A huge undercard for Joshua vs Breazeale is being pieced together by promoter Eddie Hearn, and the first fight announced is a mouth-watering Super-Middleweights George Groves and Martin Murray in an eliminator bout for the WBA crown.
Both men are hunting a World title shot in the second half of the year, a fourth in the division for Groves and a first at 168lbs for Murray, who boxed three times for a World crown at Middleweight.
“This is a fight I’ve wanted for a while and I’m delighted it’s made,” said Murray. “I’ve had some huge profile fights all over the world in Golovkin, Martinez and Abraham but never had the big one in the UK. This is a fight that British fight fans can really get their teeth into and I’m looking forward to getting the win and moving on to challenging for the World title later in the year.”
“I’m very excited to be defending my WBA international belt against Martin Murray back at the O2,” said Groves. “I’ve had two great performances this year, both in London and the latest one back at The O2. It’s always a happy hunting ground for me.
”Martin is the perfect fight for me at this stage. He’s a seasoned campaigner, who’s boxed at the highest level for quite some time. He is a world level opponent and I’ll have to be fully focused and prepared to beat him.
”A win against Murray on the biggest stage, will open a lot of doors and bring me a step closer to achieving my goal of becoming world champion. I’m fully expecting it to be a war, I can’t wait.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn added: “June 25 is going to be a huge night from start to finish. It’s great that Britain’s newest super star is staying active, many would have still been celebrating but its back to business for AJ. The fight with Breazeale is going to be explosive- he is 6″7 and is one of the few whose KO ratio is up there with Anthony’s. He has come through the similar elite amateur set up and has worked his way into this shot and is ready to go.
“We are looking to put on one of our strongest cards yet at The O2, topped by the huge domestic clash between George Groves and Martin Murray which is set to be a wonderful clash. Watch this space for some more big fights added soon.”
Tickets go on sale today (April 25) at 10am to Matchroom Fight Pass members from the Fight Pass area at www.theticketfactory.com /matchroomboxing and O2 Priority members at www.theO2.co.uk. Tuesday April 26 at 10am sees the venue and AXS pre-sale before tickets go on general sale at 10am on Wednesday April 27.
Tickets priced between £40 to £500 will be available from www.theO2.co.uk and on 0844 856 0202. VIP tickets are £1,000 and available exclusively from Matchroom Boxing www.matchroomboxing.com.
