Martin Murray: record, next fight and profile →
As previously reported last week, Martin Murray will fight Sergio Martinez for the WBC middleweight title in Argentina on April 27. The St Helens fighter has been rewarded for his win over Jorge Navarro last month when he won the WBA interim belt.
WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28KOs), and his adviser Sampson Lewkowicz, have confirmed that WBA interim-beltholder Martin Murray (25-0-1, 11KOs) will be the opponent on April 27th in Argentina. HBO will televise. Martinez will make the first defense of the title he captured from Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on September 15th in Las Vegas. Murray, who fought to controversial draw with Felix Sturm last December, easily dispatched previously unbeaten Jorge Navarro on November 24th.
Martin Murray ended a frustrating 2012 on a high at the Manchester Arena last night as he stopped Venezuelan Jorge Navarro in six one-sided rounds to pick up the WBA interim middleweight title and put himself in prime position to land the biggest fight in the 160lb division. Rumours have circulated for weeks that Murray is one of a couple of opponents being considered for a Sergio Martinez ‘homecoming’ fight in Argentina next year. Murray isn’t the type to shout the odds and call people out but it’s safe to say that if it is his phone that rings, the former British and Commonwealth middleweight champion fancies the job.
Manchester Arena, Manchester - Gary Buckland (27-2, 9KOs) retained his title with an eight round stoppage over Stephen Foster (30-4-1, 18KOs) to retain the British super featherweight title. It was a very competitve fight, but a clash of heads in the round six opened up a nasty cut on the forehead of Foster. Foster's corner stopped the match before the start of the ninth round.
Martin Murray wants to end a frustrating year on a high when he faces fellow unbeaten prospect Jorge Navarro for the WBA interim middleweight crown on Saturday night. The St Helens fighter thrust himself into the world-title picture last December when he travelled to Germany as a heavy underdog and battled to a keenly-contested draw against then WBA ruler Felix Sturm. Six months of untimely inactivity followed, during which period a proposed tilt at Julio Cesar Chavez Jr's WBC belt in America fell through due to visa issues.
MARTIN MURRAY’S patience has been rewarded by getting a crack at the WBA interim middleweight title. The St Helens star will meet unbeaten Venezuelan Jorge Navarro (12-0) for the vacant crown at Manchester Arena on Saturday November 24, on the bill topped by Ricky Hatton’s comeback fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko. Murray (24-0-1) has been waiting for another big fight since drawing against then WBA super champion Felix Sturm last December. His manager Neil Marsh said: “Our team could not have worked any harder to secure a very important contest against a hard hitting unbeaten fighter ranked seventh by the WBA.
RICKY HATTON is amazed at the progress made by Martin Murray in just five years as a professional boxer. Domestic rivals Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin have been fighting professionally for eight years and 11 years respectively, but appear to be running from their less experienced rival. Murray (24-0-1) will be in title action at Manchester Arena on Saturday November 24 against a selected opponent – his 12 rounder one of several big supporting contests when Hatton makes his comeback against Vyacheslav Senchenko.
By Jake Donovan - Ricky Hatton certainly had no problem securing a desirable opponent for his November 24 ring return. The unretiring Mancunian had a variety of opponents from which to choose for his first fight in 3 ½ years before settling on former welterweight titlist Vyacheslav Senchenko. Martin Murray isn’t having quite as much luck in finalizing details for his next fight. The middleweight contender is slated to appear in a supporting slot on the show at the Manchester Arena. The hope is for an interim title to be at stake to commemorate the occasion, but has yet to hear back from a number of potential candidates. “We are trying to get the big fights made but it just hasn’t been happening,” said Murray (24-0-1, 10KO), who has fought just once since a disputed draw against Felix Sturm last December. “I suppose right now I am high risk, low reward for a lot of the champions and big name challengers.”
Last month the EBU designated two official challengers for the vacant European middleweight title: Martin Murray (24-0, 10KOs) of England and Julien Marie Sainte (33-2, 24KOs) of France.
Martin Murray hopes to put almost a year of frustration behind him when fighting for the WBA’s interim world middleweight title on the undercard of Ricky Hatton’s November 24 comeback at Manchester’s MEN Arena. Murray, 24-0-1 (10), drew with Felix Sturm for the WBA’s Super world middleweight title in December yet has been able to secure a big fight since that memorable night at Germany’s SAP-Arena — his sole 2012 appearance thus far a 10-round decision win over Karim Achour on June 16.