Sergio Martinez vs Martin Murray - this weekend

I'm really looking forward to this fight. Over the months I've imagined what will happen during the fight and what the end result will be. I've always come to the conclusion though that Martinez' name will be announced as the winner. This fight is in Martinez' homeland of Argentina and I expect he'll want to put on a show and want to get the job done inside 12 rounds.

Murray's facing a southpaw fighter who has very good movement and fast hands. What Murray has to do is to try and establish his authority early on and nullify Martinez' offense. Martinez has power in his left hand so Murray will want to avoid his left as much as possible.

Martinez has struggled to a degree when facing British fighters in the past - Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, before winning those fights late on. Murray has a different style to Barker and Macklin though in my opinion. Murray keeps his hands up behind a tight guard and works behind his jab and picks his shots in an educated fashion. He'll be aiming to establish his jab effectively against Martinez to set up his offense. His jab is vital to him winning the fight (double and triple up his jab too), and his footwork is important too. Timing is of the essence here. If he can work behind that jab well and keep the pressure on then once Martinez is in range he can pick his shots - right crosses/left hooks/straight rights (to head and body). He must vary his attack too and keep Martinez guessing.

The thing is though, Murray has to find Martinez and we all know that Martinez is tough to pin down. Martinez likes to make good use of the ring and when he gets in range he picks his shots well, but he does keep his hands low alot. Still, he is not easy to get to grips with and Murray will know that he has to keep his defense tight throughout too because he could get caught with that left hand.

I've no doubt that Murray has a game plan all figured out. He'll give it his all and I think he'll have success when he looks for Martinez. He may even surprise many of us on the night. It's just that will he be able to perfect his game plan. I think he'll find Martinez so difficult to handle. I hate to say it but I think Martinez may just have too much in attack for Murray throughout. I hope I am proven wrong though!

My prediction is Martinez by Unanimous Decision.

 

Murray is a quick, hard-working guy and punches harder than his record suggests (many of his full-time bouts are three-rounders from prizefighter and 6x2 min bouts). I believe he will do well early and perhaps even leads the bout at halfway just like Macklin and Barker did.

The thing is though, once Martinez turned up the heat against the other two Brits, he took over pretty quickly and I believe that's what happens here. Murray seems a bit soft at world level, he has been down and was rocked by Felix Sturm who isn't a puncher. Martinez will make it more difficult for himself than he should, but I expect him to win in about 10th

 

Have to like Martinez by TKO about 9th or 10th in this one... Like UGO said, close early but Martinez takes over... I think he scores big with lefts down the stretch and stops this guy

 

I like Murray and hope he does well but he is over-matched here. As Ugo said, he is hard working, neat and tidy and can punch with authority but unless Sergio has gotten old overnight he is just a bit better. I also expect Murray to acquit himself well but get stopped late,

MTF

 

Martinez is ripe for the taking but I doubt Murray's good enough to do it.

 

I heard alot of people saying it was highway robbery. I think it was a close fight and Murray could have put him away but showed too much respect. He probably woud've been robbed anyways in Argentina. But I think he could have done more. Martinez has slipped alot.

 

There was no robbery that I saw. Murray performed well as expected but didn't do enough to win IMO.

MTF

 

Murray and his trainer are both massive cunts. Should have pushed harder. That fight was there for him to win. Fuck him.

But honestly, did Martinez land more than 10 clean power punches in this fight?

 

I thought Murray did enough to win, but it was close and not a robbery by any means. Giving away three of the first four rounds was costly.

Martinez is not as good as he was two years ago anymore, he had plenty of trouble with Murray's quickness and his power punches lacked snap so he couldn't keep the challenger off

 

Martinez is RIPE for a Loss...Even Chavez Jr. Could Probably BEAT him Now...REED Thinks Golovkin's a Bit Overrated, but he'd Probably WAX Today's Version of Martinez...



REED:hammert:

 

How the fuck this guy Martinez even breaks the surface in the pfp debate is beyond me. Hagler might have needed 11 rounds ALL IN to get rid of Baker, Murray and Macklin.

 

Agree. It's pretty obvious Martinez has lost a step, but I still don't think he was ever as good as some claimed

 

He had good timing. Came along at just the right time and produced some very flash endings. That's it.

 

Yeah. Most the same people who put him top 3 p4p after Pavlik were saying Pavlik was washed up/shot to pieces in the next post. It's fake that's what it be to 'ya, dig me? dont belive the hype

 

It wasn't a robbery. Was a close fight. I had Murray winning by a round, but I need to watch it again.

 

I thought Martinez won, Murray was way too negative

 

Isn't Martinez coming off a long layoff and surgery? That might have something to do with not looking his best.

 

Looks like Martinez broke his hand at some point in the fight. Plenty of reasons why he didn't look great in there.

 

I've always liked Sergio, thought he looked like shit in this fight though. I think he's too old to fight with his style anymore. Fighting with his hands down like that is just getting him tagged more then he should. Would not have been upset if Murray got the decision.

I honestly had a hard time giving Sergio any more rounds then 1-3 and 11-12, but I knew the judges would find a few in between to gift him. I thought Lederman made a mistake giving him 4-5.

 

Martinez had knee surgery after the Chavez fight. Five month gap between facing Chavez and Murray. Martinez broke his left hand against Murray. Out til 2014 now.

 

Seven months, sorry.

 

::

 

Probably should have been a 2nd knockdown to.

 

Murray would have needed a knockout to win there.

Sergio's best days are behind him, and he knows it but he'll keep on going to a big money fight with Floyd and then cash out, IMO.

 

I think Martinez won pretty clearly

 

I thought Murray beat the Spanish out of him.

Should have been two 10-8 rounds for Murray. The more I think about it, the less convinced I am that Martinez didn't get a huge gift.

 

CompuBox stats show that Murray out-landed Martinez in 6 out of 12 rounds

 

Never saw the fight. How much of it was Martinez losing a step or fighting down vs what Murray brought?

If this was 2 years ago would it have been very different?

 

Murray seemed better than Martinez last few foes and Martinez seemed diminished. Seems his body is prone to breaking down. Fight still could have went either way

 

I don't think Martinez was fighting down. He was amped and wanted to put on a good show for his people. I think he's lost a step or two. Murray fought a very smart fight for the most part, but probably should have pushed it a bit more near the end when Martinez was trying to put it in another gear. A couple of years ago I think Martinez wins a solid decision and probably doesn't get knocked down in the process.

BTW, the fight atmosphere was fantastic. Rain pouring down, lightning flashes, packed stadium, crowd singing chants. Would have been cool to have been there, I imagine.