By Terence Dooley

John Murray goes into his EBU title defence against Andriy Kudryavtsev, 34-7 (15), knowing that he cannot afford to slip up.  Murray has fights against Victor Ortiz, at light-welterweight, and Daniel Estrada, in a WBC lightweight title eliminator, in the pipeline but could come unstuck if he takes the Ukrainian lightly.  Murray, 25, believes that the former EBU-EE champion has nothing to lose going into this showdown, which takes place at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan.  Therefore, the Mancunian hit the gym early in order to ensure that the Murray 'Machine' is working perfectly come fight night.

“Things are going well and I’ve a good win over Gary Buckland in my last one under my belt,” said Murray when discussing his preparations.  “I’m looking forward to it.  I’ve been staying sharp and am looking forward to doing a number on this kid.  I didn't come in with a lot to do like I would have in the past – I came back to the gym in good nick.  I’m happy with where I am right now physically.

“I left early prep work to [trainer] Joe [Gallagher] and then looked at him a bit and had another look as we got closer to the fight.  He’s a kid who is well-schooled, does the basics well, and is coming to win so I’ll need to be at my best.

“I’ve seen Kudryavtsev's fight with [Anthony] Mezaache and his record looks good on paper.  People have given him a bit of stick but he’s better than his record suggests.  Some of those seven defeats came early in his career, he lost against Mezaache – who is a different fighter to me, he likes to move more – and he just about lost that one by a few points.  Only [former WBA title-holder Paulus] Moses has stopped him.

“It is going to be a tough fight and I’m not taking it lightly.  This is why I’ve done proper camps and knuckled down massively over the past few years.  These kids are coming to try for titles I’ve worked hard for so every fight is going to be tough.  I need to be as fit as possible for as much as the year as possible so that I can give myself every opportunity.”

Murray won the vacant EBU 135lb title by hammering Cardiff's Buckland to an eleventh round TKO defeat in May.  Although game, Buckland was out-classed throughout the contest, his bravery in defeat drew many plaudits, not least from Murray, who was quick to praise Buckland's efforts.  He said, “Gary was a tough cookie.  Fair play, he took some big shots and doing those eleven rounds didn’t do me any harm.  It was good preparation for this tough fight coming up.”

British and EBU title wins have not spared Murray from criticism, with many fans lambasting him over the content of his 29-0 (17) record, the longest unbeaten run of any active British fighter.  John believes that his achievements are overlooked by some fans yet appreciated by his peers, and that his '0' serves to further motivate his opponents.

“I can see before the fights just how hungry they are,” he said when asked the difference between being a champion and being a contender.  “In the fights themselves, I can feel how much they want it and how much the titles mean to other fighters.  I’m finding that I’m having to beat the resistance out off them now. 

“Buckland raised himself to try to take my record and my titles so I had to beat that gameness out off him, even then he didn’t want to go down and the ref had to jump in!  That’s happening in a few fights recently – it  shows you how much these guys want the title.  If I am going to beat this kid then I need to be really at the top of my game, do a number on him and possibly hammer him onto the ground, because he won’t quit.”

Overlooking your opponent is the number one sin in boxing, complacency is a fertile breeding ground for disaster, Murray combats this by keeping an eye on the division's top boys, reminding himself of the level of performance needed to attain and then maintain at the top level.

“I am keeping tabs on fights and making judgements in my head about what I could do in the situations you see in the top-level fights, making sure that I have stuff to work on in preparation for those fights.  I’m fully focussed on Kudryavtsev but have to keep one-eye on all the top fighters,” mused Murray.

“Looking at the guys coming through and seeing how much they want the belts motivates me.  It is hard to get to the top, harder to stay there, and I have to keep looking down at the fighters coming up to remind myself just how hungry they are for the belts and use that to motivate and dedicate myself.

“I can look around my own gym at guys like Joe [Murray] and [Anthony] Crolla, they are up-and-coming guys who make sure that I’m pushed in the training.  I look around and see Matthew Macklin training for  big fights in this gym, he’s in the same sort of league as me and he’s still so dedicated.  I’m still as dedicated as ever, in fact I’m even more dedicated now as the fights will only get harder so I need to keep myself winning to get to the world title level.

“I am at the stage where I need to step up to the next level and am living more professionally now.  I've been going to yoga lessons – I started before I heard about Amir [Khan] doing them – and the stretching and flexibility is a big help.  I see a physio to make sure that I’m right at the top of my physical game.”

He added: “Early on, I’d come to the gym, get in shape and just go out and fight.  I can now concentrate on the finer things and use the longer camps to work on the finer, more technical, points of boxing, because those finer points are what separates a top-level fighter from the rest of the pack.”

Calls for Murray to step up are counterbalanced by his insistence that he has not been given the chances needed to make a statement.  Kevin Mitchell got to Michael Katsidis first; Amir Khan moved up to light-welterweight and onto a world title.  John believes that he has cut his cloth the best he can using the materials available.

“I’ve had some good wins, four defences of my British title and am headed for a defence of my European title,” he said.  “My opponents have all been stopped inside the distance and looked shocked by what they were facing so I think that is a testament to how underrated I’ve been.”

Mick Hennessy, who promotes Murray, guided Junior Witter and Carl Froch through British, Commonwealth and European waters, delivering both men WBC world title tilts after moving them along the traditional way – Mick has stated that Murray is on the cusp of big fights.  The two men will sit down after the fight to discuss their next move, John's contract is shortly due for renewal.  For now, though, Murray only has one thing on his mind – to take home the W.

“I am concentrating on my next fight,” said Murray asked about his contract situation.  “I need to get through this and then speak to Mick and [manager] Mike [Marsden] about my contract.”

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