Monday 31 October 2016 15:06, UK
Martin Murray has revealed Dmitry Chudinov has been lined up as a replacement opponent after his rematch with Arthur Abraham fell through.
The St Helens man vented his anger on social media after Abraham pulled out of their scheduled bout with an elbow injury, but was informed last week that Chudinov has agreed to face him at super-middleweight on the Monte Carlo bill on November 12, live on Sky Sports.
Chudinov was involved in a ferocious fight with Chris Eubank Jr last year before suffering a 12th round stoppage defeat, and Murray expects another thrilling encounter as he attempts to rebuild following a points defeat to George Groves in June.
"I think it's a tougher fight, if I'm honest with you," Murray told Sky Sports. "He's only had that one loss to Eubank Jr. He's got a few wins, quite a lot by knockout, and he's young, he's fresh, and he's ambitious.
"Obviously Arthur Abraham is old, experienced and he's aged. It's going to be a better fight for the fans, because all Abraham does is soak it up, then has a 10 second burst and wins the round. There is going to be more action in this fight.
"He's going to come and have it, but so am I. I'm so looking forward to the fight and I'm going to put that loss to George Groves behind me. It's a must-win for me and I will win it, simple as that."
Since last week's withdrawal, Abraham has been ordered to have a WBO final eliminator against Robin Krasniqi, and Murray has suggested that 'King Arthur' has avoided him after winning a split decision in their first fight.
"I'm not happy about it and I kind of hold him responsible, but it is what it is," said Murray, who fell short in his fourth world title shot.
"He knows deep down that I should have won the first fight. Had it not been in Germany, I would have got the decision.
"He knows that if he was fighting me in another country - obviously this is in Monte Carlo - he wasn't going to win. I personally believe he never wanted the fight all along."
Murray moved up in weight to pursue more world title opportunities but would step down for a high-profile opponent such as Eubank Jr.
"Listen, if that fight is there for me, a big fight at 160, I will do go down," he said. "I'm not just going to go down for meaningless fights and killing myself to make 160.
"If Eubank Jr is there, I'll obviously take it, but he won't fight me until he thinks he's ready to beat me. He knows at the minute he's not."
