Martin Murray signs with Matchroom Sport, moving to 168

By Boxing News - 06/05/2015 - Comments

murray5By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport promotional company just added another important fighter to their stable on Friday with the signing of former world title challenger Martin Murray (29-2-1, 12 KOs) to their growing stable. With his contract with Sky Sports, Hearn is adding top British fighters left and right. He’s like a giant vacuum with his ability to attract the top fighters in the UK to his Matchroom Sport stable.

Adding the 32-year-old Murray isn’t nearly as big an addition to his team as the signing in the past of the likes of Carl Froch and Kell Brook, but having Murray on the team will let Hearn mix and match guys in his stable against each other.

With Murray moving up to super middleweight for his next fight in a long overdue move, we could see Murray facing IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs) in the near future. I doubt that fight will happen in the summer when DeGale returns to the ring, but I can see it happening in 2016 if neither of them get beaten.

Murray was obliterated in his last fight by IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin last February in Monte Carlo. Murray’s considerable size advantage over Golovkin played no part in the fight, as Golovkin was too talented and too powerful for Murray to do much against him.

This month, Murray will be replacing the injured heavyweight David Price to fight on the June 26th fight card at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK. Murray’s opponent is yet to be determined. Given the late addition to the card, I think it’ll be a non-threatening opponent rather than someone that will give Murray a competitive fight. Hearn is going to have to take it easy with Murray anyway considering that he’s moving up to the super middleweight division for the first time.

In moving up to 168, Murray won’t have the huge weight advantages that he has had in the past against the lighter middleweights that he’d faced in the past. Without his normal weight advantage, Murray could really struggle at super middleweight, especially once he starts facing the talented fighters like Andre Dirrell, Badou Jack and Anthony Dirrell.

“I’m delighted to welcome Martin to our team of elite fighters,” said Hearn. “Martin has proved time and again that he is one of the best Middleweights in the world and now I am looking forward to building him further in the UK and being involved in some huge domestic and international fights.”

It’s unclear what the end game is for Murray in moving up to the super middleweight division. I mean, if he doesn’t have the punching power to do anything at middleweight then it stands to reason that he won’t be able to do much in fighting at super middleweight, where the fighters have more punching power and in many cases are more talented than the guys at 160.

Murray has certainly had his chances to win world titles during his career, but he’s failed against the likes of Felix Sturm and Golovkin. At 32, Murray’s career is kind of in the same situation as Matthew Macklin’s career. Like Macklin, Murray keeps getting chances, and like Macklin, he keeps failing. I don’t see that changing now that Murray is with Matchroom Sport and is moving up to 168. If anything, I see things getting worse for Murray in fighting at super middleweight against guys his own size. He really should be trying to stay at middleweight rather than moving up in weight.



Comments are closed.