Prizefighter series
On 20 November 2010 Sykes chose to enter the knock out style Prizefighter series promoted by Barry Hearn and televised live by Sky Sports. The competition, which would provide the winner a prize of £32,000, pitched Sykes against former British and European title challenger Scott Lawton in the quarter finals in a bout which he comfortably won. In the semi-final Sykes, who had wanted to enter the tournament in order to raise his profile, faced Welshman Gary Buckland and suffered a surprise knockout defeat after just 45 seconds of the first round, the first defeat of his career. Luckily for Sykes, because of the format of the competition, his British title was not on the line. Buckland, himself a former European title challenger, went on to win the tournament beating Derry Mathews in the final.