By Terence Dooley
Joe Murray, who boxed at the Olympics for the UK and won bronze at the World Amateur Boxing Championships, moved to 6-0 (3) last night with a fourth round knockout of the previously undefeated Georgian George Mchedlishvili at the Leisure Centre, Altrincham. Murray took care of business at 1:16 of the round, then fulfilled his media duties before returning home, settling down and watching the Sky TV broadcast of the Rob Norton versus David Dolan bill.
Other Olympians, such as James DeGale, Billy Joe Saunders, Tony Jeffries and David Price, have all been heavily featured on Sky. Indeed, DeGale and Saunders have had spots on Sky Sports News ahead of a few of their fights, as well as being used as part of the advertising campaigns for Amir Khan’s Sky PPV bills.
Murray, therefore, was surprised and disappointed when his win was not shown in highlight form on last night’s two-hour show. Insult was added to injury when presenter Dave Clarke rounded off the evening by revealing that Martin Gethin had triumphed over Graeme Higginson in a English lightweight title fight but neglected to mention Murray’s win, which was also ignored by Sky’s text service and website.
Sure, the undercard was stacked with title fights and an eliminator; there was also the small matter of the Paul Samuels versus Cello Renda rematch. However, Murray, by virtue of his status as an Olympian, was surely due a brief mention.
Trainer Joe Gallagher contacted BoxingScene.com to breakdown Murray’s fight. Firstly, and in the absence of any Sky footage, Gallagher gave his own take on the contest. “George Mchedlishvili had a few vocal supporters, he fought in December and was up for this one,” revealed Gallagher.
“He’d been training well and came to win. These guys have done their homework so we got Joe to have a look at him, work behind the jab and show patience. Then Joe started stopping the kid in his tracks with a few quality right hands through the middle. You’ve got to give the other kid credit, he upped the pace in the third but Joe hit him with a right hand that almost took his head clean off. Between rounds, I told Joe that he had to go in and whip in left hooks to the body
“Joe went out, went close and put in a left hook downstairs, the kid looked like he was going to take a knee, didn’t, and Joe jumped right into him. As you saw with Barrington Brown, Joe has instinctive finishing skills. That is the difference between the amateurs and pros. Joe unleashed a volley of shots to the body and head, got him with a left uppercut to the stomach and the kid went down for the count.
“Joe took a few jabs and had to be wary, he needs to taste some leather and get hit with a few shots because it teaches him to stick in there and get on with the test. Joe’s like Frankie Gavin, these kids are getting tough tests, Frankie’s got Peter McDonagh next, and these are kids who perform better when their backs are against the wall. We know that Joe is still in that transitional period of getting out of the amateur mode that has been ingrained in him for years”
Sounds better than the scrappy two rounds of boxing, albeit title eliminator fare, that we saw from Kevin McIntyre and Mark Thompson, highlights of which were shown at the end of the Sky broadcast. Whatever, Gallagher feels his man at least deserved some kind of mention on the show.
“Sky filmed it. They interviewed him afterwards so we thought he’d get on,” Gallagher fumed. “We didn’t go chasing TV when he turned pro and were happy to leave the limelight to the other Olympians. Joe has been learning his trade and has come through the pressure so why not show his progression? Frank Warren and Maloney’s Olympians are given live fights, ring walks and Sky TV spots – Joe Murray has had the odd round shown here and there. He isn’t just an Olympic fighter, he won a bronze medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships and his older brother is an established British champion – would they neglect Vinnie Mitchell or Haroon Khan if they get to the Games and turned over? It is very disappointing.
“The TV will come, we know the bill is stacked and they only had ten minutes to go, I just feel that Frankie Gavin, Saunders or Jeffries fighting a 5-0-1 fighter would have got on the bill or warranted a mention. They finished the show with news of Gethin’s win and we were expecting to hear Joe’s result read out as well. There’s been plenty of talk about Maloney’s Olympians fighting poor opposition in recent weeks. Sky filmed James DeGale running in the woods recently. We’ve got an Olympic boxer here who trained over Christmas, over New Year and even missed his birthday in order to get ready for his fight, which sees him beat an undefeated dangerman, where was his coverage?
“People will say I’m always moaning but I always fought John Murray’s cause and he still doesn’t get the appreciation as people moan that he should have beaten Jon Thaxton years ago – a fight we wanted for years.”
Indeed, Frankie Gavin, who, along with Murray, looks the pick of the current crop, was sent home from the Olympics due to weight making issues, yet he is routinely mentioned along with the other Olympic boxers, canny work on the behalf of his PR team and, in Joe’s opinion, a kick in the teeth for Gallagher and his charge.
“Frankie never even fought at that Olympics but we know, and understand, that he gets exposure because he won gold at the World Amateur Boxing Championships,” conceded Gallagher.
“We are under the radar, sooner or later Joe will fight for titles and get that exposure but you see other kids getting that coverage and it makes you wonder. Mark Thompson might feel he didn’t get the time he deserved, Gethin also, so maybe we need a midweek ‘Ringside’ type of programme to showcase the kids who are coming up.
“They show two rounds from a ten round fight [McIntyre-Thompson] and that wasn’t a true reflection of that fight, so why not show two of Murray’s rounds and the finish, then show the Thompson fight in a midweek show. Joe gets no space in Sky Sports News, no space on the website - I’ve kept quiet about it but Joe is asking me the question so now I’m asking it.
“Those other Olympic kids would have got the knockout shown or a worthy mention at the end of the programme. Why not give Joe ten words or so, give him a line at least. They don’t have to show Murray, we’re not asking for that, the kid is hurting because his result didn’t even get acknowledged and he sees the other kids in the Olympic squad getting mentions.”
Still, Ricky Hatton is putting his weight behind Murray’s career; Gallagher believes this will prove to be essential over time. “I know that Ricky is excited by Joe, and was excited by his performance last night, Ricky is very proud that he’s got the Olympian who represented Manchester,” declared Gallagher. “Ricky would also have been proud of that left uppercut to the body. Ricky bigs Joe up all the time, both at the press conferences and in articles, so we’ve got his support.”
Coda:
Joe Murray understands the nature of the beast and was philosophical over the whole situation; his only gripe is that there seems to be an imbalance in Sky’s coverage of the respective Olympians. “I got thirty texts in the five minutes after the show asking why I hadn’t been shown,” revealed the 23-year-old prospect.
“By the next day there were over a two hundred messages on my Facebook page asking the same question. Is it because I’m ginger!” joked Murray.
However, he got serious when talking about the situation. “It has just got to me a little bit”, he revealed, “I was on a high and wanted to watch my career-best performance. People are asking me about the fight and that does hit you a little bit as Sky didn’t even mention that I’d won. I think it was worthy of a mention as a result. I fought at the Worlds and won a bronze, just like Haye and Froch did, and I gave it my best at the Olympics against the hometown fighter.
“My former team mates get mentions even when they don’t get shown on Sky. I knew that I wouldn’t get aired in some of these early fights but I thought I put in a good performance last night - Ricky and the people at ringside were impressed by it. A lot of people have followed me through the amateur circuit and it would be nice for them to be able to keep up with my progress,” concluded Murray.
“Within twelve months I feel I’ll be in the title mix so they’ll have to showcase me then. I’ll also be even more determined as I’ll be looking to pay Ricky back for all the support he’s shown me in my career so far.”
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