Murray’s big test without trainer by Matthew Sanderson Mar 12th 2008

BBBBN new boy Matthew Sanderson talks to English lightweight champion John Murray and his trainer Joe Gallagher prior to Murray's biggest fight to date with fellow unbeaten pro John Fewkes, which is set to take place in Nottingham on the 29th March. Hot prospects are used to having things their own way. Handpicked opponents and flatter-to-deceive matchmaking are common to the sport all over the world, especially when it comes to developing a future star. For lightweight hope John Murray things are looking a bit tougher than his contemporaries, despite his exciting style and winning personality, when he fights on March 29 in Nottingham, England. The 23-year-old from Manchester takes on fellow unbeaten John Fewkes, on the undercard to Carl Froch's WBC super middleweight eliminator against Denis Inkin. If that wasn't a big enough task for the hard-hooking Brit, he'll be doing so without his coach Joe Gallagher in the corner, due to a disagreement over the fight's March 29 date insisted on by promoter Mick Hennessey. It's a serious setback, as Gallagher has been with him from the start, built him from scratch. Said Gallagher last month, “We informed Mick last January that March 29 was no good – I have prior family commitments. He told John he would move the show back or forward a week, knowing that I would not be available, which is causing problems.” Joe, a man who covers things from every angle, feels his fighter's welfare hasn't been put first, going into this fight for Murray's English title. Last week, the 23-0 (12 KOs) Murray could not hide his disappointment that Gallagher won't be with him, when I raised the issue. “It's not an ideal situation for the biggest fight of my career,” said John. “(But) we did bring in all the right sparring partners,” including Kevin Buckley and the stylish Middlesbrough prospect Paul Truscott, who's due in next week, “and Joe will be with me until the week of the fight. “(Fewkes) is really slick and has plenty of skills,” admitted John, whose aggressive style and hard hooking places him in stark contrast to Sheffield's more cautious, fleet-footed Fewkes. “It's going to be a good technical fight.” John will be in good hands, with Maurice Core working the corner on fight night. A respected trainer on the Manchester fight circuit, Core works at the same Champs Camp in Moss Side that Murray frequents and is known for getting the most out of his fighters, notably in Carl Thompson's come-from-behind stoppage of Sebastian Rothmann in a 2004 cruiserweight classic. Recently, Core was with Stephen Foster Jr, who barely lost to the much bigger Alex Arthur in an eliminator to fight WBO champion Joan Guzman. But the absence of the winning formula that is Gallagher and Murray remains an issue. It's something that could unsettle a young professional when placed in a crisis. Luckily, Murray is a fighter of real poise, and he's overcome crises before without losing his composure. Looking sluggish against Miguel Angel Munguia in Las Vegas on December 7 (the night before Mayweather-Hatton), John ground out the win, despite his timing looking off. In December of 2005, Murray suffered a nasty bump on his forehead due to head clashes against Ignacio Mendoza. Despite the constant swelling, he applied suffocating pressure and took an eight round technical decision after the bout was stopped on injuries. It's a performance that both Murray and Gallagher class as John's best, ahead of the clinical beatdown of aggressive light welterweight Dean Hickman last November, and over the domination of Johnny Walker on the Florida undercard to Jeff Lacy-Robin Reid back in summer, 2005. “The Colombian (Mendoza), when I got the bump on my head (was my most satisfying performance). He was a dangerous opponent and some fighters at that stage might have got beaten,” hinting at the warrior spirit to back up his heavy-duty pressure. “It was a shame because just before the bump happened I hurt him to the body,” reflected John. “That's when I knew John was the goods,” agreed Gallagher, proud of his fighter's gut check. In what could be a good omen for Team Murray, Fewkes reacted badly to an injury against Stoke-on-Trent's Gary Reid. Troubled by a first round cut, the “Fireball” stole rounds rather than trying to dominate the action, and was content to win a dull decision on the Carl Johanesson-Michael Gomez undercard. Fewkes appeared vulnerable when pressured, especially late, taking solid punches in the last round. Nonetheless, it's a bout in which the risk threatens to outweigh the reward. Fewkes (16-0, 2 KOs) has campaigned at both 10st and 9st, 9lbs in decent company. He's nimble on his feet, and hits well in combination despite lacking power. The ring is expected to be a big one, to suit headliner Carl Froch against the pressure of Denis Inkin. It will also suit Fewkes, who will need space against Murray. There could be some awkward moments, and the action might not all be clean. Furthermore, given that the BBB of C nominated Lee Meager as the British mandatory, there are no guarantees that the Murray-Fewkes winner will fight Jonathan Thaxton for the British crown. (Meager is 1-1-1 in his last three bouts, including a decisive loss to Thaxton that cost him the British title, a fourth round stoppage of Laszlo Komjathi and a draw on the same show in which Murray beat Munguia.) Thaxton is the fight Murray and Gallagher want the most. It's too good not to make, with the British title and Thaxton's dramatic backstory giving Murray the chance to headline a show at last. An impressive result against Thaxton would also draw favourable comparisons to Manchester superstar Ricky Hatton, giving John a perfect chance to build up his own big following as he prepares for levels higher than domestic. Though British boxing has fallen in love with Thaxton as a grassroots gladiator, Murray isn't 100% sold on the switch hitter from Norwich, who may have been overrated for giving Ricky Hatton a scare back in 2000. “Thaxton cut Ricky. But when you look at it, Ricky dominated. If you took the cuts out of that fight (he was well beaten). That was Thaxton's moment of glory.” After predicting he'll stop Fewkes around seven rounds, John told me, “Thaxton we've been pushing for and pushing for.” To no avail, with Thaxton eager to call out British golden boy Amir Khan yet ignoring the challenge of his Hennessy Sports stablemate. “If I beat Fewkes, I'll be there and I'll be ready to take it. If I win, I'll get a shot at the British title. They can't ignore me.” Gallagher is sure Thaxton wants nothing to do with Murray. Referring to a press release in which Thaxton brandished some chicken feathers, to shame Khan into fighting him, Gallagher told me, “Thaxton should get those feathers and stick them on himself.” (Since then, Thaxton has been awarded a shot at power punching EBU champion Yuri Romanov in a must-see fight at the York Hall next month. Yet it is another Khan-flavoured fight, given that Frank Warren had been name-dropping Romanov as a future Amir foe.) Joe is convinced the 33-year-old Thaxton is keen to cash in his career, something that could be holding back promising lightweights awaiting their shots. “I feel Thaxton is only interested in the money. Murray is only interested in the best fights,” he remarked yesterday. “John Murray has always done things the hard way. He's an old fashioned, have-guns-will-travel fighter. He's taken fights in America at late notice, fights in Canada at late notice. Who else is willing to do that (in British boxing)? His just rewards will come.” The Fewkes bout could take Murray closer to those rewards and make up for lost ground, after a cycling accident last May left him on the shelf for five months. Thanks to the strength of the March 29 fight card, however, US cable giant Showtime has picked up the event for their ShoBox programme which is dedicated to promising fighters in competitive matchups. Murray's fight will also go out on ITV4 in the UK, with a chance of being repeated on ITV1 should the Froch-Inkin fight end early. Said John, “Mick already said that to me. This is a great trade fight that everyone who knows something about boxing wants to see,” and there could be a chance for mainstream viewers to get a good look at John Murray for the first time to boot. There is an assumption that Murray will play the bull to Fewkes' matador, and could be made to look clumsy at times, something that the fighter doesn't buy in to one bit. “Fewkes is very skilled but I'm doing all the (necessary) hard work. My boxing skills are underestimated. The bigger the fight, the better I step up to the plate.” Suggestions, also, that John gets hit too much irked Gallagher. “He has a very good, hands on defence,” said Joe, stressing the art of blocking and parrying punches. “It hurts me when they say that he doesn't move his head,” especially with much hyped fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr taking everything his opponents throw at him. When quizzed on the easy-to-hit label, John outlined some of the finer points of his game, “I take a lot of shots on arms and gloves. People don't always pick up on it. (It's about) taking the sting out of your opponent's shots and leaving me in a position to hit them.” Joe has prepared his charge as meticulously as ever, and feels his man can deal both with Fewkes' defensive abilities and his offensive moves, should the Yorkshireman try to make a statement at the end of the rounds. “We've got a measure of what he's good at and we know exactly what their game plan is. Our main concerns are 1) the trainer (situation, on the night) and 2) the size of the ring.” Facing that extra pressure, Murray has the chance to step up another level. To drag something out of himself and show boxing that he is something special. It's an exciting time not only for John – who gets to impress the Brits and the Yanks with his exciting and educated style of fighting – but also younger brother Joe Murray, who qualified for this year's Olympics after winning bronze at the world amateur championships last year in Chicago. While there are hopes that the young brothers can become as successful as the Finnegans or the McKenzies, I asked John whether they could instead be the next Marquezes (elite level Mexicans Rafael and Juan Manuel, who both became two weight world champions within two weeks of one another in March of 2007). After all, he does fight in a “Mexican” style. After laughing off the comment, Murray admitted, “The sky's the limit. That's what we're aiming for. “But my brother Joe, he's much better than me. Hopefully he'll do well in the Olympics and turn pro.”

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