Murray to take on Golovkin in super-fight

27 October 2014 - 02:09 By Bongani Magasela in Monte Carlo
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Martin Murray of England. File photo
Martin Murray of England. File photo
Image: ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS

Promoter Rodney Berman will stage a showdown between undefeated middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and WBC Silver champion Martin Murray at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on February 21.

Berman made the announcement a few minutes after Murray's seventh-round technical knockout win over Italian Domenico Spada on Saturday night.

''It is a privilege for us at Golden Gloves to put together such a fight between these super champions who bring a new dimension to the sport," Berman said, after staging his fifth tournament in Monaco in 13 months. ''I am getting goose bumps even as I make this announcement."

The much-feared Golovkin - the undefeated WBA, IBO and WBC interim middleweight champion - was guest of honour at the boxing tournament in Monte Carlo on Saturday night. He is one of the most exciting fighters in the world.

The soft-spoken assassin from Kazakhstan, with a record of 27 knockouts from 31 undefeated fights, said: ''It will be a very good fight. See you on February 21."

Murray, the Englishman whose career is guided by Berman, described the showdown against Golovkin as ''a fight between the best middleweights". He has a single defeat against 30 wins and a draw.

Murray was ahead on points on the scorecards of all three judges when his fight against Spada was stopped on Saturday night. The Italian suffered a bad cut above his right eye and the fight could not continue.

In another fight on the bill, South African Hekkie Budler got up from the canvas in the second round to retain his WBA and IBO strawweight belts via a deserved points decision over Xiong Zhao Zhong.

Budler dropped the former WBC minimum weight champion in the third round and cruised to a unanimous points decision.

Budler's stablemate at Colin Nathan's gym, Ryno Liebenberg, suffered a seventh-round stoppage defeat - his first against 16 wins - against Canada-based Colombian Eleider Alvarez.

Alvarez retained his unblemished record of 16 wins.

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