By Terence Dooley
Joe Murray fights Richard Szebeledi in a scheduled six-threes on the undercard of John Murray's EBU title defence against Andriy Kudryavtsev at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan tomorrow night as he seeks to net his eighth professional win. Murray has been given permission to appear on the Matchroom bill by Hatton Promotion's. Joe, 23, draws inspiration from his older brother, he believes that John has done things the hard way.
“John’s had it the harder way, but he’s getting the rewards now. It made him stronger. I will follow in his footsteps. I’ve seen how hard it can be so I’m going to make the most of my chance,” said Murray when speaking to the MEN about the pros of coming into the paid ranks off the back of an Olympics appearance.
“My brother has always been the one I looked up to. He was one of those fighters who didn’t do much as an amateur, turned pro at 18 with nobody thinking he would do much. He’s gone and proved his critics wrong. He’s British and European champion and one fight away from a world title. My brother is my biggest inspiration and he’s one of my favourite fighters to watch on TV. It’s a dream to box on the same show as him when he is so close to a world title.”
Joe is 7-0 (3), a 2008 Olympian and Bronze medallist at the 2007 Chicago World Amateur Boxing Championships; the 23-year-old will be showcased live on Sky tomorrow night as he seeks to hand Szebeledi his sixth stoppage defeat; the visitor is 7-12 (0) overall and coming in off a win, a four round decision over Adam Fuzesy last month.
Sky Sports 1 and HD1 televise from 9pm Saturday night.
Across town, Scott Quigg vies for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental super-bantamweight title at the Castle Leisure Centre, Bury when he tackles Santiago Allione in a scheduled twelve rounder. Scott is on the fast-track, Hatton Promotion's CEO Gareth Williams helped to persuade Bury council to lift their absurd ban on boxing earlier this year, Scott is taking part in his third fight in a row in his hometown as a result.
Allione has boxed almost exclusively out of his home country of Argentina whilst compiling his 16-6-1 (6) slate, his sole foray outside Argentina saw him lose in four rounds to Jorge Solis; the Cordoba resident is 3-0 (2) in his last three but will find it hard to hold Scott, 19-0 (13), at bay.
Hatton TV are showing the fight for free on their website http://www.brandhatton.com/TV
Derry Matthews headlines a Oliver Harrison fight card at the Fit City sports centre, Broughton on the same night as he bids to get a second comeback win under his belt. Matthews, 22-4 (11), took a time out after losing to Scott Lawton last November; the former WBU featherweight title-holder believes he is capable of recapturing his best form and will hope to build on his July points win over Kristian Laight.
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