By Terence Dooley
Brendon Smith, the manager and trainer of WBO interim lightweight champion Michael Katsidis, recently ripped into Amir Khan and John Murray, claiming that the two British boxers hankered for fight with his man out only to then fall silent. Murray’s trainer, Joe Gallagher, was left fuming after Smith claimed that Murray has lost his bottle. Gallagher believes Smith has disrespected his charge.
“How can he [Smith] say Murray has got no balls?” blasted Gallagher to BoxingScene.com. “He has obviously lost his marbles because there is no way in the world Murray would back down from this fight. It is just a case of making the fight. I don’t know what is going on between the promoters and managers, but John is ready to fight Katsidis. Maybe they’ve overpriced themselves, I don’t know, but they must have sun stroke over there if they think Murray has lost his bottle – I don’t give a four X what they think
“They’ve [Katsidis’ people] have been in touch and the two sides are talking it through so I don’t know where negotiations are, Brendon took a cheap shot and if he thinks they can come over here and easily turn back John Murray then he’s very much mistaken. It is alright the trainer saying stuff but it his fighter who has to take the punches from a fired-up, pumped-up John Murray.”
Still, the fact that Murray’s name is being bandied about along with WBA light-welterweight title-holder Khan is a compliment to the 25-year-old Mancunian; Gallagher, however, feels that Murray alone deserves a shot at Katsidis.
“I won’t say it is a compliment to us, it is one to Amir because he’s not even in the same weight division as Katsidis”, insisted Gallagher, “John is ranked seven by The Ring magazine at lightweight, he is British and European champion and he is a natural challenger for Katsidis at the weight. Amir is a weight division ahead and should be looking at fights with people in his own weight division.
“Instead of coming out and making cheap shots, Smith should show a bit of respect, we could say that Katsidis beat up a blown-up super-featherweight in Kevin Mitchell but no one is levelling that one at them.
“Let’s talk again around the negotiating table and thrash this fight out, if they want it then we’ll have it and we’ll go over to Australia for it. Michael is the interim champion, he has never been the full world champion but it would still be an honour to fight him, they would produce a brutal fight and it would be good for the sport.”
Murray is 29-0 (17 early); Katsidis’ third round TKO win over Mitchell took him to 27-2 (22 KOs); a fight between the two should produce the requisite fireworks, with Gallagher a firm believer that his man will take Katsidis into deep waters.
“Don’t think you can bully John Murray or that he’s got no balls, you’ll find out that both are warriors if they ever do fight. It is disrespectful, as well as a cheap shot, to write John off as not having the balls for this fight, both these guys are tough fighters and to say otherwise of one or the other is a sign that he’s [Smith] lost his marbles or not thought through what he was saying,” concluded Gallagher.
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