Exclusive John Murray interview by Terry Dooley Jun 27th 2008

After a slow-burning few years John Murray is finally set to tussle for the vacant British lightweight title when he fights Lee Meager on July the 11th. Murray had been hoping for a shot at the British title for over a year only to be frustrated in his pursuit of Jon Thaxton – who has now freed the title up in order to chase European glory. The fight with Meager is a chance for Murray to shrug off criticism brought about by indifferent form. It is a chance to position himself amongst the top lightweights in a vibrant domestic scene. Despite coming off a lacklustre performance in his last fight – a close distance win over Youssef Al Hamidi – Murray feels that the fight with Meager will bring out the best in him. BBN caught up with Murray to discuss recent events. Firstly there was the question of how he feels ahead of the fight: JM: “Good yeah. I got back into the gym and started training right after my last fight (and) then (I) got this title fight so I've been working on making sure I'm ready for this fight.” The Hamidi fight came about after the much-anticipated fight between Murray and John Fewkes was postponed. It was then called off altogether due to illness on the part of Fewkes. Hamidi coming in as a late replacement was not the kind of sweetener a fighter needs after missing out on his biggest fight to date but John has ploughed on: JM: “I've been pretty active. I've done a lot of training over these past years. Obviously the John Fewkes fight got put back once so I'd done a lot of training for that and did lots more training and lots of sparring for the rearranged date. “I daren't touch an alcoholic drink between fights anymore so I'm always in good shape. I have the odd tea and coffee (laughs). Plus I've not found a club I can go to that doesn't have Joe (Gallagher's) spies taking photos of me and sending them to him. “I'm in good shape. The weight has been down. I trained hard for my last few fights and got a lot of conditioning under my belt. You don't lose that overnight and I've carried the fitness through. I want to keep ticking over so that it peaks at the right time. “The more regularly I fight the sharper I will be. Obviously I want to win this (British) title and fight again in September or October. “Hamidi was an awkward opponent. If I had someone more conventional you would have seen the best of me. I can't stress enough how awkward he was.” Watching Murray versus Hamidi was a frustrating experience for this writer. Murray has looked sensational in sparring against the likes of Paul Truscott (himself a Commonwealth title holder), Ricky Hatton (Murray acquitted himself well in these rounds) and Michael Gomez (who feels, after taking shots from both, that Khan should steer clear of Murray). Murray was also the man who badly hurt Michael Brodie to the body prior to Brodie's world title bout against Scott Harrison. At times, when sparring, John will let loose with seven or eight punch combinations that belie his image as a pressure fighter. Clearly the talent is there but he needs to bring his sparring form into his fights. It was not there in the Hamidi fight. Known in some circles as ‘The Spoiler' Hamidi can ambush fighters if they are not mentally prepared for his style. This was shown when Youssef ripped away the unbeaten record of Anthony Crolla. When Murray heard who he was set to fight he knew what to expect: JM: “I've sparred with him a few times and as soon as I found out (on the day of the fight) that I was fighting him I knew it was going to be an awkward fight. I just went in there and got the win and that was the important thing.” This win came off the back of a fight in Las Vegas last December – against Miguel Angel Munguia. Eyewitnesses said it was a tough fight for Murray: JM: “When I was in there (Vegas) it was another tough fight and another awkward opponent but I felt in control during the fight and in the end my fitness told. Joe told me to win the last four rounds and I did [taking a decision win over ten rounds]. I think it went alright out there.” For Murray, and those who believe in him, the aborted Fewkes fight was a chance to stake his claim, to show that he can perform when the chips are down. There was still a sense of bitter disappointment as Murray discussed the fight that never was: JM: “(The) first time we trained hard for it (a Fewkes fight) and then went for it (in training) for the second one...I was absolutely gutted when it got pulled. I'd done all the work for (a fight) that was going to be a big chance and a big opportunity to fight an undefeated fighter on ITV – and to win and look good in winning – only to get Hamidi. It took the wind out of my sails. “I was feeling pretty jinxed at that point. Especially when we started looking for opponents and we had no one, even on the morning of the weigh-in (I didn't know who my opponent was going to be). I was sat there weighing in to fight (Nadeem) Siddique and that fight got pulled while I was sat there in my boxers. “I had a feeling that I wasn't going to fight on the Saturday night at all. I came home that night and they were still trying to sort out an opponent. I had not heard anything by the time I went to sleep. I woke up the morning of the fight to find out I was fighting Hamidi.” At this point you may point out that a fighter should be ready to fight anyone anywhere; generally this is true at the start of a career. However once you get into the position where you know well in advance who your opponent is your training is geared towards that opponent. Any shift in opponent, especially at the eleventh hour, hits hard: JM: “It was tough because it was such a big fight for me. I knew it was going on ITV and I knew that coming off the Vegas fight some people were saying I hadn't given my best performance...so I really wanted to put on a decent show and put on my best performance. Preparing for someone like Fewkes then finding out you do not know who you are going to fight the day before a fight is very distracting. “I wasn't happy with the opponent in the end but I was just happy to be fighting. I had trained hard, and I needed the money to be honest. I knew it might not be pretty to watch but I just needed the win and knew I was capable of getting it.” In the fight itself Murray boxed badly early, he was hit often and was sluggish. A gaping cut on his head did not help matters either. Despite this Murray feels that something can be taken from the negatives encountered that night: JM: “The cut taught me new things so it was a learning experience – little things like learning to sit really still to give Mick (Williams) a chance to work (on the cut). It was flowing freely (the blood) so that was new to me. “At first I thought it was Hamidi that was cut but then it started to feel like warm water was being poured on my head and I realised that it was me who was bleeding. You just have to learn from it. It wasn't in a dangerous place and it is part and parcel of the sport.” Learning from a bad performance is also part of the sport: JM: “We got the full version of the Hamidi fight and watched it back to learn from any mistakes. His nickname is ‘The Spoiler' so that says a thousand words about the type of fight it was going to be. “He was tired late in the fight but he had a bit of gamesmanship at the end and put his hands up like he had won the fight. I always knew I'd get to him and get into the fight. I didn't agree with the ITV commentary about me not throwing a jab either. I threw seventy odd jabs in the first half of the fight. “In the end you just have to watch the fight yourself and take onboard what the (pundits) are saying and think “right I'll prove them wrong next time out.” A quirk of boxing is that it sometimes throws-up fights in which the protagonists are on friendly terms. It happened when Jamie Moore boxed Matthew Macklin for the British title and it is happening again as Murray takes on Lee Meager: JM: “Me and Lee have known each other since I've been a pro and we've sparred regularly. I know how tough this fight is going to be and Lee knows how tough this fight is going to be. I want to bring in a great performance in order to win the Lonsdale belt. I'd be over the moon with a win. “I think both of us are capable of winning the fight. Whoever wants it more on the night and brings the better gameplan will end up taking the belt home. Lee is getting old now and this is his last chance at the title. I'm young and it is a great opportunity for me. “There is a lot for us both to go for. I want to be British champion and stay undefeated. I want to get the title and then go for big fights while I'm still a young guy. Having a good looking guy like me as British champion can only be good for the sport (laughs).” As mentioned the British lightweight scene is in good health. Murray and Meager will fight for the British title, Jon Thaxton is going balls-to-the-floor for the European title (despite failing in his last fight for the title, a one sided loss to Yuri Romanov) and in the foreground Amir Khan keeps telling us he can beat any lightweight in Britain, without feeling the need to face any of them (Khan's defeat over the very worn Graham Earl aside). Given Thaxton's British title reign, as well as his European adventure, it is clear that Jon Thaxton is still the British number one. Jon gave up his British title after he and Khan failed to agree terms – ironically Khan's Union Jack flag may be the only home-grown pageantry he ever carries into the ring as he seems reticent to go for the British title. A bad performance by Murray, should he win, or a win for Meager, may see Khan decide that he wants to take over the British scene after all. Whilst other fighters beat up former super-featherweight contenders Thaxton – whose loss to light-welterweight Ricky Hatton is better than his fellow British lightweight's best wins – is out there hoping to pick up the European title Romanov has vacated. Should he be unsuccessful in this pursuit Thaxton will have a direct route back to the British title: JM: “If Jon loses his next fight I would be happy to give him a shot (at the British title) if I win it. Jon never lost that title in the ring. We'll see how I get on with Lee first and see if I can bring the belt home then look at where we stand with Jon. I'm not looking past Lee. “Lee is going to be at his best for this fight. It is his last big chance. To win the fight I'm going to really have to take the title away from him. To beat Lee I'm going to have to be at the top of my game and I will be sharp for this fight.” On the other hand Meager looked very poor in his last fight – a draw versus Jose Alberto Gonzalez – and Lee is arguably on the wane as a fighter; Murray, as you might expect, does not subscribe to this theory: JM: “Lee is very experienced. He has been in the game a long time and is a very educated fighter. He is small at the weight and is used to fighting taller fighters and getting shots over the long arms. Then he nails you to the body and head with hooks. He is going to bring all that to the ring with him.” After the fight Murray will go away on holiday with friends. On his return he hopes to secure the fight that slipped away: JM: “I think Fewkes would be a good fight for the British title. I don't see why it can't be made. “It is onwards and upwards from here. Win the British and defend it a couple of times then look for the European title. If Romanov is still around why not fight him? They are the guys you have to beat.” The Meager fight is going to be shown live on Sky TV. Murray feels that this is a positive thing given that his last dominant performance – against Dean Hickman – was a Sky fight: JM: “I'm back on Sky this time. All my fights on Sky are good looking fights so I should be able to crack on and give them another exciting one. It is going to be a war. Tune in because it is going to be gruesome viewing for as long as it lasts.” Should the result go his way his immediate thoughts can turn to his brother Joe, who is a part of the British Olympic boxing team, although for John the cost of an Olympic jaunt to China is something that must be taken into account: JM: “It depends on how much dough I've got at the time but if I've got the cocoa I'll be there supporting Joe. For me to be British champion and Joe to win an Olympic medal, that is the goal.” Murray has to be ‘there' (in every sense of the word) for the Meager bout. A thoughtful character Murray has questioned his place in the sport in recent years. After each fight he admits to sitting down and asking himself the question “Is boxing going to help me change my life for the better?”. In recent times the answer has seemed less clear to him than it did when he first turned professional. Now, though, he says the fire is burning brightly. Murray wants his time in boxing to provide him with life-changing experiences. A loss of appetite in recent fights has now been replaced by a determination to win the Lonsdale belt, a title that, to Murray, represents the first step along the road to success. Nothing less than an impressive win is required. Photos: Knockout Images

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