "I have told Tony he must win - or he won't be allowed back in the gym!"

The winner smiled: "I've won British, Commonwealth and WBU titles, but this feels just the same and when I retire I will be proud of what I've achieved. This is another thing to go on my CV.

"It was very difficult and I think I had the toughest draw, but deserved to win. I'm very proud to have done so and it was a team effort that has paid off.

"I was the most well-known name in the competition and everyone was trying to make a name for themselves off of me, but I was confident in my ability so it was worth taking the gamble.

"Winning this will open doors for me and we had gone back to the drawing board after the Nathan Cleverly loss," (for the British title in October).

He smiled: "This ain't too bad for an old man!"

This was the fifth Prizefighter competition and the all-in-one-night format, where each contest lasts a maximum of three rounds, once again proved a winner with the watching fans and the viewers on Sky TV.

Once again there was a great atmosphere as the tournament provided some thrilling contests at the Bethnal Green fight-spot.

There was also controversy as a blunder by the British Boxing Board of Control saw Liverpudlian Carl Dilks originally declared the winner in his semi-final against Oldham rival Stubbs.

However, the judges had made a mistake with the scoring and Stubbs eventually moved forward into the final before he was outclassed by Oakey.

Stubbs had earlier claimed the only victory inside the distance when he floored Wanstead-based TBS Promotions boxer Steve Spartacus with less than 30 seconds left of the second round.

Oakey was involved in some fierce fights as he claimed a points decision after a gruelling duel with Billy Boyle in the quarter-final.

He then defeated ex-Repton amateur star Courtney Fry, who started as the favourite for success in the event.

The other quarter-final results saw Fry, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in 1998, defeat Shon Davies, while Dilks edged a tight contest, taking a points verdict over Bob Ajisafe.