With the help of our readers and 2K Sports, we had an opportunity to interview Denby Grace, Producer for Don King Presents: Prizefighter.

Are there stoppages for cuts or other injuries? How does that affect the match? After each round, when the boxers head to their respective corners, what are we able to do at that time?

In the game, boxers do get facial swelling and bruising, this affects your health and stamina which in turn affects your ability to fight. Between rounds the player rests and does what a boxers does between rounds, catches their breath, gets cleaned up, and takes in advice from the corner team.

How many different modes and difficulties are there in the game? Are there any sliders or can we adjust ratings for the boxers?

There are 3 main difficulty settings that govern the entire game (exhibition and career) and then with that each boxer has a set of 4 visible stats that dictate their power, hand speed, foot work, etc. You cannot adjust your opponent’s stats or licensed fighters stats, though during the career mode you can train your boxer to improve aspects of their abilities.

In a 12 round boxing match, there are roughly 1,000 punches thrown. How accurate is the punch count in Prizefighter?

We’ve done our study and research, so it’s fairly accurate, though at the end of the day, of course it’s up to the players as to how many actual punches are thrown in the ring.

A lot of us like to create boxers and have the ability to recreate anyone. How many players can be created and what options are available to us?

We feel the create a boxer in Don King Presents Prizefighter is one of the most comprehensive in any sports game seen to date. There are 120 different sliders that adjust how your player looks, and we are fairly confident people can make some good representations of themselves in the game. Also, there is an extensive amount of licensed apparel for you to outfit your boxer with including: gloves, shorts, shoes, and the walk in robe. Furthermore, we allow people to select their walk-in music so there is a real high level of customization available to gamers in Don King Presents Prizefighter.

In regards to fighting style, will you have to plan and react to a new Don King Presents Prizefighter strategy for each fight, or will you be able to use the same strategy over and over again?

We really focused on developing realistic AI “personalities” for the game; different opponents will fight in a manner of different styles and strategies, therefore you won’t be able to use the strategy over and over again. Like in real life to be a good boxer you are going to need to be able to adapt and change your style to be as effective as possible against the various opponents you will encounter.

Will a fighter's left and right hands have different power for each? For example, will the right hook cause more damage than a left?

Absolutely, this is affected very much by the boxer’s stance as well.

What are the attributes that each fighter is measured in? Could you list and explain some of them?

As mentioned prior, we have 4 main statistics that are displayed to the player, these are as follows:
Stamina – to gauge the fitness level, and how long before the boxer start blowing air, moving, and swinging much slower.
Strength – measuring how much power is behind those punches.
Agility – this equates to speed and movement on your legs, and how fast the boxers can get around the ring.
Dexterity – directly links to your boxers hand speed.

What types of training will we have in career mode? How deep will career mode be? What should we be looking forward to?

So two questions here:
Firstly training, there are 5 different training games (Jump Rope, Speed Bag, Heavy Bag, Focus Mitts and Shuttle Run) within Don King Presents Prizefighter, as working out will increase a players stats in certain areas, some focus on strength and power whilst others on speed. The different training games are mini games in their own right and a lot of fun, and we think fans will have a good time with them.

As for the Career mode, it will definitely offer our dedicated fans an extremely deep and immersive experience. The player’s story is told via an exciting sports documentary that offers a retrospective look at the player’s career; from the streets of Atlantic City to the bright lights of Vegas. This documentary is told to the player by a variety of stars from the boxing world: Don King, Larry Holmes, and Joe Calzaghe to name a few. We’ve found that this is a really powerful additional piece of motivation for the player.

Once in their home gym, the players are able to liaise with their promoter and trainer to pick and chose what fights they want to take, train accordingly for their upcoming fight, and deal with temptations and challenges that come their way.

Could you give us examples of the "Street Fighter Punching Mechanic"? Is it a button combo that generates a particular punch? Will we have the ability to turn this option off?

In previews we have compared the game to being more Street Fighter than Fight Night, by that we mean the game relies on the face buttons rather than the analog stick. The game is more about throwing combinations and movement rather than those single haymakers. So no real Street Fighter mechanic, rather we used the term as an analogy more than anything else.

Is the jab more powerful than Fight Night 3? Will I be able to hold them off a little bit with a stiff jab?

We think the game mechanics in the ring are much more realistic than previous boxing games. Players will be able to use many different strategies; including creating different angles, step arounds, and using the stiff jab to keep them at arms length, amongst many other options.

In watching some of the video clips that have surfaced online, we have to ask about the collision detection, has it been cleaned up?

The videos were created from early versions of the game, and we’ve done a lot of work since to ensure to we provide an authentic and entertaining boxing experience available for our fans, and they can ultimately be the judge after they play.

Are there flash KO's and a realistic number of fights going to the judges?

Yes, there are flash KO’s and fights often do go to the judges. Players will find when people fight though, they tend to go toe to toe a little more than in real life. After all, in video games, you have less to lose, but as I keep mentioning the overall package is a lot more realistic and features more integrity than other boxing games. So we think this is an experience boxing fans will be really happy with.