BoxRec

Great fight by Murray, I really thought he was on his way to a win but he seemed to run out of steam the last few rounds. His punches were lacking pop and his accuracy went off, but Martinez proved a slippery opponent, great movement to frustrate Murray and make him miss. I had Martinez taking the last two rounds and don't think anybody could really say it was controversial. A close fight but I felt Martinez pulled it out of the bag in the end.

I didn't score it, but I felt like Murray just did enough to get the win. He fought a clever fight and kept it simple and stayed tight. That said, I feel like it told us more about where Martinez is at these days than Murray. Martinez looked his age in there tonight and I felt like from about the 6th on he was there for the taking.

I had it 114-113 Martinez but he looked poor and for several rounds I thought Murray had a good chance of stopping him.

crusader wrote:I had it 114-113 Martinez but he looked poor and for several rounds I thought Murray had a good chance of stopping him.

Martinez looked old tonight to me! Im not saying that to discredit Murrays performance as I think he's given Martinez his toughest fight in a long time and Murray fought really well.

CheckHook wrote:I didn't score it, but I felt like Murray just did enough to get the win. He fought a clever fight and kept it simple and stayed tight. That said, I feel like it told us more about where Martinez is at these days than Murray. Martinez looked his age in there tonight and I felt like from about the 6th on he was there for the taking.

same here i dont score these late night ones but it looked like murray was ahead to me also that was a KD. Martinez i think has been over rated from a couple of big ko's he has struggled with alot of fighters since then.

if the second knock down actually was giving instead of a slip then I thought murray won it by a point, I am gutted for murray

citybluechris wrote:if the second knock down actually was giving instead of a slip then I thought murray won it by a point, I am gutted for murray

I think the punch that caused the alleged second knockdown connected round the back of the head though.

crusader wrote:I had it 114-113 Martinez but he looked poor and for several rounds I thought Murray had a good chance of stopping him.

sound slike martinez just edged it
but murray has defo improved his rating and can now hold his own

his market would have gone up to so good for him
get him a fight now with another title holder

dammage7 wrote:sound slike martinez just edged it
but murray has defo improved his rating and can now hold his own

his market would have gone up to so good for him
get him a fight now with another title holder

or maybe, if we dare to dream, his nearest domestic rivals.... nah, ridiculous notion.

A number of things to note:

- They were using instant replay to judge on potential controversies. The judges reviewed the second "knock down" and agreed with the ref. At best, I found that decision peculiar.
- All cards were 115-112 with open scoring showing that Martinez was 1 point, 1 point and 3 points ahead after 8 rounds. So one judge had them sharing the last four rounds (9 & 10 for Murray) and 2 had Martinez taking 3 of the last 4.
- Murray fought what appeared to be the perfect fight, tactically, for the first 10 rounds. In rounds 11 and 12, Martinez didn't do anything different, but Murray just seemed to stop working.
- I think Murray beats both Barker and Macklin, and is probably a legitimate top 5 contender at Middleweight (behind Martinez, Golovkin, Quillin; level with Junior)
- Martinez would be wise to steer very clear of Golovkin, although as a fighter he does seem to like to prove himself against any opposition.
- My overriding emotion on watching is of frustration; a real opportunity missed for Murray.

Murray v Barker has to be next. We need a clear domestic no1. Would love to see Murray in with Macklin, but obviously Macklin has an upcoming fight.

liamlion wrote:Murray v Barker has to be next.

I think this is on the cards for later in the year. Will be a cracker.

earsjohn wrote: Martinez would be wise to steer very clear of Golovkin.

I agree with this. Martinez still has quick hands but he seemed to be lacking in ideas at times against Murray. Golovkin could bring too much heat for this fading champion.

Sergio Martinez was floored twice, busted up, pushed back and landed nothing of note.

Murray put in a tremendous performance and credit to his team too.

He has been catapulted to the top tier of the 160 division now.

Yes, top performance by murray. He won it in my opinion. Hopefully murray will get some big pay days off the back of this.

Carnt see martinez beating Golovkin after that performance.

Id like to see andy lee getting in the mix with our domestic fighters i know he's irish but they are all on the same type of level at the moment it would be a great bit of a tourney.
Macklin, murray, barker and lee.

Great fight, Murray just needed to keep going in the 11th and 12th but seemed to ease off pity as I thought a stoppage was on the cards.

Never said this before but Bunces rant after the fight was 100% spot on.

Andy Lee was a good pundit and seems a really decent fella, but in pure sporting terms wouldn't give any of the other three anything big to worry about at all. He'd never box Sturm to draw in Germany and he'd never bust-up, floor and push Martinez in front of 50,000 rabid fans either.

1. Murray
2. Barker
3. Macklin

Proska , Billy Joe Saunders etc could all beat him from these isles and I can't really understand why his name is constantly linked to them like 'the big four'.

And I say all the above as someone who thought he looked a spectacular talent when he first turned professional. But since then he seems to have gone right off the boil.

His showing against Anthony Fitzgerald , with Adam Booth in his corner, blew any genuine interest for me. Before that he was knocked out.

If Murray was more active in the first half of the fight then he would be Champion now. You cannot afford to give the home fighter a 5 round headstart.

I had Martinez up by 1 also, but Murray will be back again no doubt with the excellent second half of the fight.

G0mez wrote:Andy Lee was a good pundit and seems a really decent fella, but in pure sporting terms wouldn't give any of the other three anything big to worry about at all. He'd never box Sturm to draw in Germany and he'd never bust-up, floor and push Martinez in front of 50,000 rabid fans either.

1. Murray
2. Barker
3. Macklin

Proska , Billy Joe Saunders etc could all beat him from these isles and I can't really understand why his name is constantly linked to them like 'the big four'.

And I say all the above as someone who thought he looked a spectacular talent when he first turned professional. But since then he seems to have gone right off the boil.

His showing against Anthony Fitzgerald , with Adam Booth in his corner, blew any genuine interest for me. Before that he was knocked out.

BJS could not beat Lee at this point in time.

Did Buckland fight on the bill in the end? He's not listed on the results for the bill.

He was in this week's BN preview, did his fight get pulled late?

grub wrote:Did Buckland fight on the bill in the end? He's not listed on the results for the bill.

He was in this week's BN preview, did his fight get pulled late?

As far as I know, his fight got shitcanned. Everything was pushed forward two hours because of the weather.

Great effort by Muzza, with a bit more in the last 2 he could have done it. Hats off though, it takes huge gonads to do what he did down there.

Hatton should put on Murray vs Geale at St Helens or the MEN.

He's done tremendous despite absolutely everything being stacked against him, he can defo hold a portion of a world title if he can get better and better.

Martinez is done now, Golovkin seems the heir apparent - but the rest of the division is up for grabs and will wide open.