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Murray: takes a shot

If you nailed me to the floor and really, really pushed me, I might have to go for Murray, but I can't honestly talk myself into it, one way or the other.

Jim Watt
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JOHN MURRAY v LEE MEAGER
British Lightweight title
Live on Friday Fight Night
10pm, Friday, Sky Sports 1

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• Meager means business
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This has been billed as a possible fight of the year contender and if it goes the way it should, it might well be.

It certainly has all the ingredients. Both of these guys have the style and what's more, the approach, to turn this into a real cracker if it goes to form.

That might be great for us watching at ringside and you watching at home, but it might not be so good for either fighter!

John Murray does everything pretty well apart from one thing - move his head. He takes punches that he could easily avoid and it's not as though he can't move his head. He just doesn't seem bothered about it and just thinks 'if he hits me, I'll hit him back harder'.

Of course you are going to get hit and you have to prepare yourself to be hit, but I like fighters that are at least worried about it.

It is also a fault that he shares with Lee Meager. I've got a pretty high opinion of this lad too, but he just seems to sail into fights on the attack and does get caught.

Maybe it's because he has sold a lot of tickets that way and it pleases the fans but he just seems to charge right in and get on with it, without taking a look.

But he will still be Murray's toughest test to date. Murray has been well matched and has come through a couple of tough fights, most notably against Moebi Sarouna for the WBC Youth title and Miguel Angel Mungia in the States, but Meager has simply been in with better opposition.

Well-schooled

It is no surprise though, to see Murray boxing at this level. As soon as he turned pro I like the look of him; he already had that solid, well-schooled professional style and was always going to get up to this level. After all, he was the first British fighter to win a world youth title.

This will be his 25th fight as well and I like the fact that his people haven't rushed him. They have brought him along nicely, with some good opponents and haven't just built a career.

By doing that, they have convinced the kid he can fight - and he can - and although he still gets hit too often, from what I have seen he has certainly got better at what he does.

I know he has been calling out Amir Khan, but I the fight I would love to see is Murray against Thaxton - simply becayse we haven't seen that before. If Meager wins I suppose he might go for a return, but the same Lee Meager does not beat the same Jon Thaxton and he will have to show something different.

He went the distance with Thaxton, who is no doubt the man at lightweight right now, but it wasn't what you'd call close. Meager looked a little out of his depth and had he taken it right to the wire, I might have fancied him here - ever so slightly.

But what he does just didn't work and largely because of that, I do see this as a genuine 50-50 call.

If you nailed me to the floor and really, really pushed me, I might have to go for Murray, but I can't honestly talk myself into it, one way or the other.