By Jake Donovan
Rest and relaxation are not under consideration for Martin Murray, quite a statement considering his year began with a brutal knockout loss.
The longtime middleweight contender now has his sights set on the super middleweight division, with the short-term plan to remain active while properly acclimating himself to the weight. On the heels of a 2nd round knockout win over George Beroshvili on June 26—his first since signing with UK promotional giant Matchroom Boxing—Murray will now make a quick ring return, fighting just three weeks later on July 18 in Manchester, England.
Topping the July 18 bill in Manchester, unbeaten 122 lb. titlist Scott Quigg faces former bantamweight belt holder Kiko Martinez. Also included, Anthony Crolla makes a heroic ring return, fully recovered from a near-fatal attack earlier in the year as he faces lightweight tilist Darleys Perez.
Murray's placement on the card comes as unbeaten Anthony Joshua is moved to a planned September 12 show at O2 Arena in London. It's quite possible that Murray lands on that card as well. Such activity, Murray believes, will help properly maintain his desired fighting weight.
“It’s great to be busy and getting another fight so quickly,” Murray (30-2-1, 13KOs) said in a statement. “I felt strong, it came a little soon this fight, so it was made around (172 lbs). I felt good in there though, it was nice not having to kill myself to get down to (middleweight). I was (172 lbs. at the weigh-in) and… I only put on three pounds (by fight night), where usually I weigh in (as a middleweight) and wake up (a light heavyweight).
“To me that says that this is my natural weight. I didn’t feel as though I needed to eat as much and it just felt natural.”
The bout was Murray’s first since suffering an 11th round knockout loss to Gennady Golovkin in February. There was no shame in the defeat, as he forced the unbeaten knockout artist to go the deepest in his career, having never previously been past ten rounds.
Still, it was the last call for Murray as a middleweight, coming up short in his third attempt at a major title. All three career blemishes have come in title fights—his previous attempts resulted in a disputed draw with then-middleweight titlist Felix Sturm on the road in Germany in Dec. ’11, and a debatable decision loss to then-World middleweight king Sergio Martinez in their April ’13 title fight in Argentina.
With the new weight class came a new promotional pact as Murray joined forces with Matchroom. The motivation behind the signing was two-fold; eventually securing a big fight at super middleweight, while also developing as a draw in the local market. The latter is key considering the numerous times he’s previously had to take his act on the road in order to land a major payday.
“I think that getting built correctly like I will at Matchroom, I’ll be getting these big domestic fights that are out there in the Super Middleweight division in Britain,” notes Murray. “I want to fight the best out there. When I retire i want to be able to say that I fought the best in the divisions I boxed in and that I never swerved a fight. I boxed the best at Middle and I want to do the same at Super Middleweight, and I believe that now I am up at 168lbs I will do that at my natural weight and win a World title.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox