Martin Murray deserves credit for the way he fought Gennady Golovkin, says Jamie Moore
To get up from three knockdowns alone deserves respect
Tuesday 24 February 2015 22:32, UK
Martin Murray was not expected to beat Gennady Golovkin but he did better than anyone else has managed when he was stopped in the 11th round, says Jamie Moore.
Tactically Oliver Harrison and his man came up with a plan and it worked the best it could've worked but the bottom line was, he was up against someone who was just too good.
First of all, he took him that far into a fight, which was unheard of. Yes we know he is as brave as they come but there was more to it than that. The one thing that leapt out to me out was the technical things he did to nullify one of the best pound-for-pound fighters we've got.
There were times when he stood his ground, there were times when he was on the move and there were times when he countered.
Listen, he was never going to win from the moment we saw Golovkin come in, but Martin Murray did really, really well - and better than anyone else has managed.
Tactically Oliver Harrison and his man came up with a plan and it worked the best it could've worked but the bottom line was, he was up against someone who was just too good.
Anyone who is going to beat Golovkin, as Matt Macklin said on Ringside on Thursday, has to be a Guillermo Rigondeaux-type middleweight fighter who is so slick, so smooth on the move and evasive, or it's got to be someone to stand there, in range and fire back and be so accurate they can do more.
Moments
Well, to be honest, there is no-one out there at the moment that even comes close to that in that division. And maybe further up as well.
Martin had moments of success, especially on the inside, and stopped him in his tracks on a few occasions but ultimately it wasn't good enough - and a bridge too far.
But although he was stopped and was well and widely beaten, he did actually come out with some credit because no-one has taken Golovkin's shots and come firing back. That was his third attempt at a world title and I have a feeling he will give it one more go.
He is a big lad so maybe up at super-middleweight. The last thing he wants is Golovkin to be moving up at the same time, but the one thing Martin Murray deserves right now, is a rest.
