By Ben Newell: Boxing is a sport for which the requisite attributes seem pretty obvious. Often a fighter possesses great hand speed or footwork, while others focus on their sheer power in landing their big “bombs”. There can be the heart of a champion too, and even the sharpness of mind to show the real art behind the “sweet science”. But perhaps, one thing many people don’t recognise is the patience needed outside the ring. Bouts can fall through, promoters may fail to deliver and it can end in months of uncertainty and inactivity. Yes, patience is vital. And it’s something Manchester’s John Murray has had to learn all about.

The Levenshulme Lightweight has Britain’s longest current unbeaten record standing at 30-0, 18 KO’s. He was voted British young fighter of the year in 2006, an award that has honoured future world champions such as Barry McGuigan and another of Manchester’s favourite sons Ricky Hatton. Murray picked up the British title in July 2008, although he lost it on the scales a year later before his victory over Scott Lawton, and following his victory of the valiant John Thaxton to regain the belt in October of the same year, he seemed destined for great things. His capturing of the European title against Gary Buckland in May of last year seemed to finally have Murray only seemed to highlight this further. So, why haven’t we seen Murray climbing into the ring for a world title fight?

Promotion has clearly been an issue for Murray. While Murray’s promoter Mick Hennessey has been struggling to supply his charge with a top level opponent to boost his profile, Frank Warren has secured the likes of Dagenham’s Kevin Mitchell a shot at Amir Khan’s conqueror Bredis Prescott and eventually Michael Katsidis for the interim WBO title. Mitchell may have looked impressive against Prescott but there seems little doubt that Murray could have put up a better fight against the admittedly very powerful Katsidis, who stopped Mitchell in the third. Murray is now a free-agent after his contract with Hennessey ended and he is looking to put all his frustration behind him, “I’ve not fought as regularly as I’d like. It’s a short career so I need to make the most of it in the time that I can.”

It seems 2011 will be make or break for one of Britain’s most avoided fighters. Potential opponents now include the dangerous Brandon Rios, which would act as an eliminator for a clash against Humberto Soto for his WBC belt, a fight that former world champion Jim Watt believes could see Murray emerge victorious, “Soto is a good fighter but he’s maybe just a little bit on the other side of the hill, he’s still winning but I think it would be a great time for Murray to meet Soto. I think there’s a good chance he could beat him”. There is even talk now of a huge match-up between Murray and WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan, a fight that Murray has yearned for over the years. It seems to all be coming right for Murray; a picture of him now sits in the pub of the TV series “Shameless”, replacing that of a certain Ricky Hatton. 2011 could be the year that launches Murray into a whole new stratosphere of sporting personality. And if it is, you can be sure that he has been waiting a long, long time for that very moment!