Things did not go to plan for Wood as all three of his fighters lost, Davies losing to Ian Napa on a majority decision, Quigley losing to Paul Smith on a split decision and Ryan Rhodes stopped Jamie Moore in the seventh round to leave all three champions looking to rebuild their careers.

Steve Wood spoke exclusively to BoxingScene.com to give his take on the last couple of weeks and what the future holds for VIP Promotions.

“I felt Gary Davies did enough as the champion to win, he didn’t lose the fight to Napa but he’s not got the belt anymore.  He’ll have a comeback fight and when he wins that he will have a crack at Napa or maybe a Commonwealth Title.  I’m confident if he faces Napa he’ll get the win next time,” said Woods.

“He will learn a little bit from the loss.  I felt he showed Napa too much respect but Gary feels he did enough to win the fight.  There’s a lot more he could have done to get the win, but next time he’ll beat Napa.”

Wood then moved onto the following Friday, to the Quigley/Smith fight, a largely scrappy affair, which was difficult to score.

“I felt that Tony Quigley under performed on the night,” admitted Woods, “but to me he still won the fight.  Smith only won one of the first 10 rounds and the last 2 rounds, what I do accept is that in a lot of the rounds nothing much happened so they were difficult to score.  Tony, like Gary, was the champion and I don’t feel either challenger did enough to take the belts.”

In the aftermath of the Quigley/Smith fight Smith’s promoter, Frank Warren, stated that there would be a rematch.  Wood continued by stating that, “Frank did say there was going to be a rematch, and at the press conference afterwards he said there probably would be one so I wouldn’t hold my breath on it happening.

“Quigley should be coming down to Middleweight but while the Smith fight is out there we will go for that.  If Frank doesn’t give us the rematch, we’ll have to work Tony into a mandatory position and hopefully Smith will still be the champion by then.  The eliminator will most likely be against Tony Dodson so that’s the route we will take.”

Steve then turned his focus to his prize asset, Jamie Moore.  Moore had been on the fringes of a world title shot at WBC champion Sergio Martinez yet took a dangerous and risky fight against fellow Brit Ryan Rhodes.  Rhodes stopped Moore in great fashion leaving Moore facing a possible move up to the middleweight division.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Ryan Rhodes but it wasn’t the real Jamie Moore in the ring with him, he was running on half a tank,” stated Woods.  “Jamie was winning the fight on points but when he ran out of gas he got stopped.  It’s no excuse but he wasn’t there on the night, read into it what you want but Jamie will be fighting at Middleweight from now on.”

“We need to keep Jamie busy,” Wood said when talking about Moore’s future plans.  “We need to try and get him into a World title position at middleweight.  He is above British level even at middleweight, and the only reason he stayed at light middleweight was because he was so close to a world title.  He’s been struggling for a while to make weight so he’ll go up a division and win a world title there.”

Wood feels that VIP Promotions are still in a good position, even after losing three titles in the last couple of weeks.
“VIP has the best young lads in the country bar none, and that includes Warren’s fighters and Hennessy’s.  It’s not good losing three titles, especially after taking 13 years to get there but in 12 months’ time I am sure we will sit down and I’ll have 4 or 5 champions and others on the fringe.  We are down but not out,” insisted Woods.

“I have quite a few fighters who are on the verge of a title fight.  Kids such as Carl Dilks, Brett Flournoy, Jon Kays, Mark Moran, Stuart McFadyen, Brian Rose, Alex Matvienko, Rick Godding, Mike Robinson and we mustn’t forget Gary Sykes.

“I then have some top young prospects, such as Jack Arnfield, Trevor Crewe, Josh Warrington, Chad Gaynor, Terry Flannigan, Tyrone Nurse, Stephen Jennings, Kieran Farrell, Shayne Singleton and the one I consider the best of all the prospects in the country at the minute, Karl Place.  The future looks good at VIP.”

Manchester’s super-featherweight hope Jon Kays, 10-1 (2 early), suffered some disappointment on Halloween when his first title fight was cancelled after opponent Ibrar Riyaz was pulled out of the match-up by his trainer during the pre-medical weigh-in two days prior to the contest.

For Kays, who trains under Bobby Rimmer, it was the second bit of bad news in the lead up to the night.  His initial opponent for the vacant British Masters super-featherweight title fight was Craig Johnson, who is the only man to have defeated Kays in a so far promising career.

It has been almost 12 months since Johnson defeated Kays over six three-minute rounds, when the referee awarded the fight to Johnson by 58-56, and Kays, like most boxers, was keen to avenge his defeat to Johnson.  Unfortunately, this was not to happen as the 28-year-old Johnson has now retired from boxing.

Kays, 26, spoke to BoxingScene.com exclusively before and after his Halloween fight to explain what had happened in the lead up to this aborted title tilt.  “I was due to fight Craig Johnson and he pulled out last Monday so they drafted in Ibrar Riyaz to compete for the title.  When he had his check weigh in on Thursday his trainer pulled him out due to him suffering from flu,” explained Kays.

“I found out on Thursday night and it was too late to bring a replacement in.  The BBBC wouldn’t have sanctioned a replacement at such short notice so I have ended up fighting Sid Razak over six rounds.

“I would have done 10 rounds standing on my head tonight – I have trained harder than ever before,” he continued.  “I was down in the dumps on Thursday night but I am a professional boxer and I’ve got to act professional, so all I am thinking about is Sid Razak and how I am going to beat him.”

Kays expressed his disappointment that he wouldn’t get the chance to have a rematch against Johnson, in a fight that would have meant so much more than just a title fight.  “I am absolutely gutted,” revealed Kays, “but this is boxing and these things happen.”

“I don’t believe he [Johnson] has retired, I think he has struggled to make weight after 6 weeks of training his bollocks off.  He was a lightweight and was heavier than me when we last fought – I personally feel it’s a weight issue.  I reckon he’ll be back and if he is we can get it on as I learned a lot from that defeat and am a better fighter for it.”

On Saturday night itself, Kays managed to outbox Razak over six-rounds to register a shutout 60-54 win.  Kays was happy with his performance.  “I am happy with my performance tonight,” he declared.

“I had six good rounds and could have gone on for the full 10 rounds.  I knew within the first 30 seconds it was going to be a tough fight.  It just shows how much I have improved in the last 12 months.  I felt so much stronger on the inside and I wasn’t wasting shots.  Razak is tough to open up, but when I did (open him up) I made him pay.  It was another good learning curve tonight.”

Kays ended our conversation by telling us of his future plans and about his rescheduled bid for the British Masters title.  “I just spoke to Ken [Morton, VIP’s matchmaker] and he says the title fight will be in the New Year, most likely Ibrar Riyaz,” confirmed Kays.

“Ken said Ibrar was desperate for the fight but he had the flu.  Next time, he will have more time to prepare and it will be a cracking fight.  I’m going to take a couple of weeks off and have a holiday and then it’s training over Christmas and hopefully the title shot in January.”

Craig Watson in Training

Craig Watson is looking at taking a change of direction in a career that he is in the process of rebuilding.  Back in May 2008, Watson defended his Commonwealth Welterweight title and, in what was probably his best performance to date, defeated Matthew Hatton on points on the Ricky Hatton homecoming bill at the City of Manchester stadium.  Since that date Matthew Hatton has won 4 fights in a row and in a couple of weeks time the younger brother of Ricky Hatton will fight Lovemore N’Dou for the IBO Welterweight World Title.

Watson, on the other hand, lost his next fight, against John O’Donnell, and his Commonwealth title.  With the lack of TV deals for UK promoters, Watson has left Hayemaker promotions and is now looking to rebuild his career with Hatton Promotions, only this time he is looking to take the light welterweight division by storm.

“I’m going to try and make the light welterweight limit, I want Lenny Daws [British Champion], I would walk right through him,” declared Watson.  “I am too strong, too slick, I think he is a one trick pony and I’d do the business on him.  After my next fight I am looking at a British Title Eliminator, then I want Daws and once I defeat him the world’s my oyster.”

Watson spoke about what he feels is the key for him at 140lbs.  “I am super strong at Welterweight so I will be even stronger when I am Light Welter, there will not be many boxers who can take my power in the Light Welter division,” he confided.

Craig Watson famously sent current WBA Light Welterweight champion Amir Khan to the canvas in an amateur fight, which Khan went on to win.  Watson is realistic in his chances of getting a fight with a fighter he almost beat in the amateur code.

“I’d love to fight Khan, but he’s at World Title level already and is looking at big names in the United States.  If he beats Salita I see him fighting Erik Morales or Alex Arthur next, and I don’t believe I am a big enough name to get a Khan fight,” continued Watson.

“I’d jump at the chance if I got offered the fight.  He’s a strong kid but I am stronger and he wouldn’t be able to keep me off him.  I’d keep pushing him until he was blowing and ran out of steam.”

The Manchester fighter still has options at welterweight if he decides the drop in weight is not the best option.  One fight that still upsets Watson is his defeat to John O’Donnell; he would love to get a rematch.

“I won that fight,” blasted Watson.  “I won all the early rounds and the late rounds – I just slacked in the middle of the fight.  I hurt him at times and he knows it.  How can one judge give the fight to me by three rounds, yet the other judges give the fight to O’Donnell.  The only reason he won was because the fight was in his backyard.

“I’d not boxed in a year and was rusty, if I had been busier in the lead up the result would have been different.  I will live and learn from that and come back stronger.  If I get to fight O’Donnell again I will destroy him.  I am going to keep busy from now on, get a bit of fluency in my boxing.  I don’t think there are many boxers at 140 or 147 who can beat me.”

Before Watson starts his attempt to conquer the light welterweight division, he is scheduled to fight Riad Menasria (28-1-1) over six rounds on the 27th of November in Wigan.  It will be Watson’s second fight since the O’Donnell loss, the other being a six-round shutout of Nottingham’s Matt Scriven back in August of this year.

Anthony "Million Dollar" Crolla

On the 27th November at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan boxing fans will see two of Manchester’s top super-featherweights battling out in an eight round fight. On one side is a young pretender in Anthony Crolla and facing him is a former world title challenger in Michael Brodie. Both fighters are with Hatton Promotions so for the winner the rewards could be massive with a title shot in near future.

Both fighters are rebuilding, with Brodie set to enter the ring for only the second time since he lost to Scott Harrison in 2005. It was in August of this year that he had his comeback fight coming back from the brink of defeat to stop Mark Alexander in the fourth round under trainer Joe Pennington.

Anthony Crolla who will turn 23 before the fight, is set have his second fight under new trainer Joe Gallagher since his defeat to Gary Sykes earlier this year in a British title eliminator.

Crolla understands the meaning of this fight and knows just how tough it will be to get in the ring with Michael Brodie.

“Michael is definitely the biggest name I have faced and come the 27th November I’ll be prepared to face the best Michael Brodie. I am not buying into his last performance one bit. Joe will come up with a game plan and we’ll be working towards that.

“A win will put me back in the title mix. Brodie is a big name and the winner will definately be challenging for titles.”

Crolla’s trainer, Joe Gallagher, feels the public are being robbed of what could be a great fight by their not being a title involved.

“I want this fight for a title, with the two fighters involved it should be. You have the young gun, in Crolla and the old fox in Brodie. Brodie’s a world class fighter with world class power and determination. So for this fight to be for eight rounds there is a chance the public could be robbed of the extra rounds.This fight could top any bill and sell out any leisure centre in Manchester.”

Gallagher too is not taking anything for granted after a not too great performance off Brodie on his comeback against Alexander.

“People are reading too much into Michael’s last fight. Alexander was a good amateur and had been training with Manny Steward so people are being unfair to Michael saying he is finished. What Michael showed that fight is that he hasn’t lost his power or his desire.

“This is a tough fight for Anthony, and a win doesn’t put him in the mix at domestic level, it puts him in the mix at European or world level. Anthony is going to show he has some gears and he is going to have to show World Class power otherwise he will come unstuck. It will be a great scalp for Crolla and if Crolla loses then he has lost to a world class fighter and their is no shame in that.”

It is a brave move by Hatton Promotions putting two of their own local fighters in the ring together knowing that the loser’s career could be damaged. Locally the fight has a lot of meaning with both fighters having a good fanbase, and both fighters having the potential to put on a good performance. Come the morning of the 28th November a door to a title shot may have opened for the winner.

Tyrone Nurse was fighting in his first six round contest and was also looking for his first stoppage victory in what was his tenth professional bout. Nurse faced Jason Nesbitt, of Birmingham who was fighting in his 106th pro bout. Nesbitt has not won a fight since April 2007 and did not look likely to end his barren run during this contest.

Nurse came out behind a solid jab early in the fight, before he realised that Nesbitt was not going to throw much back. Nurse then spent the next few rounds moving around the ring picking off Nesbitt with some nice combinations.

During the fourth round Nesbitt started to open up more, offering Nurse some success. Nurse himself got caught in the fifth round by two left hooks but was untroubled. During the last round, Nurse once again showed his superior boxing ability by moving in and out and landing some nice combinations. Referee Michael Alexander scored the bout 60-55 to Nurse who can now look forward to stepping up his opposition with a view to an Area title in 2010.

Bobby Rimmer trained Jon Kays, was left disappointed earlier in the week when two opponents fell through leaving his title fight cancelled, and instead left him facing the durable Sid Razak for the second time. Kays only defeat came to Craig Johnson and the rematch was for the vacant British Masters title at super-featherweight. Kays was left disappointed when Johnson announced his retirement, leaving Ibrar Riyaz to step into the title fight. More disappointment followed for Kays when Riyaz was withdrawn on Thursday suffering from a bout of flu, leaving him with a six round contest against Razak.

The fight went to form with Kays forcing the pace and Razak just covering it up and trying to soak up Kays punches. Kays spent the early rounds picking off Razak using some nice combinations and trying to tire Razak by targeting the body.

During the middle rounds Kays managed to force Razak onto the ropes and had some success on the inside with some uppercuts that breached Razak’s guard. As per usual, Razak tried to make a fight out of it in the final round which meant that Kays started to land more punches but Razak finished the fight despite Kays landing a sweet five punch combination just before the bell before Kays was awarded the fight 60-54.

Huddersfield was well represented on the evening with three other local fighters appearing on the bill. Jason Thompson, Alistair Warren and Eugene Heagney all appeared but had mixed results.

Thompson, still looking for his first win after four fights, was very unfortunate to draw with Sheffield’s Jason Carr over six two-minute rounds. This was the second bout between the pair and they have both ended in a draw. Thompson seemed to have done enough to win the fight, but referee Phil Edwards scored the contest 57-57 leaving the Huddersfield crowd unhappy.

Alistair Warren impressed after stopping Drew Campbell in the third round to improve to 3-0 (2 KOs). Warren landed at will and had Campbell in trouble numerous times before finally stopping him in the third round.

Eugene Heagney defeated Anthony Hanna, a veteran of 118 fights over four rounds. Heagney dominated proceedings until the last round which Hanna won. The referee scored the contest 39-37 in favour of Heagney.

Josh Warrington, of Leeds, faced Delroy Spencer on his debut. Warrington impressed by landing many punches to the body of Spencer and got the nod from referee Phil Edwards by a margin of 40-36.

Terry Flannigan, a southpaw from Manchester, outpointed Pavel Senkovs over four rounds. Flannigan dominated the fight but Senkovs lasted the distance to leave Flannigan still craving his first stoppage after four wins.

Warren Tansey, from Middleton, had lost on his pro debut in September. This time out he managed to stop Peter Cannon in the third round. Tansey had his opponent on the canvas in all three rounds until the referee decided enough was enough.

Femi Fehintola working the bag

A week ago saw the return to the boxing ring of Femi Fehintola for the first time in 12 months. It was a year ago that Fehintola lost his English super-featherweight title when he lost via a third round stoppage against Ryan Barrett. Since that day, Femi has been through the mill, losing his adoptive father to cancer, and also seperating company with trainer Richard Poxon.

Fehintola has since relocated his training to Manchester, to train under Joe Gallagher. On Saturday he faced Sid Razak over six rounds at the Sheffield City Hall and won via a shutout on points. Fehintola admitted after the fight that it felt difficult getting back in the ring.

“I was very nervous coming into the fight, it was a big hurdle for for me just to walk into the ring, with the Barrett loss and my father dying 12 months ago. Today was more a mental thing than anything else. Before the first bell rang I got a few demons, the last time I was in that corner I was laid on my back, it was just good to get back.

“I would give myself a five or six performance wise today, I got a good bollocking off Joe, I am a fast classy boxer and I need to stick to that.”

Femi managed to knock down Razak during the fourth round, although the decision to give Razak a count looked a dubious one. Fehintola touched on the knock down.

“The corner where it happened was slippy. I was trying to stay clear of that area for the whole fight. Sid caught me and I slipped and was all over the place. Sid got giddy with the crowd and came forward and he slipped onto one of my shots. When he was up, I didn’t go for the stoppage as he wasn’t hurt in the same way that I wasn’t hurt.”

Femi is due to fight in December in his hometown of Bradford and believes that 2010 will be the year he reaches the top again.

“I am due to fight on the 4th/5th December in Bradford. Hopefully it will be a 10 rounder title fight, if thats what my team want. I will continue to improve under Joe [Gallagher] and I feel I have found my niche with him. This fight was about getting rid of the ring rust, the next fight will be a big improvement and then 2010 is going to be my year.

“I have heard that Gary Sykes and Ryan Barrett have agreed to fight. If Barrett wins, and its going to be tough as Sykes is a tough kid, he has promised me a rematch. It’s my turn next.”

Trainer Joe Gallagher was pleased that Femi is back and boxing again and likened the situation to driving for the first time after a car crash.

“I am pleased for Femi, he got back in and drove the car for the first time since a horrific car crash. There were a few nerves, a lot of flashbacks but he got a good six rounds under his belt.

“He showed plenty of work , he wasn’t blowing and showed his conditioning is good and showed a good variety of punches. He is enjoying training and fighting again and we have something to work on.”

Gallagher feels that Femi will reach the top again but must be brought along slowly.

“Femi is in a competitive divison so we must do things slowly. You have the likes of Kevin Mitchell and Ricky Burns fighting each other and when the dust settles their may be an oppotunity for Femi. We are rebuilding and need a few fights, there were some things I was not happy with, alongside a lot of positives. A few more fights and Femi should be ready for a crack at a title.”

Femi is due to fight again on the 5th December in front of his home town fans. Also fighting should be Liam Cameron who made a successful debut on the same card last week.

Jamie Moore

Jamie Moore (32-3) is entering what is his most important fight of his career against Sheffield’s Ryan Rhodes in what should be an exciting fight for British boxing fans.

Jamie came to the public’s attention in 2003 when he beat Michael Jones to become the British and Commonwealth Light Middleweight champion. Jamie’s bad luck started when he lost his Commonwealth belt to Ossie Duran in which he suffered a hip injury. He was then unfortunate to lose his British belt in a rematch with Michael Jones when he was disqualified in the 3rd Round.

In his next fight he won back his British belt in beating Michael Jones in their 3rd encounter. Since then Jamie has won the Irish and European Light Middleweight belts. His fight against Rhodes is his 2nd defence of his Euro title and also has extra importance in being an eliminator for a crack at WBC champion Sergio Martinez.

Jamie took time out of his training schedule to sit down and chat to Fightfranchise’s Lee Collier, about his career and the big fight coming up against Ryan Rhodes.

FF: Jamie, it’s been 6 months since your last fight, and you have suffered illness causing your last fight to be cancelled, are you 100% ready to fight?

JM: I had the flu in the summer in the lead up to the Colas fight, I got over that illness and carried on ticking over in the gym waiting for a date off Sky. It was close season by the time I was back to full fitness so I was out of action for a bit there. I then had to get back in the queue for a Sky TV date and this was the first date available. I’ve been ready since last time, it’s just unfortunate the close season came about when I was ready to fight.

FF: You were originally scheduled to fight Jimmy Colas, why the change of opponent to Ryan Rhodes?

JM: Colas was a voluntary defence so we basically picked him to keep me ticking over and to stop me just waiting around, but the reason the Ryan Rhodes fight came about was about to fight my mandatory, Christophe Canclaux, and we were trying to negotiate that as we got told to by the EBU . We then found out that Canclaux was trying to negotiate a World Title shot for himself in the meantime, trying to play us off with Sergio Martinez so we decided as we wanted a World Title fight and Canclaux was trying to bypass us, to make another voluntary defence, this time against Ryan Rhodes who is ranked highly by the WBC.

I sat down with Steve and Frank and we decided to apply to the EBU to allow me to make another voluntary against Rhodes to put us in a better position for a World Title shot which they accepted. They agreed that Canclaux was not playing ball so to speak so they let us have the voluntary against Rhodes.

We decided on Rhodes because it would be a good fight for British boxing, people have talked about it since Ryan came back from having his Indian summer, saying that it would be a good  fight to watch  so we decided to give the fans what they wanted.

FF: How do you rate Ryan Rhodes in regards to previous opponents?

JM: He is obviously up there as one of the best I have fought, but whether he is the best is hard to say. I’ll tell you after the fight. In hindsight, Macklin and the war we had and how Matthew as come back, moving up to Middleweight and his last performance was fantastic makes him possibly the best. In years to come when you look back at my career , if Macklin keeps progressing then at this moment in time you would have to say him.

But Ryan Rhodes is a dangerous opponent, he can punch with both hands, is awkward and he has a new lease of life, Even though he has been a pro for a long time he had a good break in the middle of his career so he doesn’t have much mileage on the clock so to speak, he doesn’t take shots all the time so he is quite fresh. From what I’ve seen of him and me and Oliver have been studying the tapes, everything he has got then I have an answer for, I’m just better than him in every department so even though it’s a good fight, and it will be a good fight whilst it lasts I’ve no doubt I’ll come out on top.

FF: You have always seemed to be good friends with Rhodes, is that still the case after his failure to attend the press conference?

JM: I get on great with Ryan, for the last few years whenever I have bumped into him at shows we have always had a laugh. It is amicable and there’s no grudge. I know it makes for a better build up to a fight but that’s not the case. We were all annoyed that he couldn’t make the press conference and at the time it was frustrating but afterwards you realise there are reasons behind these things happening. You realise not everyone can do what you want at a certain time and even though something’s organised, something can just pop up. It was no-one’s fault and we just have to move on.

FF: If successful in the Rhodes fight, do you want Martinez next and would you be happy fighting in the United States if necessary, as you have never fought outside the UK to date?

JM: I’d thrive off it, the big occasions are where I perform my best, so to go to the States would be a dream come true for me, it’s where all the big fights happen and it’s certainly the stage I want to be boxing on. Sergio Martinez is not the biggest draw in the US though, so whether TV companies are willing to put up the money to make him top of the bill is a different matter. It’s an issue for Steve and Frank to sort out. I’d imagine we’d have a good chance of getting Martinez over here and although I’d love to fight over in America, getting a World Title shot and having home advantage would be a crucial part of the plan. So if we can get him over here then great, if not and it’s got to be the States then that’s great too and either way it’d be a dream come true. It would be a World title and as long as theirs a ring I don’t mind.

FF: You just mentioned home advantage as being crucial, do you feel the same with the Rhodes fight and having home advantage?

JM: Definitely, I would think it is. I always have great support no matter when I’ve travelled up and down the country. So to get a big fight in my home town, I say home town, it’s only 5 miles from where I live to Bolton Arena so there will be plenty of people from Bolton including my friends, and people from Manchester and Salford. It is going to be a massive occasion and I will have three times more fans as I normally get at Wigan or Altrincham. My fans will make the roof come off and it will be to my advantage and not Ryan’s.

FF: You have suffered a lot of injuries and had a lot of bad luck in your career. Without all these problems do you feel you would be a World Champion already?

Definitely, I have no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t had the injuries and setbacks I’d be a World Champion by now. Four and a half years ago I was rated number 10 by the WBC. I had a hip injury and then lost to Ossie Duran which took me out of the top 10 and that was 5 years ago in 2004. The fight straight after that I got disqualified against Michael Jones, that was just bad luck, then it was shoulder problems, shoulder problems and shoulder problems.

It’s been frustrating but fingers crossed, my problems are behind me and I’ve got some momentum going and am the European champion. I am at a place where I wanted to be for the last 3 years and I’m thriving off it, I am that close to a World title shot and that’s where I have wanted to be for the last 10 years as a pro. I am really enjoying it, in the past I’ve been through things and not really appreciated them, when I won the British title it was like a blur it happened at such short notice. It really didn’t sink in for 6 months but at the minute I am taking it all in while I’m going along. I’m really enjoying my boxing, really enjoying the build up and enjoying being in a big fight that people want to see.

FF: You previously mentioned Matthew Macklin being possibly your best opponent to date, is that a fight you would take again if the circumstances are right. Macklin has previously stated that the fight would have to be at Middleweight?

JM: Without a shadow of a doubt, me and Matthew have been out, we’re good pals, and had a few pints laughing and joking about it. We’ve said even though we’re mates that one day we might have to get back in the ring and do it all again. We both agreed it’s just business, we are both boxers and we get paid to do it. If the money is right and like you said the circumstances are right then we would definitely do it. Matthew is on the verge of a World title shot at Middleweight now.

When we fought back in 2006 for the British Light Middleweight title, to think that 3 years later both of us could be World Champions and maybe fighting a rematch for a World title, you’d have thought “I wouldn’t have imagined that”. We’re on the verge of doing that and if hopefully the big fella is looking over us and we both win world title’s and both of us can earn a lot of money and put on a great show for the fans in a world title fight it would be fantastic.

FF: So you’d feel comfortable moving to Middleweight?

JM: Without a doubt, within 12 or 18 months’ time and a little maturity I might have to jump up. It is getting tight at the minute as I’ve been a Light Middleweight since the age of 15. If it wasn’t for what I know about diet and nutrition and working with Kerry Kayes I’d have had to move up already. I have a good 12 or 18 months left at Light Middleweight and then we’ll evaluate from there.

FF: Jamie, Good luck for the fight and thanks for taking time out to speak to Fight Franchise.

JM: No problems, speak to you soon

Martin Murray

Martin Murray turned professional at the age of 24 in 2007. He had a successful amateur career winning an ABA title 3 years earlier in 2004. Martin learnt his trade fighting on VIP cards in the North West of England featuring on Channel M’s Manchester fight Night.

Only 14 months after his pro debut he entered Prizefighter 4 and ended up walking away with the £25,000 prize after beating Cello Renda in a cracking final. Since then Murray has had three fights, all wins against fighters with winning records. Recently he signed with Hatton Promotions and Martin had a fight on the Macklin-Asikainen undercard which he won by 1st round knock out.

FightFranchise’s Lee Collier spoke to Martin about what he sees in his future.

FF: Martin, you come from a big rugby League town, can you tell us how you came to be a boxer?

MM: I did play rugby, being from a rugby town you get brought up playing rugby but the area of St Helens I am from is also a big boxing area. I was doing both and had to choose which to carry on with and I picked boxing, which I believe was the right choice.

FF: In 2004 you became the senior ABA champion at Welterweight, yet you turned professional 3 years later in 2007. What happened in the 3 years between?

MM: Basically I just went off the rails, I won the ABA in 2004 and got picked for England which was a dream I’d had since I was a schoolboy then things just went wrong. I managed to sort myself out and got together with Oliver Harrison and went professional in 2007.

FF: You turned pro with Oliver Harrison as your trainer and have been with him since, why did you choose Oliver as your trainer?

MM: I went to Oliver’s gym, it was actually the 1st gym I went to, and Oliver being the man he is, told me to do what I needed to do and visit other gyms. Oliver also told me that if I thought his gym was the place for me to go back, so I went to a few gyms but I knew as soon as I met Oliver that he was the person I wanted to have as my trainer.

FF: Your biggest achievement to date was winning the Prizefighter competition. Considering your inexperience at the time were you confident going into the competition?

MM: Yes I was, I’m always confident going into every fight and I never go in the ring thinking I will get beaten. The thing with Prizefighter was I had the worst draw and still come out as the winner. I believed going in that I was the best fighter in the competition and I proved it on the night.

FF: The man you beat in the final, Cello Renda, is fighting in a British title eliminator on the same bill as you. Are you happy with how your career is progressing?

MM: To be fair, I think if Renda, who I’ve already beaten, wins the eliminator then I could be fighting him next, and he won’t beat me a second time around. I think Renda has reached his level whereas I am going to go to British title level and then move forward from there.

FF: You are fighting on Saturday against George Aduashvili, what do you know about him and how is the training going?

*This fight happened on the 25th September, with Martin winning by 1st round KO.

MM: My training is going really well, I have only had less than 4 weeks’ notice for this fight but I’ve been ticking over training wise. As for the lad I’m fighting, I know pretty much nothing about him. Georgians are generally tough and durable so I am expecting him to give me a good few rounds.

FF:  Seeing as you only had 4 weeks’ notice, I take it you keep in shape between bouts?

MM: I had my last bout in late July and started training again in early August. I had a week or two off, then is was straight back in the gym  training and this fight came up and was an offer I couldn’t refuse so I jumped at the chance.

FF:  You recently changed promoters, signing with Hatton Promotions after leaving VIP Promotions. What was the reason behind the change?

MM:  To cut a long story short with Steve [Wood, promoter], he’s a top bloke and we still get on, but he wasn’t getting me the best contracts and for that reason I left.

FF: When are you aiming at your first title fight? Are you looking at the winner of  Renda / Horton?

MM: Why not. I know I am ready, I don’t think there is anyone on the British scene that I am too worried about. The name people keep mentioning is Darren Barker, I hope that fight takes off as I know how good I am and I’ll smash him to bits. People have been going on about a Macklin/Barker fight but Matthew Macklin is without a shadow of a doubt the better fighter. I think Barker is over hyped and I think once you get him on the back foot he is beatable. Don’t get me wrong he is a quality fighter but I believe I am and I’m confident I’ll win if and when we ever meet!

FF: Martin, thank you for speaking to fightfranchise and good luck for the future.

MM: Thank you, I look forward to speaking to you again

John Murray

British Lightweight champion John Murray is the mandatory for Anthony Mezaache’s European belt but his long term aim is to fight Michael Katsidis for a world title.

Speaking after his fourth round stoppage win over Jon Thaxton, Murray said, “I am the mandatory opponent for the European belt and I’ll win that belt. I am past British level now, thats four title fights I have won all within the distance. I am established as the British number one and want a European title shot or a World Title shot within the next 12 months. The name being mentioned at the minute is Michael Katsidis, and I watched him win the world title not too long ago, and feel that’s a fight I can win. It will make for a great TV fight, we are both come forward fighters with exciting styles and thats the one fight I want more than anything.”

John then elaborated on his performance against Thaxton and how he felt the whole fight and his training camp went. “Jon Thaxton was the best opponent I have faced so far, but my training camp went well and the performance on the night would make it my best performance to date, I am really pleased with it,” he continued, “My defence was sharp, he did catch me but he never hurt me. My defence was good, my footwork was sharp and I moved in and out well and worked him over brilliantly.”

There has been debate as to whether referee Howard Foster stopped the contest early. Murray feels Foster got the stoppage right. ” I think the stoppage was correct, Jon was just shipping punishment and has had a 17 year career. The referee knew that, so why should he let him take the punishment when the fight was getting more and more one sided as the rounds went on?” he said, “It was only a matter of time before he went out on his back, a few times when I hit him the effects went right down to the sole of his boots.”

Murray went on to praise Thaxton, “Jon Thaxton is a warrior, he would have gone out on his back, but the referee has to think of a boxers safety first and he was being compassionate.”

]]> http://manchesterboxing.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/john-murray-wants-katsidis-more-than-anything/feed/ 0 lacollier883 John Murray http://manchesterboxing.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/danny-randall-proud-of-his-fans-on-debut/ http://manchesterboxing.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/danny-randall-proud-of-his-fans-on-debut/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:35:23 +0000 lacollier883 http://manchesterboxingnews.fightfranchise.com/?p=160 ]]>

Danny Randall

Last Saturday night on the Murray/Thaxton undercard Manchester’s Danny Randall made his professional debut after a few years away from the sport of boxing. Danny won a close points decision to Abul Taher who entered the ring with a 2-0 record. The fight itself was one of the best 4 round fights in a while, particularly from a debutant. Both fighters clearly intended to win and went toe to toe for most of the fight.

One thing that comes across with Danny from talking to him is that he is a very likeable guy, and very esy to get on with. This showed on his debut when he had around 200 fans that made you felt you were watching the main fight. Randall himself was proud of his support.

“I’m still getting over Saturday night. I’m so proud of all the people who came to support me and I had an amazing crowd and the atmosphere was unbelievable. I can’t wait to watch the fight back now and I’m itching to get back in the gym already. I will be having a couple of days off as this is the right thing to do to no matter how much I want to get back in the gym.”

Randall was happy with his performance on the night, but is not getting carried away and knows he still has plenty to work on, with defence being something he see’s as important.

“I know I made mistakes in the ring on Saturday and I can’t wait to work on these with Joe Gallagher in the coming few weeks. I got caught with silly shots but this has proved I can take a punch off an opponent and come back unfazed with my own shots which as in turn given me confidence. I always knew I had a good chin through sparring with John Murray for years and mixing it up with other top professionals,” he then continued,

“I’m planning on having a long career out of boxing within Gallaghers gym but next time I won’t be taking so many shots and you’ll see an improved Danny Randall. Having a good chin is good but not being hit is even better. I will go away and work on my defence.”

“I wouldn’t change one thing from Saturday night the, opponent was tough for my debut and came to win. He was a welterweight so was really two weights above me. I’m a true lightweight and I now know I will be very strong at my weight division.”

Randall is also pleased to be back with Joe Gallagher who worked with him as an amateur. Randall also used to spar stable mate John Murray back when they where both amateurs.

“I can’t wait to work with Kerry Kayes on the weights and build my strength. I felt strong on Saturday and know I will be even stronger for my next fight.”

Randall added, “For now Im going to enjoy the time with my girlfriend and get my life in order as things have been on hold. I can’t wait to get back in the ring now that I’ve got rid of the ring rust. I hadn’t been in the ring for over three years before Saturday but am now ready to continue my career in boxing under Joe Gallagher.”

“Ive got the best team in the world at Gallaghers. Kerry has so much knowledge on diet and nutrition that I can tap into and then there’s the boxing knowledge and experience from Joe Gallagher, The other boxers in the gym are great guys to train and spar with. I know I made the right choice in Gallagher’s gym and have a 100% trust in Joe and Kerry.”