Martin Murray makes short work of replacement (From St Helens Star)

Martin Murray makes short work of replacement

11:30am Thursday 27th May 2010

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MARTIN Murray put the disappointment of missing out on his proposed Commonwealth middleweight title showdown with Francis Cheka firmly behind him to produced a polished and highly-professional performance to account for late substitute Lee Noble at Sheffield on Friday and extend his 100 per cent record to 19 fights.

The 27-year-old from Fingerpost was left “gutted” after the plug was pulled on his title bid at the last minute when Tanzanian Cheka was unable to get a visa for entry into the UK.

But he showed great resilience and focus to force a stoppage victory over the durable Noble after just three one-sided rounds of the scheduled eight.

Murray - again cheered on by his loyal vociferous following - dominated the contest from the first bell. And although he found it difficult to land clean head shots against an opponent happy to shelter behind a high guard, he did manage to inflict damage with some punishing body punches.

With the Yorkshireman offering little in return it came as no surprise when Noble, who had only been stopped once previously in 26 contests, failed to come out for the fourth round, having sustained rib damage as a result of Murray’s relentless onslaught.

Murray, who is sponsored by local firms Buzby’s, Premier Sun and Trilogy jewellers, was understandably happy with his night’s work. He said; “I felt great. Obviously I was a bit upset when the title fight was off but these things happen in boxing and you’ve just got to get on with the job. Lee Noble stepped up and I just took out my frustration on him.

“I put in a good performance and hopefully my next fight will be for the Commonwealth title. Then I want the British and basically I’m just ready to fight any middleweight out there.”

Promoter Ricky Hatton was also impressed by Murray’s display. Interviewed at ringside, the former world welterweight champion said: “I can promise that Martin will fight for that Commonwealth title next time. He showed star quality and championship quality out there tonight. When a fights falls through at the last minute it’s an absolute nightmare but Martin just went in there and did a great job.”

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