Martin Murray is confident he can cause an upset when he travels to Germany to challenge Felix Sturm (36-2-1, 15KOs) for his WBA world middleweight title on December 2nd. The 28-year-old Merseyside fighter has quietly gone about his business to move to 23-0 - his latest victory over Nick Blackwell earning him the British and Commonwealth titles.
The boxer, who is promoted by Ricky Hatton, said to Sky Sports:
"I'm ready. I'm more than ready. I've been asking for a chance like this for a while and I'm delighted it's finally here. It's a great chance. It's massive but I think the fact that other people out there have been getting all the headlines has worked in my favor. I've slipped under the radar.
"It's a massive step up in class but it's nothing I'm not ready for. Like I said, we've been asking for this for a long while and we're just buzzing it's here. We're looking forward to going over there and doing a job on him."
Hatton is backing his boxer, but admits to Sky Sports that it's a tough task:
"Obviously Matthew Macklin and Darren Barker have stolen the headlines in the middleweight division domestically but, with no disrespect to Martin, they've been a step ahead of him progress-wise. His opportunity is there now and he's a fresh, unbeaten 28-year-old with not a lot of miles on the clock. He can go over there full of confidence and he's got a great chance. He knows it's an underdog but it's a huge opportunity."