British Middleweight Martin Murray won his main event match with Domenico Spada in Monaco last night, taking home the WBC Silver title in the weight class. Murray was expected to win the fight, as he was a steep favorite, but the 7th round stoppage win was followed by news that will shake up the boxing world. Murray, now (29-1) will face Gennady Golovkin next, on February 21st, 2015.
The lone black mark on Murray’s record is an April 2013 loss over the 12 round distance to Sergio Martinez, who was a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter at the time. Since then, he has gone a solid 4-0 to work his way back into the big money scene.
At middleweight, there is no bigger draw right now than Golovkin. Golovkin won his most recent outing in California against Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio, and he was seen by many observers as seeking another Latin opponent such as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. When Golovkin himself mentioned Miguel Cotto as a potential next opponent, he was obviously deflecting attention from what was going on behind the scenes, and that was a return to Europe (the fight with Murray is in Monaco) against an opponent from another major boxing market.
Whoever is handling Golovkin is smart, as not only are they returning to Monaco where he has fought before and will be boxing on a major stage, but they made great inroads in the Latin American market and he certainly left local crowds wanting more. Golovkin is still slated to go to Mexico and receive the WBC’s belt, so it is a safe bet to say that Golovkin will return to that market after the Murray top. Look for Golovkin to be a big favorite at the sportsbooks when a line comes out for this one.
After all the taunts and tweets about future opponents that other stars commonly subject fans and media to nowadays, Golovkin´s quick announcement sets him in a different light and continues to paint him as potentially the next big thing in boxing. All that had to happen was Murray had to win, and he performed that task well. Now, let the hype begin for the next fight for Triple G.
