By Oli Smith

British lightweight John Murray has been very impressive as of late. With each pasisng fight, he looks more and more like he can take the step up to being a world class operator. In contrast, Jon Thaxton has been struggling after a career best win last year to capture the European Lightweight title. Thaxton lost his title on points, then stepped up in weight and lost again to journeyman Tom Glover.

In some eyes this fight would have been more relevant a few years ago but now it represents a changing of the guard. John Murray is the new generation, a superstar in waiting. Thaxton knows he only has a limited amount of time left, at 35 years old and without a title, opportunities will come few and far between for such a dangerous operator who offers little reward for a massive risk. The Leisure Centre in Altrincham gave Murray the hometown advantage, but Thaxton was never a man to worry about such formalities.

The build-up to the fight had promised an event on the scale of Gatti vs. Ward. Murray is a relentless pressure fighter and has been criticized in the past for being slightly one dimensional. Thaxton has dynamite in both fists and the ability to turn a fight with one punch. Though he seems to be on a slide as age catches up with him, power is always the last thing a fighter loses.

Thaxton started the fight quickly; he looked to dominate the centre of the ring with quick jabs. Murray seemed to be giving his opponent too much respect as he sat back and sized up the job in front of him. Whereas in the past Murray bulldozed his way into the fight and controlled the action through his constant pressure, the first round showed a new side to Murray who waited patiently for opportunities to present themselves before going to work. Thaxton meanwhile stayed busy, he comfortably won the first stanza, staying light on his feet and switching between orthodox and southpaw; he was clearly enjoying being the aggressor.

The tide turned quickly in the second as Murray landed a straight right hand which stiffened Thaxton’s legs and sent him staggering back, though he quickly regained his composure and traded blows at the centre of the ring. Like a shark, Murray could sense the weakness a mile off and piled on the pressure. To his credit Thaxton boxed his way out of trouble for the most part and kept Murray at bay, a left hook over the top landed on the button though it possessed no real power, it did send a message to Murray that he wouldn’t go without a struggle.

What had started as respect in the first had turned to confidence by the third as Murray stood in front of the former European champ, inviting him in for a war. Never one to back down, Thaxton planted his feet and added some pop to his punches. It wouldn’t be enough to stem the tide as John Murray was steadily building momentum. Straight rights, and one two combinations landed upstairs once again stiffening Thaxton’s legs; the older man no longer possessing the punch resilience that once saw him take Ricky Hatton into deep water. As the round wore on Murray landed with increasing frequency, short hooks to the body set up combinations upstairs and he was also able to time chopping uppercuts as Thaxton ducked in to land his own shots.

John Thaxton stalked forward in the forth and tried closing the gap to give Murray less space to work. This plan may have worked well in the first round when Thaxton was light on his feet and could dip in and out of range. At this stage however Thaxton was less mobile and no longer bouncing on his toes. Without the movement he had shown earlier, he fell further into Murray’s game plan.

The formidable power that Thaxton had once shown was nowhere to be seen and as a result he couldn’t regain the respect of the young upstart. A huge right hand blasted through Thaxton’s guard and once again sent him reeling backwards. This time Murray stepped in for the kill, trapping his opponent against the ropes he sent thudding left hands to the body and right hooks upstairs. At this point referee Howard John Foster had seen enough, he stepped in to save Thaxton from further punishment.

This win is certainly Murray’s biggest and on paper his finest. It isn’t without controversy however. Thaxton argued he was not hurt and at no point in the fight was he knocked down, yet at the same time he hadn’t shown anything to convince the referee that he could prevent himself from being knocked out.  As the momentum swung dramatically in favor of John Murray it became a matter of when not if Thaxton would be stopped. No credit can be taken away from John Murray who fought a great fight; he kept behind a tight guard and showed he was anything but one dimensional.

In defeating Thaxton he regains the British title he lost on the scales this past June and also ended any argument over domestic superiority. Thaxton had threatened to retire should he not win, after seventeen action packed years in the sport he can walk away knowing he has had a great career on the domestic scene.

Next up for Murray is a mandatory shot at the European title held by Mezaache who won the belt by decision over Thaxton. After this dominating performance, Murray will enter that fight with supreme confidence. He displayed against Thaxton tha he is the best of British lightweights and will likely be the favorite to add the European belt to his collection. After the fight, Murray mentioned Michael Katsidis who is no stranger to fighting on British soil after his war with Graham Earl. A fight between these two would guarantee fireworks and be worthy of Gatti vs. Ward hype. For now however there is a new boss among the British lightweights.