Martin Murray: A Boxing Portrait
By Donald C. Stewart
There was an advert in my childhood for mint candy that had a memorable phrase – never hurry a Murray! UK boxing has not one but two of them up for World Title fights in December. Both of them fought outside of the UK and both carried very high hopes. Whilst John Murray, 31-1, 18 KO’s, was in Madison Square Gardens to take on Brandon Rios 28-0-1, 21 KO’s, for the WBA Lightweight title the fight in Europe that caught the eye was Martin Murray’s, 23-0-1, 10 KO’s.
Murray went to Mannheim, Germany, to take on Felix Sturm, 36-2-2, 15 KO’s, as the 2nd Englishman in recent times to attempt to take Sturm’s belt – the WBA Middleweight title – away from the German. Matthew Macklin, 28-3, 19 KO’s, had already tried and failed and this time round a valiant and a brave Martin Murray came closer. He drew.
German judges have a certain reputation for being harder to beat than your opponent and Murray went into the fight with his eyes wide open. The draw that was called was perhaps a fairer result than Macklin’s but ultimately it was not a win and not a world title for the Ricky Hatton promoted fighter.
Martin Murray gave a good account of himself with some excellent shots in the middle of the fight. Showcasing his speed and his footwork he may have suffered in the latter rounds as Sturm hit him hard and caught the judge’s eyes. The view expressed by many that Sturm would struggle would prove to be close to true. The pressure for a result was almost all upon Sturm’s shoulders as his second fight in 2011 has a result that casts some doubt on his legacy. How much doubt has to be seen though in the context of a fighter who has defended his title more than a dozen times.
But what of the Englishman? This is a guy who has been a professional fighter for all of 4 years! How did he manage to get a world title fight so soon? Murray was 25 years old when he turned pro – fairly old for making your debut. Taking on a number of 3 round journeymen he demonstrated that his 14 years as an amateur had proved fruitful and a good grounding. He was a national ABA Champion as an amateur and the turning pro was a natural progression.
The story of the next 4 years as he took steps in the Middleweight division towards his world title shot was speedy. First of all he dropped from Super Middle to the 160lb weight, to fight in the Prizefighter Middleweight contest. He won the competition.
Murray did not take an easy route to Sturm. He fought tough fighters including Shalva Jomardashivili, 30-1-1, 22 KO’s, Kevin Concepcion, 15-4, 3 KO’s, and Siarhei Khomitski 23-9-2, 9 KO’s, before taking on and beating Australian Peter Mitrevski, 23-8-1, 11 KO’s, for the Commonwealth title. His unbeaten record went with him into the ring against Sturm. The draw means he keeps that record but it will be small consolation for a winner like Murray.
His shot at the title came after he dispensed with John Anderson Carvalho, 21-5-1, 11 KO’s, in a 4th round TKO in November 2010 for the WBA Intercontinental title. His learning curve then dropped back on itself as he then fought for the UK title. Nick Blackwell, 9-1, 3 KO’s, was an inexperienced fighter and opponent. He got the shot at the British title and took it with both hands. He was awkward and almost derailed Murray’s progress but Murray proved that all of his training had stuck as he managed a thoroughly professional job and took the title.
He was now the British, Commonwealth, Prizefighter and Intercontinental Middleweight Champion. His time was now and his sights became set on Sturm. Sturm had tried to get a rematch with Matthew Macklin but Macklin believes that he will be fighting Sergio Martinez 48-2-2, 27 KO’s, in 2012 and this is the better match for him. Let’s be honest it sounds better!
4 years as a pro and enough belts to decorate a wall in his house as well as a world title shot attempted means that this is one Murray we can’t stop as he hurries towards the next phase of his career. Between Murray and Macklin the British Middleweight division is very healthy and we can look forward to some decent bouts to watch in the future. The advert changes for us – Murray needs to hurry!
