Last weekend in Manchester, rising young star John Murray took on veteran Jonathan Thaxton for the vacant British lightweight title.
Photographer Justin McKie was ringside at the Altrincham Leisure Center to capture all the action from the much anticipated lightweight contest.
Jonathan Thaxton vs John MurrayPhotos © Justin McKie - Click on the images to enlarge. 
After 44 pro fights in a career spanning 17 years, the former British and European champion promised that win or lose, this would be it.
Below - The undefeated 24 year old pressure fighter warms up on the pads with trainer Joe Gallagher.
The 35 year old southpaw circled away from his younger foe, while picking his spots to attack.
Murray upped his intensity in the second round, stinging Thaxton with a hard right early in the frame. The younger man pressed his advantage, aggressively flurrying with both hands.
Sensing his edge, Murray kept coming hard, absorbing Thaxton's best counters without blinking, while dishing out most of the punishment.
By the third round, the undefeated rising star had his full offensive arsenal - jabs, hooks, right hands - all working effectively.
Many in attendance felt the stoppage - 2:30 of round 4 - may have been too soon, but with the bout becoming increasingly one sided, it was hard to find too much fault with the referee's decision.
John Murray - now 28-0 and once again British lightweight champion.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Photo Gallery: John Murray vs Jonathan Thaxton
Monday, October 5, 2009
British Scene Weekend Recap: Murray Stops Thaxton
Dave Oakes recaps Saturday's British lightweight title fight between John Murray and Jonathan Thaxton.
Photos © Justin McKie
In a battle of former British champions, John Murray came out on top on Saturday night, stopping Jon Thaxton in the fourth round to reclaim the British lightweight title.
Murray lost the title on the scales last time out and was determined to put things right this time around. Thaxton was also fired up, knowing that victory would secure him permanent possession of the Lonsdale belt, whilst defeat would surely bring an end to his long career.
It was Thaxton who started the better, pot shotting and moving before Murray had a chance to counter. Murray seemed to be taking his time whilst keeping his hands held high and his chin tucked down. His defence has been viewed as one of his weaknesses but his concentration levels were high right from the first bell against Thaxton, who’s a noted puncher early on in fights.
Murray found his rhythm in the second round, he landed an overhand right early in the round that stiffened Thaxton’s legs. Murray normally goes all out for the knockout against a hurt opponent but he seemed intent on not taking any risks in this fight and stuck to boxing behind a high guard and using his speed to counter Thaxton.
Murray dominated the round, landing the overhand right repeatedly and using his speed advantage to full effect. He caught Thaxton with a hard left hook on the bell that seemed to hurt Thaxton again.
Thaxton tried to re-establish control in the third but was being beaten to the punch and was feeling every blow that Murray landed. It was yet another overhand right that had Thaxton hurt midway through the round, this time Murray followed it up with a hard left uppercut and a left hook to the body.
It was increasingly looking like Thaxton was having one fight too many and his usual sturdy punch resistance was starting to let him down. He was hurt yet again towards the end of the round when Murray detonated another heavy left hook onto Thaxton’s chin.
The end came in the fourth when a Murray right hand had Thaxton staggering backwards towards the ropes, the referee jumped in after Murray followed up with a couple of hooks but I felt that the stoppage was a touch premature.
Thaxton wasn’t that badly hurt, and whilst he was more than likely going to get stopped in the next couple of rounds, I felt he deserved a chance to turn things around. He’s been a pro for over fifteen years and has been in the mix at championship level for most of his career, I feel a fighter like that should be given a bit more of a chance to prove he’s okay to continue. That said, I can’t criticise the referee for erring on the side of caution, I’d rather see a fight being stopped a touch early than it being stopped too late.
Murray takes his unbeaten record to 28 fights (16 KO’s) and is keen on fights against Anthony Mezaache and Michael Katsidis. A fight against Katsidis has the makings of a ‘fight of the year’ type fight but I’m unsure as to how easy that fight would be to make.
The defeat must surely mean the end of the road for Thaxton. He’s had many highs and lows in an eventful career that has seen him claim both British and European titles. He always gave his best and can leave boxing with his head held high.
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Saturday, August 22, 2009
British Scene Season Preview Part Two: Macklin vs Asikainen, Thaxton vs Murray, Sexton vs Rogan & Booth vs Hunter
Dave Oakes is back with the second half of The Boxing Bulletin's preview of the upcoming British boxing season.
In today's preview:
Matthew Macklin (photo © Justin McKie) vs Amin Asikainen - European middleweight title
Jon Thaxton vs John Murray - British lightweight title
Sam Sexton vs Martin Rogan - Commonwealth heavyweight title
Jason Booth vs Michael Hunter - British super-bantamweight title
Macklin vs Asikainen
The quality match-ups keep coming and 25th September sees Matthew Macklin challenge Amin Asikainen for the vacant European middleweight title. Macklin decided to vacate his British title to take this fight and must win to show that it was the correct decision to do so.
Macklin is finally discovering the form that made him one of the hottest prospects in British boxing when he turned pro in 2001. His career has been a slow burner but he’s now got the experience to not just challenge for the European title but to win it.
The quality match-ups keep coming and 25th September sees Matthew Macklin challenge Amin Asikainen for the vacant European middleweight title. Macklin decided to vacate his British title to take this fight and must win to show that it was the correct decision to do so.
Macklin is finally discovering the form that made him one of the hottest prospects in British boxing when he turned pro in 2001. His career has been a slow burner but he’s now got the experience to not just challenge for the European title but to win it.
Asikainen is a quality fighter and will be hoping to regain the belt that he held for two years before his shock knockout loss to Sebastian Sylvester. He’s also suffered a bad knockout defeat against Khoren Gevor and there are still unanswered questions about his punch resistance. There’s a feeling that whilst Asikainen is great when he’s in control, he falls apart when he starts taking heavy shots.
If Macklin can produce the same for that saw him demolish Wayne Elcock inside three rounds last time out, and applies pressure from the first bell, I can see no reason why he can’t stop Asikainen in the mid to late rounds.
Thaxton vs Murray
If you thought September looked pretty good then October is shaping up to be even better. The two best lightweights in Britain do battle on the first Saturday of the month, with Jon Thaxton and John Murray squaring off for the vacant British title.
The undefeated Murray lost the title on the scales last time out but followed it up with a solid performance against the always competitive Scott Lawton, whom he stopped in the sixth round after dishing out a vicious beating.
This fight is make or break time for Thaxton, he’s lost three of his last four and is starting to look like a fighter on the slide. The most surprising of those defeats came in his last fight when he was out-pointed by the game but limited Tom Glover up at light-welterweight. Thaxton believes that the extra weight was the reason behind his loss to Glover, but having spent half of his career fighting at that weight, I find it hard to believe that it would make such a huge amount of difference against someone as limited as Glover.
Thaxton should provide Murray with the hardest fight of his career but I expect the young Mancunian to have too much hunger, stamina and aggression for Thaxton to cope with.
Sexton vs Rogan
Next up is the much anticipated rematch between Sam Sexton and Martin Rogan on October 9th at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast.
Their first meeting in May this year was an action packed back and forth fight that either boxer could’ve won. Sexton started the better but started to struggle as the fight wore on. Rogan showed his usual grit and determination but made a fatal error when he stood back and waited for the referee to step in after wobbling Sexton with a couple of clubbing hooks in the 8th , all this did was allow Sexton to regain his composure, and his senses, when he should’ve gone in for the finish. The end came moments later when Rogan was stopped due to a badly swollen eye.
It was a rarity in that it was an enjoyable heavyweight fight with plenty of action. I expect the same this time but with Rogan coming out the victor via a late stoppage.
Booth vs Hunter
The best fight of the month could come a week later (October 16th) when Jason Booth defends his British super-bantamweight title against former world title challenger Michael Hunter. The ex amateur rivals have not been shy about letting people know of their dislike of each other, with Booth’s manager, Jimmy Gill, joining in by calling Hunter chinny and saying his man should be viewed as the red-hot favourite.
Booth is in the form of his life having won his last six fights, five of which were title fights. This is despite fighting at bantamweight and now super-bantamweight when he’s more of a natural flyweight. He’s always been a beautifully skilled boxer but has now got the experience and maturity to produce the performances everyone knew he was capable of.
The smooth skills of Booth should provide us with a nice clash of styles against the pressure fighting Hunter. Hunter is always at peak fitness, is always prepared to box or brawl his way to victory and has only been defeated once in thirty-one fights, when he was outclassed by Steve Molitor in a clash for the IBF title.
The main worries for Hunter will be his inactivity and his struggles to make the weight. He’s only fought three times in the past two and half years and two of those fights were up at super-featherweight. It was only a few years ago that Hunter was tearing through the division at British and European level but he seems to have lost his hunger since the Molitor defeat.
This fight is a real 50-50 battle; Booth has the skills to outbox Hunter, whilst Hunter has the size advantage and aggressive style to beat Booth. It’s a toss of a coin but I’ve got a feeling that if Hunter still has the desire to be a champion, he’ll find a way of winning a close fight.
e-mail Dave Oakes
Check out the first half of Dave's season preview: British Scene Season Preview Part One; Simpson vs Truscott, O'Donnell vs Glover, Davis vs Napa, Fury vs McDermott & Olusegun vs Daws
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Saturday, July 4, 2009
British Scene: 2009's Best Fights (so far)
It's been an exciting six months in British and Irish rings, and with no shortage of quality battles to choose from, Dave Oakes and Matt Chudley had a difficult task in paring down the list of worthy candidates.
Here are their choices...
Make sure to check out The Boxing Bulletin's British Scene every Monday and Thursday for previews and recaps of all the big fight cards from the UK and Ireland.
1. Bernard Dunne vs Ricardo Cordoba
Photo © Eoin Campbell
Not many people gave Dunne a chance when he challenged the tough Panamanian for the WBA super-bantamweight title in March, and even fewer people thought he would stop Cordoba. That’s exactly what he did though, in what was a thrill a minute fight that included six knockdowns and some ferocious exchanges.
Dunne’s chin was being questioned going into the fight after his one round capitulation against Kiko Martinez, but he showed tremendous resolve in getting off the canvas twice in the 5th round. This was after he’d already dropped Cordoba in the 3rd and was looking the stronger fighter, the knockdowns allowed Cordoba a way back into the fight but Dunne was not to be deterred and fought back toe-to-toe to eventually wear down Cordoba in the 11th round, dropping the champion three times before the referee stopped the fight.
- Dave OakesCheck out the rest of Eoin Campbell's photos from this memorable bout. 2. Tony Quigley vs Tony Dodson
Down on the cards, Tony Quigley dramatically stopped fellow Scouser Tony Dodson in the last round of their British super-middleweight title clash.
The tiring Dodson had recovered brilliantly after being down, cut and close to being stopped in the 2nd round to build up an unassailable lead on the scorecards going into the 11th. Needing the stoppage, Quigley hurt Dodson late in the round, and piled on the pressure in the 12th, capping the stirring comeback by sending Dodson to the canvas twice, forcing referee Victor Loughling to call a halt to the thrilling contest.
- Matt Chudley3. Martin Rogan vs Matt Skelton
Despite the lack of talent and exciting fights on the world stage, the British heavyweight scene has shown some very promising signs this year with the emergence of a handful of exciting prospects.
Whilst the youngsters were learning their trade, it was two of the older fighters that provided the best heavyweight fight of the year so far. The likable Martin Rogan won the Commonwealth title after a bruising encounter with the usually dire to watch Matt Skelton. Rogan was the aggressor throughout the fight but Skelton had his moments and put in a gutsy effort. The fight was close until the midpoint when Skelton seemed to tire, Rogan’s better fitness in addition to his willpower came to the forefront and he wore down Skelton before bludgeoning him to the canvas and stopping him in the 11th round.
- Dave Oakes
4. John Murray vs Lee McAllister
Photo © Chris Royle
Fleet footed Lee McAllister started his British title challenge against John Murray (pictured) impressively, out-boxing the unbeaten pressure fighter from the outside and using his sharper reflexes to stay out of trouble. However against the advice of his corner, McAllister dispensed with his thus far successful game plan and decided to stand and trade with Murray in the 5th round. It proved a costly mistake, as Murray unloaded heavy shots to the body as well as bloodying McAllister’s nose.
With the damage impairing McAllister’s mobility, he was no longer able to pick and choose the exchanges and became an increasingly easier target for the Manchester fighter’s sustained pressure. In the 8th, Murray ended the spirited contest by dropping the plucky Scotsman with a ripping left hook to the body.
- Matt Chudley5. Rob Norton vs David Dolan
This was a fight that surprised a lot of people. It was viewed as being a potentially cagey fight with the skilful Dolan expected to outbox the champion. Things don’t always go as planned though, especially in boxing. Dolan scored three knockdowns, the second of which looked like a finisher, but still lost the fight as both fighters forgot about tactics and just went looking for the knockout.
Dolan was dropped twice as well, both of which were very debatable having looked like a slip and a push, it didn’t make a huge difference on the scorecards though, as the judges scored the fight in favour of Norton by surprisingly wide margins. This is another fight where a rematch is being discussed and one which all British fans are eagerly anticipating.
- Dave OakesHonourable mentions
Martin Lindsay’s demolishing of the undefeated Paul Appleby in an unforgettably loud Ulster Hall, Gary Sykes beating Anthony Crolla in an undercard classic, Sam Sexton defeating the always entertaining Martin Rogan in another heavyweight war and Jamie Moore, who hasn’t been in any thrillers so far this year but no top fight list is complete without his name being mentioned somewhere.
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Monday, June 15, 2009
British Scene Weekend Recap
There were two shows featuring title contests this weekend in British rings.
On Friday, Ajose Olusegun put his 140lb Commonwealth crown on the line, as well as going for the vacant British title against Nigel Wright. The following night, Scott Lawton had a chance to claim the British 135lb title against John Murray, after Murray failed to make weight the previous afternoon.
Matt Chudley and Dave Oakes have the recaps.
Check out our previews of the show: Olusegun vs Wright & Murray vs LawtonFriday June 12
Olusegun Tops Wright Again
By Matt Chudley
In an unexpected rematch with Nigel Wright at the Liverpool Olympia, Ajose Olusegun successfully defended his Commonwealth title and claimed the British title this past Friday
In their previous encounter, Wright had surprised Olusegun early but faded down the stretch to lose 116-113 on all three cards. This time, after being afforded the opportunity on only two weeks notice due to a pullout by Barry Morrison, a more apprehensive Wright failed to let his hands go and was outworked and outclassed by the London based Nigerian.
While both southpaws tried to establish their jab early, the few attacking flurries were contributed by Olusegun, who despite being unable to find a home for his favoured and rather wild overhand left hand, clearly had the better of the first few rounds.
With things going Olusegun’s way in the 4th, he dropped his hands and mocked Wright’s reflexes, but went back to work in raising the pace of the contest the following round.
Finally, in the second half of the 6th round, with the gulf in speed and reflexes not allowing him to counter-punch effectively Wright began to show some signs of life by coming forward and letting his hands go and pushed Olugsegun back with persistent 1-2s. Wright’s sense of urgency though was only fleeting as he went back into his shell for the next few rounds, and when he chose to again come forward in the 10th, was picked off by his crafty opponent.
With his corner urging him on, Wright managed to land a few decent punches over the last couple of rounds but it wasn’t nearly enough. The final scores were 117-111, 117-112 and 116-113 all for Olusegun.
Now a British citizen and Lonsdale belt holder, Olusgeun may find himself in line to fight the winner of the July 3rd European title match-up between Paul McCloskey and Soulymane M'Baye. Still unable to sell tickets and stylistically an unattractive proposition, Olusegun will undoubtedly have to force someone’s hand when it comes to a World title fight, but he might not be far from a final eliminator given his previous high standing.
On the under-card…
In the pick of the under-card action, 7-0 local fighter Steve Williams bettered the 18-4-2 Polish welterweight champion Slawomir Ziemlewicz over 8 fast paced and exciting rounds.
Rising 154lb prospect Grzegoz Proska faired much better than his countryman, posting a career best win in 3 rounds over 17-4-1 former British title challenger Jaime Coyle.
Former Commonwealth featherweight Champion Paul Truscott kept busy ahead of his rematch with John Simpson with a routine 60-54 win over Russian Andrey Kostin.
Debuting former amateur star Carl Frampton put down the overmatched 0-1 Hungarian Sandor Szinavel 3 times before the end came at 2:03 into the 2nd round.
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Saturday June 13
Murray Wins But Loses Title
By Dave Oakes
The weigh in for a fight is usually the calm before the storm but it was the complete opposite for John Murray this weekend. Having arrived barely minutes before the cut off point for weighing in, Murray quickly jumped on the scales only to find out that he was two ounces over the lightweight limit.
The officials gave Murray just five minutes to lose the weight but it made no difference as a sweating Murray weighed exactly the same second time around. Murray and his team complained bitterly that they weren’t given enough time to shed the extra weight but rules are rules and they only had themselves to blame for turning up late to the weigh in, if they’d turned up an hour earlier, they would’ve had enough time to lose the extra weight easily.
Murray was stripped of the title but the fight went ahead with Lawton still capable of winning the now vacant title if he could defeat Murray. Unfortunately for Lawton, it became evident within the first minute that he didn’t stand a chance of winning, as a pumped up Murray flew out at the bell.
Murray is always a fast starter and an aggressive front foot fighter but even by his own standards this was a ferocious start to a fight. He was trying to take Lawton’s head off with every punch, throwing wild hooks non-stop. Lawton was getting caught with some big shots but wasn’t hurt until there was twenty seconds of the round remaining when Murray caught him with a right hook that made Lawton’s legs dip. Murray followed up with a barrage of punches and eventually sent Lawton sprawling to the canvas with what was more of a shove than a punch.
Lawton got to his feet unsteadily and looked relieved when the bell sounded before Murray could get the chance to finish proceedings. Lawton has always been a courageous fighter and he showed that yet again in this fight, he could’ve easily reverted into safety mode for the rest of the fight but he came out fighting in the second round.
Murray was still fighting at a phenomenal pace in the second but Lawton was countering him well and landed two powerful uppercuts that stopped Murray in his tracks. Despite having a much better round, Lawton still lost the round due to Murray’s work-rate and heavier punching.
Murray slowed the pace slightly in the third and fourth rounds but was still dominating the fight with the more accurate and heavier looking punches. Lawton was beginning to feel the pace towards the end of the fourth, which was immediately picked up upon by Murray.
Round five was the beginning of the end as Murray started to look for the body attack to break down an already tiring Lawton. A huge left hook under the ribs had Lawton in serious trouble towards the end of the round but he clung on bravely to see the round out.
Murray, sensing the end was in sight, started the sixth round as fast as he’d started the first. He was pushing Lawton back and was bullying him against the ropes. He had Lawton in trouble yet again with a left hook to the body and followed it up with another two vicious body shots, one of which was a right hook that nearly folded Lawton in half, the following punches rocked Lawton’s head back leaving the referee with no alternative other than stopping the fight.
Murray is now unbeaten in 27 fights and is starting to fulfil the potential he showed in the early stage of his career. A potential fight against Jon Thaxton may have been ruined by him losing his title on the scales but he could still challenge European champion Anthony Mezaache in his next fight in September. His promoter, Mick Hennessy, remained optimistic that the Thaxton fight could still happen and also revealed he’s been in discussions with Juan Diaz about a possible fight towards the end of the year.
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
British Scene Preview: John Murray vs Scott Lawton
Dave Oakes previews Saturday night's British lightweight title fight between Manchester's undefeated young champion John Murray and the challenger from Stoke, Scott Lawton.
Murray pictured on the right landing a straight right hand against Youssef Al Hamidi last May - Photo © Justin McKie
Check out our recap of the show: Weekend Recap
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Saturday June 13
John Murray vs Scott Lawton (ITV4)
By Dave Oakes
John Murray, one of Britain’s hottest young talents, will be hoping to keep the momentum going in his career on Saturday night when he makes the second defence of his British lightweight belt against Scott Lawton at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England.
The pressure will be on Murray to produce another good performance following impressive victories in his last two outings. Murray seemed indomitable when winning the title against Lee Meager nearly a year ago, stopping the hardened Salford warrior in five one-sided rounds. He then made a successful defence by halting the game Scotsman Lee McAllister in the 8th round.
Those fights were a welcome return to form for Murray, who at times has struggled to live up to the reputation he created for himself in the early stage of his career when a run of impressive performances helped him to win the coveted Young Boxer of the Year award.
He seemed to be stuck in a rut towards the end of 2007 and was in need of a challenge to help reinvigorate his career. The British title shot came at the perfect time for him and he grabbed with both hands. Meager is as tough as they come but Murray just went through him as if he wasn’t there, with punch after punch landing flush on Meager’s chin. He was a bit more patient against McAlister but came on strong from the 3rd round onwards to overcome the always competitive Scotsman.
This will be Lawton’s second attempt at winning the British title after he lost in his first attempt against Jon Thaxton just over two years ago. Lawton boxed well early on against Thaxton but lacked the punch power needed to keep Thaxton off him and was eventually ground down and stopped in the 7th round.
Lawton has also got a loss against Amir Khan, who outclassed and stopped him in four rounds. Whilst he was completely out of his depth against Khan, he never went down and tried his best to stay in the fight despite taking a barrage of blows from the much touted former Olympian star.
His best win came at the end of last year when he stopped the then unbeaten Martin Gethin in the 9th round of a minor title fight. Lawton boxed beautifully that night, controlling Gethin with an impressive jab and catching him clean numerous times with the overhand right. Lawton isn’t a puncher by any means but he landed clean often enough that it eventually had an accumulative effect on Gethin which broke the unbeaten prospects resolve and left him on teetering legs when the referee stopped the fight.
If Lawton is to stand any chance of winning this fight he must work behind the jab as he did in the Gethin fight, Murray’s chin isn’t hard to find and Lawton should be able to catch him coming in. Murray is relentless though and is more than willing to take a punch to land his own, it makes for entertaining fights but it’s the one thing that could hold Murray back in his career.
I expect Lawton to put in a good performance, as he always does, but I don’t believe it’ll be enough to beat Murray. Murray’s main attribute is his stamina and I can see him setting a fast pace from the opening bell, a pace that the older Lawton will struggle to match. I think Murray will take over the fight from the 4th round onwards and will stop a brave but tiring Lawton in the final four rounds of the fight.
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