Murray no closer to knowing next opponent (From St Helens Star)

Murray no closer to knowing next opponent

2:10pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in Boxing By Daniel Webster

WORLD title contender Martin Murray insists he is no closer to knowing his next opponent despite his scheduled fight looming.

British and Commonwealth middleweight champion Murray, who has not fought since his heroic display against Felix Sturm in their world title showdown in December has been given a fight date by Sky TV for 21 April, but the St Helens fighter has yet to have an opponent announced and is unsure whether it will be a defence of his British title or a world title eliminator.

There have been talks for the 29 year old to fight fellow Brit and world title hopeful Darren Barker but according to Murray, Barker’s promoter Eddie Hearn ‘doesn’t seem to want it.’ He said: “I don’t know what’s happening with an opponent yet. I leave that to my team and I just turn up for training. They have pushed for the Barker fight but Eddie Hearn doesn’t seem to want it.

“I’m open to all options. Ideally it would be good if a world title were on the line, so I’ve just got to wait and see what happens regarding that.”

Murray got a great reception following the Sturm fight from fans across the country, most notably, the Martin Murray Barmy Army faithful, and the rest of the town and Murray is desperate to repay his loyal fans by staging a hometown fight.

He said: “The support I’ve had has been phenomenal, I couldn’t ask for it to be any better. The town is a million percent behind me, so I’m very proud. “If I could fight anywhere, then obviously my main focus would be on St Helens. I’d love there to be a venue there that I could fight regularly.

“A lot of people have been saying Langtree Park, the new Saints ground. That’s a possibility next year.

Although only been professional for four and a half years, unbeaten Murray whose record stands at 23-0-1 has developed a real hunger for world title glory after being held to a draw by WBA champion Felix Sturm in Germany last December, which many felt Murray had won, but he is first to admit that he still has a lot to learn in the game.

“At first we though Sturm was unifying and we thought, “if you’re doing that then fair play’ but we didn’t get offered the rematch.

“I’m a bit disappointed in that but there’s no hard feelings. I’m nowhere near my prime yet but I’ll get there one day. I learned a lot from that fight and it was a great experience for me so it’s onwards and upwards from here,” he said.