Published during weekdays on Boxing Social, the incomparable Terry Dooley delivers his unique look at the boxing news.
Matt Bozeat has confirmed that Paige Murney will make her professional debut in Leicester on December 12. Writing for the Leicester Mercury, Bozeat revealed that the 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist will begin her professional career on a Carl Greaves-promoted show at the city’s Morningside Arena.
Murney hopes that her vast amateur experience coupled with extensive sparring will help her move quickly through the professional ranks. The Dave Coldwell-managed fighter said that: “A lot has happened since the last time I boxed in Leicester.
“I’ve been boxing all over the world and a lot of people are saying they want to come and watch me. I’m looking forward to starting the next chapter of my boxing career in front of my family and friends. The Morningside Arena is a great venue and I’m really looking forward to putting on a show.”
“This is the right time to be turning professional,” she added. “Women’s boxing is on the rise. There are a lot of good girls around at the moment….Being with the Great Britain squad, I sparred with a lot of quality girls with different styles. I’ve been competing and sparring at a high level for a while and I’m hoping that means I will be moved along a bit quicker in the pros.”
Boxing’s post-Lockdown comeback is continuing apace with one club in Norwich looking for a new venue to cope with a growing number of members. The Norwich News has reported that the Norwich City Amateur Boxing Club has hit 100 members, with more on a waiting list, so will have to relocate to accommodate the demand to take part in the sport.
“The club we’re in has served us extremely well over the last 12 years and we’ve welcomed some brilliant talent through the doors,” said Karl Halms, the club’s Senior Coach. “With a new and bigger premises though, we’re looking forward to growing both our membership and our dedicated coaching team.”
The club is continuing its search for a new venue and they hope to remain close to their current location in order to cater to their growing list of subscribers and an ever-growing team of coaching and support staff.
Eddie Hearn has backed Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk should the two meet at some point next year. Usyk is scheduled to rematch Anthony Joshua and a win could lead to a fight with Fury, who Hearn believes would have too much for the former cruiserweight world Champion.
“Tyson Fury I think beats Oleksandr Usyk. I do, because of the size, because of the movement,” he said (quotes C/O The Manchester Evening News.)
“I think it’s a great fight, it might not be the most interesting fight to watch,” he continued. “I believe AJ can beat them all.”
In the meantime, pressure is mounting on Tommy Fury to beat Jake Paul to maintain the Fury family name, but former two-weight world titlist Carl Frampton has told talkSPORT that he fancies Paul to win next month’s contest, which takes place in Las Vegas on December 18.
“I’ve seen Jake Paul, little highlights of him. I’ve seen Tommy Fury, I was actually working for BT for one of his fights as a pundit,” he said. “I think that if you put a gun to my head, I think I fancy Jake Paul in that fight, if I’m being honest.
“Although he’s very, very new to boxing, he’s alright. He can box a bit. Yet to fight a proper boxer, but I think he’s been very careful with the opponents he does pick and I think Tommy Fury, a novice professional — let’s call a spade a spade, that’s what he is, a very novice professional with a lot to learn — I think he’s [Paul] getting him at the right time. I would probably [pick] Paul in that fight. I don’t like to say it because I don’t know how good that looks on boxing if he beats an actual boxer.”
Carl Froch has told Pro Boxing Fans that in his prime he would have too big for Saul Alvarez at 168lbs. The former Super middleweight world titlist has argued that his strength and relentlessness would have won the day if the two had the chance to fight in their respective primes.
“Me in my prime at about 34, 35-years-old against Canelo Alvarez, I think I would have been too much for him,” he predicted.
“I beat Lucian Bute in that obliteration, and I had the rematch with [Mikkel] Kessler and then two [George] Groves fights, which I was’t fully motivated for the first Groves fight, but I was for the second. I was a mature, seasoned, professional world champion. I had suffered defeats, come back and won.
“When I look at Canelo Alvarez and I’ve met him and shook his hand before the [Billy Joe] Saunders fight, because we’ve interviewed him on DAZN. I was looking at him and sizing him up and he’s about 5ft 8 and I shook his hand and his hands aren’t very big.
“We didn’t have a pull or a push or anything — it was amicable. But I was looking at him thinking: ‘I’m not so sure you would get near me and if you did I’m happy to put one into you, because of the size’. But who knows? At the time I would have took the fight, it would have been amazing.”