QUOTE :sweetscience Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject:
murray fewkes is also off
or was never on in the first place
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As far as Hennessy Sports is concerned Murray vs. Fewkes is 100% on!
We have not had any information to the contrary,
can you substantiate your post and tell us where you are getting your information from?
By the way this fight was always taking place, since Hennessy Sports won the purse bid.
Just got a text from Mick Hennessy saying the contracts are signed, it's on and he doesn't know where this is coming from - says he spoke to both fighters and they're shocked by the rumour.
I don't know why anyone would want to pull out from that fight. It's being shown on American Showtime and over here on ITV 4 and will probably be replayed after the Froch fight. Great exposure.
John Murray defends his English lightweight title against John Fewkes in a fascinating clash of unbeaten but relatively untested youngsters.
Murray laboured to outscore Mexican Miguel Angel Munguia in a 10-rounder in Las Vegas in December. The Manchester hope, a former Young Boxer of the Year, worked away earnestly but his punches lacked snap and paid few dividends the night before Ricky Hatton struggled in much the same way against Floyd Mayweather. Indeed, Murray walked on to numerous counters from the cute but limited Munguia and finished badly marked up. But unlike Hatton, he came through on his workrate alone.
Still only 23, Murray turned pro at 18 and graduated from usual suspects such as Ernie Smith, Peter Buckley and Danny Thorpe to men of the calibre of Harry Ramogoadi, Mounir Guebbas and Colombia's Nacho Mendoza. He busted up and outscored Mendoza in eight tough rounds for the spurious WBC Youth lightweight title in 2005 (the fight went to the cards due to horrible swelling on Mendoza's forehead and Murray was narrowly ahead) and made early appearances in the States, and one in Canada. He also found time to spar Ricky Hatton.
But Murray copped a surprising amount of punches from Worcester trier Billy Smith on the way to a six-round decision in 2006 - as he did in the early rounds against American Lorenzo Bethea on the way to a seven-round stoppage on the big Mayweather-De La Hoya bill at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last year. Ultimately, his first stab at a 'proper' belt came for the lowly English title and resulted in an easy four-round stoppage of Midlander Dean Hickman in November, to be quickly followed by the Munguia struggle in the States last time out.
Now for Fewkes, a former schoolboy and junior amateur star from Sheffield who, like Murray, struggled last time out against Stoke strongman Gary Reid in October in Doncaster and picked up a cut on the bridge of the nose on the way to an eight-round decision. "Fireball" Fewkes is something of a hot-head - the quintessential redhead - but he's unbeaten in 16 fights since turning pro in September 2004 and in good form, outscoring Reid, Derby man Scott Haywood, Bulgaria's former Olympic silver medallist Tontcho Tontchev and Craig Watson in his last four. He snapped the unbeaten record of Watson on an eight-round decision in Leeds in February last year - the Manchester southpaw who dropped one Amir Khan in an amateur dust-up in 2005 (Khan struggled up to win on points) and currently holds the Commonwealth welterweight title.
It's a fine win.
Trained by former pro Glyn Rhodes, Fewkes is not a puncher, with two early wins (compared to Murray's 12), but a quick, determined 22-year-old who moves and boxes well, although he cannot resist the temptation to slug it out and was hurt late on by tough old Tontchev and by Watson and also copped plenty of punches from the stalking Reid. You wonder if he has the defence to stave off Murray for long; the power or the temperament. And he's also tight at lightweight.
"Boxing is all about taking chances," admits trainer Rhodes. "Sooner or later I have to let John off the leash to see how good he is and now is the time.
"But he's an outstanding prospect."
BOTH men are. How often do two unbeaten prospects like this come together? Fewkes has the speed and movement to box his way to an early lead but expect the stronger Murray, the house fighter, to pile it on down the stretch on the way to a thrilling points win.
)
