Carl Froch gives Martin Murray a chance of beating Arthur Abraham
Saturday 21 November 2015 20:56, UK
Carl Froch is finding it hard to see how Martin Murray becomes Britain's latest super-middleweight world champion, but says he has got a chance against Arthur Abraham...
This is a hard, hard fight for Martin Murray but it's not 'mission impossible'.
After his last performance against Jose Miguel Torres, I was a bit hasty saying he hasn't a chance of beating Arthur Abraham. I've seen a bit more of Murray since then and I am not going to retract what I said because here and now, I still think the champion will stay champion, but I am not going to write Murray off.
Yes, I beat Abraham, but I had just lost to Mikkel Kessler and I was so motivated nothing was going to stop me. Abraham had also just come up from middleweight and was new to the weight.
He has to come in with the right game plan though. Personally, I think he has to work Abraham. And I mean work. I don't think he is a big hitter at super-middleweight so he has to increase that work-rate more than usual.
Yes, I beat Abraham, but I had just lost to Mikkel Kessler and I was so motivated nothing was going to stop me. Abraham had also just come up from middleweight and was new to the weight. Neither of those are on Murray's side on Saturday night.
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I was able to use my range and box him. I'm taking nothing away from him, but he's not physiologically designed to do what I did.
Murrray is not as tall or rangy and he isn't the same super-middleweight puncher either. He will go the 12 rounds no problem at all and don't get me wrong, his desire is unquestionable and his boxing skills are good, so let's hope he can make them count.
I saw him take on Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez and there is no doubt he belongs at this level. The experience of those fights, as well as going 11 rounds with Gennady Golovkin, have given him is something you can't train for and you can't buy. That is one of the reasons Murray has got a chance.
How he does it though, is another matter. His best bet might just be to box him; it might mean standing there and exchanging a few blows but that is going to be dangerous.
Abraham will like that as well. And while he might not be the monster puncher at this weight that he was a few years ago, he can still bang. He also has a tight defence that is hard to penetrate, even if you can hit hard.
Basically, Murray is up against a solid unit. I've also heard Abraham has had a great camp and is right up for this. Yes, he took Paul Smith too lightly in the first one, but since then, he has been as good as ever.
We know Murray can take a punch - and we saw Smith do that in his first fight with Abraham - so I just can't see anything other than a points decision.
I hope I am proved wrong and I would love to see Murray become our latest world champion, but I still think Abraham does it.
You can watch Arthur Abraham vs Martin Murray live from 8.00pm, Saturday, Sky Sports 1, along with Darleys Perez vs Anthony Crolla.
