By B.G.B: Martin Murray is perhaps the most overlooked and underestimated contender in the middleweight division. He has an outstanding professional record of 29 wins, 1 draw and just 1 defeat. A hard fought battle against former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm ended in a draw back in 2011. Murray proved that he was a worthy contender that night and may have been awarded a victory on points had the bout not taken place in Germany.
Murray’s only loss was even more questionable losing to former WBC champion Sergio Martinez in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2013. Murray knocked Martinez down twice although only one of the knockdowns was made official by the referee for some strange ruling. Personally I felt Martin had done more than enough to dethrone the pound for pound star in his own back yard but not surprisingly the judges saw differently.
Although not being awarded what would have been stunning victories, Martin has more than shown what an outstanding talent he is. Since the Martinez fight Murray is on 4 fight winning streak and has now earned a third opportunity at the big time. The only problem is that opportunity is the most ruthless middleweight fighter in the world; the reigning WBA middleweight champion Gennady ‘Triple ‘G’ Golovkin.
The Kazak native is unbeaten in 31 contests with 28 KO’s. That’s a 90.32 KO%, the highest in middleweight history and let me be the one to tell you that fighters like this don’t come around very often. Comparisons between him and Tyson are undeniable. Not in styles or personality for that matter but in the astonishing power. Tyson was a truly terrifying man with KO power in both hands and Golovkin is no different. Opponents are afraid to get kit by Golovkin in the same way that Tyson’s opponents where afraid to get hit by him. Once you install that kind of fear into your opponent its curtains. In every single one of his fights Golovkin has controlled his opponents with ease, maneuvering them into position whenever he pleases until he lands that devastating blow. It’s not just the power but it’s his general ring craft. He boasts and amateur record of 345 wins with just 5 losses! He is without question the most avoided fighter in all of boxing but his time is nearing closer and closer. One by one Golovkin has destroyed all in his path to reach the PPV fights he craves so badly. Not there yet (no fault of his own), only one man is left before Golovkin’s career hits new heights. Unfortunately for him Martin Murray is that man.
As mentioned earlier I do believe Murray is a greatly underrated fighter. Arguably he is Britain’s best middleweight and perhaps better than Ireland’s own WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee. He is as tough as they come, has a very good tight defence and doesn’t get hit flush often. The best way to describe Murray is solid. He makes very few mistakes and had luck been on his side previously he might have been an undefeated WBA/WBC unified middleweight champion. This guy is seriously good and is without question Golovkin’s toughest opponent to date. The one major thing Murray lacks is power. He only has 12 KO’s and you can bet that he’s not going to trouble Golovkin’s chin too much with stats like that. As strong and tough as Murray might be, with no power he needs a miracle. Golovkin will walk Murray down and pummel him with sledge hammer shots until Murray can no longer continue. Whether he’s still standing or face down on the canvas sadly I just cannot see this fight ending any other way than a KO/TKO win for Golovkin. One blip in Murray’s performances against both Sturm and Martinez is that he works in spurts. He blocks, waits, and then throws his own shots. It’s a safe tactic but nothing is safe against this type of puncher. Give Golovkin time, as Murray is likely to, there is only one ending.
I hope for the sake of British boxing and because Murray seems like such a class act inside and outside the ring that he can pull of what would be the shock of the century and halt this wrecking ball. My head over heart in this case however. Tune in a month from now on the 21/02/2015 to see if Murray can perform what can only be seen as a miracle against the most formidable fighter on the planet Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin.
Check out my new Blog- (a work in progress!!)
http://benjaminburgum.blogspot.co.uk
Comments are closed.