By Ziggy Shah: Kevin Mitchell turned back the clock as he took John Murray’s unbeaten record after stopping him in the eighth round of an absolute classic.
The eagerly awaited domestic dust-up between John Murray and Kevin Mitchell did not disappoint, and the full house at the Echo Arena in Liverpool were in awe as both fighters traded in heated exchanges from the first bell.
Murray, who has a habit of walking through punches and applying pressure, did exactly that and looked comfortable in the first few rounds as he targeted Mitchell’s body in an attempt to slow the Dagenham man down.
But Mitchell, (31-1) had a lot to prove after being blown out in three rounds in front of his home crowd against Michael Katsidis.
It was Mitchell’s first world Title challenge, and the defeat left him in tatters, both inside and outside the ring.
For Mitchell, this was a fight that would determine his future, hence he grounded his feet at every attempt and tried to let his power tell on the man from Manchester.
However, Murray (31-0) just kept coming forward and landed some good shots of his own. His ‘wear and tear’ tactics seemed to be working in bursts, but in general, the tide of the fight was becoming difficult to predict as both boxers took turns in unleashing good solid combinations.
But in the sixth, swelling under the right eye of Murray seemed to give his opponent some confidence and ‘The Hammer’ Mitchell began to box and move easily behind his left hand lead.
Going into the seventh, Mitchell used the same game plan, and towards the end of the round, unleashed a left hook followed by an uppercut that left Murray robbed of his senses. Mitchell saw the end in sight, but fortunately for Murray, the bell came to his rescue.
When the bell sounded for the eighth session, it was evident that the one minute respite was not enough for Murray. He staggered out to the centre of the ring, only to be greeted once again by some more meaty hooks and uppercuts. Halfway through the round, Mitchell landed again with a left hook that grounded the Manchester prospect.
He got up after taking the eight count, but the writing was already on the wall, as he was caught again with a left hook/uppercut combination. Referee Richie Davies had seen enough and called a halt to the fight.
In other action on the card:
Ricky Burns TKO 1 Nicky Cook
WBO super featherweight title
Tony Bellew UD 12 Ovill McKenzie
Frankie Gavin SD 12 Curtis Woodhouse
Rocky Fielding pts 6 Jamie Ambler
Joe Selkirk TKO 1 Terry Carruthers
Ronnie Heffron Pts 6 Barrie Jones
Craig Evans TD 5 Scott Moises
Paul Butler Pts 4 Anwar Alfadli
John Loveday Pts 4 Howard Daley
Callum Johnson Pts 4 Lee Duncan
Mike Stafford Pts 4 Paul Morris