Martin Murray has been given a surprise crack at WBA middleweight king Felix Sturm in Germany in December.
St Helens man promises to succeed where Macklin failed
Martin Murray has been given a surprise shot at world middleweight champion Felix Sturm.
The St Helens boxer will travel to Mannheim, Germany, to fight for the WBA title on December 2nd.
He will be hoping to go one better than Matthew Macklin, who lost a controversial decision to the German in June, that many people - including local commentators - thought he had won.
Macklin was expected to get an immediate rematch with Sturm but reports suggest the two camps could not agree terms and Ricky Hatton, who promotes Murray, stepped in to earn his man a golden opportunity.
"I am absolutely buzzing and have so much motivation to go over there and beat Sturm," Murray told
hattonboxing.com.
"I first knew about the fight in early September, but we couldn't say anything until the contract was signed.
"I have started an 11-week training camp at Oliver Harrison's gym and come fight night I will be in the shape of my life."
Complaints
Murray has been the WBA's Inter-Continental champion since stopping Carlos Nascimento in three in November.
He is undefeated in 23 professional fights and is taking a huge step up in class against a man who has not lost since 2006 - and has been the world middleweight champion since 2007.
But he believes he has what it takes to upset Sturm in front of his own fans.
"I watched Sturm's defence against Macklin and made it a draw," he said. "When it is that close the champion on home soil usually gets the decision and there could be no real complaints.
"The WBA are a fantastic organisation and been very good to me so I will not be worrying about the scoring.
"Anyway, I am a better fighter than Macklin and I will go one better than him in December."
