Roberto Garcia vs. Martin Murray leads a stacked U.K. boxing card
Veteran middleweights Roberto Garcia and Martin Murray throw down in the U.K. The winner could find themselves in title contention.
On Saturday, June 23, Roberto Garcia (41-3, 24 KOs) and Martin Murray (36-4-1, 17 KOs) fight at London’s O2 Arena. Both men are veteran boxers with established careers, but the winner hopes to challenge for a major world title in the near future.
Murray has four losses on his record, but he has lost to stellar competition. His losses have come against Sergio Martinez, Arthur Abraham, Gennady Golovkin and George Groves. His one draw came against Felix Sturm. All were or currently are world champions. Murray is a tough, skilled boxer, but he can’t get past elite middleweights. Fortunately for him, Garcia isn’t elite.
Garcia hasn’t faced many world-caliber opponents. The biggest name on his record is Antonio Margarito, who he lost to by unanimous decision in 2010. He beat Breidis Prescott by unanimous decision in 2014, but Prescott was past his prime. Garcia fought Margarito at super welterweight and Prescott at welterweight.
Garcia doesn’t look like a true middleweight. He lacks experience in this weight class.
When it comes to notable victories, both men are lacking. Murray and Garcia are relatively old boxers. Murray is 35 and Garcia is 38. If either man wants the opportunity to contend for a major world title, they need to win this fight.
This a must-win fight for both men, and the tension between them is fierce. During their weigh-in, Murray’s temper got the better of him as he aggressively pushed Garcia. A brief shoving match ensued between their camps before order was restored.
Murray has the edge over Garcia. He has fought the better opposition throughout his career and he is the more technical boxer. Murray has a two-inch height advantage and is the bigger man. Murray should weigh well over 170 pounds on fight night. Neither man is a knockout artist. Murray has a 43 percent KO rating and Garcia’s is 53 percent.
Originally, Murray was supposed to fight WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, but he pulled out due to injury. Murray was a huge betting underdog against Saunders. The Sports Book Review had him at +1194 odds. If Murray is impressive against Garcia, then he builds on his confidence going into what he hopes will be a title bout.
This fight will go the distance, but Murray’s advantages in size, experience and technical skills will have his hand raised in victory at the end of the night.
The undercard features two British prospects, Daniel Dubois and Ohara Davies. Dubois (7-0, 7 KOs) is an undefeated heavyweight who’s making a name for himself. He’s a large man at 6-foot-5, and he has a 100 percent KO rating.
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Davies (17-1, 13 KOs) is an athletic super lightweight. His one loss came against undefeated Josh Taylor in 2017. Davies looks to improve his record on his quest to move from prospect to champion.