THE VIEW'S BOXING REVIEW
APRIL
The opening round was quite in comparison to the rest of the fight, both guys look for openings and trying to get a feel for what their opponent was trying to do.
However in the second round Murray appeared to take control and force the pace, Murray wanted the stoppage and kept the pace high and hurt Crolla on a few occasions. The turning point in this fight was round eight, Murray didn’t appear to have the same work rate, and the power in his punches had gone, it had been slowing for a few rounds but this was the first time he had looked ragged.
It became clear that he had emptied his tank in the previous rounds and this handed the initiative to Crolla who began to land his punches at will. One thing we can’t say about John Murray is that he doesn’t give it his all, he kept marching forwards trying to pin his opponent down but every time he got close enough to land, he got caught by two or three punches and Crolla was gone.
Crolla dropped Murray in the tenth, the effect of the punches, and the number, he was taking had become to much, but as ever the brace Manchester fight rose to his feet and attempted to continue but it was the beginning of the end as Crolla pinned him against the ropes forcing referee Howard Foster to step in and end the action.
"It was even tougher than I expected," Crolla told Sky Sports. "No matter how tough that looked, me and John were the luckiest men in this arena. I prepared for this fight like no other; John put the fear of god into me. I remember how tough those sparring sessions were and I knew I had to keep a cool head in a hot kitchen."
John Murray had no excuses for the defeat either and gave full credit to Anthony Crolla. "I gave it my all, I was the best I've been in training and he's beaten me at my best," he said. "I want to take my hat off to Anthony because he was bang on. I don't want to make any excuses, as the rounds went on maybe I began to feel the inactivity but full respect to Anthony, I had a full camp and felt great."
Earlier in the night WBA Super Bantamweight World Champion Scott Quigg (28-0-2, 21kos) defended his title in style, stopping the late stand in Tshifhiwa Munyai (24-3-1, 12kos). Munyai who had never been stopped before was unable to deal with the power of Quigg early on as he was knocked down heavily in the opening round.
By Paul Hampton
Rise Up - Phones 4 U Manchester.
Anthony Crolla (28-4, 11kos) came out of the Battle Of Manchester victorious on Saturday night at the Phones 4 U Arena, stopping John Murray (33-3, 20kos) in the tenth round.
Murray was fired up for the fight, even before he entered the ring he could be seen prowling like a caged animal at the start of the ring walk, he was a man with a point to prove to the fans, and to former trainer Joe Gallagher. This fight was guaranteed fireworks, both fighters enjoy a toe-to-toe fight, and the outcome would all depend on whether Crolla could stick to his game plan, or get drawn in to a war.
Photos Courtesy Of Lawrence Lustig