By James Hughes:
BRITISH LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE (Wigan, England)
Champion John Murray (Manchester, England) and challenger Lee McAllister (Aberdeen, Scotland) squared off on Saturday night, sporting records of 25-0 and 27-1 respectively. This topped ITV’s first ‘Big Fight Live’ of 2009 and may have had more publicity if it wasn’t for another British lightweight, Amir Khan. An intriguing battle saw Murray retain his title and unbeaten record, despite a slightly flawed display.
By Daniel Cann: In front of a sell-out capacity crowd at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan, champion John Murray (25-0-13 ko’s) and challenger Lee McAllister (27-1-5 ko’s) put on a fine display that was worthy of the support they both enjoyed. Fans had travelled from Manchester and Aberdeen to be there and the boxers made the fans trip worthwhile. At stake was Murray’s British title, which he won last July, and perhaps also the promise of more lucrative matches for the victor.
By Nate Anderson: John Murray (26-0, 14 KOs) successfully defended his title tonight, stopping challenger Lee McAllister (27-2, 5 KOs) in the 8th round of a scheduled 12-round bout at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan, in Lancashire. Murray, 24, rallied after falling behind in the first three rounds to come back and stop McAllister in the 8th after landing a perfect left to the midsection that sent him down. McAllister made it to his feet by the count of nine but the fight was stopped anyway as he looked too hurt to continue.
Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan (22-0,14KOs) will be defending his perfect record Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at The Honda Center in Anaheim, CA against Billy Lyell (18-6).
The SHOWTIME Main-Event for the evening will take place between Undisputed Super Flyweight World Champion Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan and power punching fan favorite Jorge “El Travieso” Arce.