Mark Thompson, Martin Murray Set to Sign With Hatton?
By Terence Dooley
BoxingScene.com can exclusively reveal that local fighters Mark Thompson and Martin Murray have defected from their current managerial and promotional contracts, both men are rumored to be on the cusp of joining the Hatton Promotions roster.
Murray and Thompson previously fought under the Frank Maloney/VIP banner; they have parted company with their previous firms in order to evaluate their options.
Thompson, 28, is knocking on the British title door at welterweight, he fights on next week’s Hatton-promoted bill in Altrincham; St Helens’ Murray, 26, a Prizefighter winner at middleweight last November, has been given his contract back by manager Steve Woods, and it is alleged that he is also close to inking a deal with the Hatton’s.
Woods contacted BoxingScene.com to clarify the situation.
“The situation is that Martin never had a promotional contract with Frank, it was always based on good faith, he had a managerial contract with me, but I have given him his contract back,” he explained.
“Martin wanted to go and see other people [promoters], and I wasn’t for that, so we had a bit of a disagreement. I wish him all the best, we’ve not fallen out, we have agreed to go our separate ways, my loyalty is with Frank Maloney, and it always will be.”
The loss of Thompson is an especially bitter blow for Woods, who has been with Mark from the beginning. Mark, the big hitter from Heywood, will fight this coming weekend, then sever all ties with Woods and Maloney.
“Mark has gone as well, yeah,” confirmed Woods. “I’ve done well for all my kids but the bottom line is that they wanted to go, the lads are put in difficult situations, and if they don’t want to be with me and Frank there is no point in us staying together. I honestly don’t know who they have gone with, but Mark is fighting on a Hatton show next week. I wish both lads the best for the future.
“I had a managerial contract with Mark,” he continued. “But I will give it him back as soon as he’s sorted out his contractual issues with Frank Maloney. Martin Murray was under a managerial contract, and he has got that back.”
Woods and Maloney have worked well together in recent years; bringing the likes of Thompson and Murray to the brink of domestic titles, only to lose both fighters at the final hurdle. However, Woods is adamant that the Maloney-VIP axis still has a deep talent pool.
“We’ve still got a great stable of fighters,” he said. “It has been weakened a bit by this but we’ve got [European champion] Jamie Moore coming closer to a world title fight, and we’ve also got two British champions [in Jason Booth and Lee Haskins].”
Woods has been here before; he guided John Murray during the early stages of the Manchester man’s career, only to lose Murray to Mick Hennessey.
Ricky’s pulling power could be the domestic talking point this summer, he’s the boxing version of his football club Manchester City, who are flexing their muscles in the transfer market; Hatton has Sky dates in his back pocket, money in his front pockets, and is much loved by Manchester fighters, his pulling power could see him steamroller his way to a stable chockfull of talented fighters.
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