English lightweight champion John Murray hopes that beating fellow unbeaten lightweight prospect John Fewkes next week will lead to a British title shot.

Murray, of Manchester, 23-0, is expecting a tough first defence of his English title against Fewkes of Sheffield, 17-0, when they meet at the Nottingham Arena on a Hennessy Sports in association with GoldenPalace.com show on Saturday, May 10.

But the 23-year-old, who won the English title with an impressive win over Dean Hickman in November, believes the experience of boxing in Las Vegas twice last year will ensure he keeps his undefeated record and bring him closer to challenging British champion Jon Thaxton of Norwich.

He said: "It was a great experience to be part of the build up on two fantastic shows, boxing on the undercard of Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather and then the night before Ricky Hatton-Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. I learnt a lot, like how the top boxers conduct themselves in and out of the ring.

"John Fewkes is a slick boxer and he is coming down a weight, so I’m just going to stick to my boxing. Once I have got this fight out the way, I want a shot at the British title because I feel I am ready for Jon Thaxton now. I’ve watched Jon Thaxton over the years and I know it would be a tough fight against him, but I just feel I’m at the point now where I’m ready for it."

Murray-Fewkes is part of a blockbuster bill, which features Junior Witter (Bradford, England) making the third defence of his WBC light-welterweight title against Timothy Bradley (Palm Springs, USA) and Nottingham’s Carl Froch, the WBC super-middleweight mandatory challenger, as joint top of the bill.

Tickets can be purchased from Trent FM Arena Nottingham 24hr Ticket Hotline on 08444 124 624

or via

www.nottingham-arena.com

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Boxing News Tags: , Hennessy, John Fewkes, John Murray, Jon Thaxton, Junior Witter, Timothy Bradley