The British Invasion: Murray and Meager lead Manchester invasion

The British invasion of Las Vegas begins on Friday (December 7) when Hennessy Sports duo John Murray and Lee Meager feature on a Golden Boy promotion at the MGM Grand Conference Center. “BRITISH INVASION – THE U.K. VS. THE WORLD” is a night of world-class professional boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo will broadcast the event beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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Murray 22-0 (12 KOs) and Meager 21-2-1 (8 KOs) both face Mexicans the night before their fellow Manchester boxer Ricky Hatton faces American Floyd Mayweather for the WBC Welterweight Title.

It will be a chance for many of the thousands of fans from Manchester and Britain who will make the trip to Vegas to see two more of their countryman in action.

Newly-crowned English Lightweight Champion Murray faces Miguel Angel Mungui 16-9 (13 KOs) while former British Lightweight Champion Meager is up against Jose Alberto Gonzalez 14-4 (6 KOs). The Hennessy Sports team arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Murray, 22, is delighted to get the chance to show the travelling British fight fans and an American audience what he can do. Last year’s British Boxing Writers’ Young Boxer of the Year fought on the undercard of Oscar de la Hoya against Floyd Mayweather in May, when he stopped Lorenzo Bethea in the seventh round. He then stopped Dean Hickman for the English Title in four rounds in a career-best display on November 9.

John Murray said: “It’s a dream to be fighting in Las Vegas again and is great experience for me. It will be a good chance for me to put on a good show in front of a lot of British fight fans who might not have seen me before, especially Manchester fight fans.

“There’s 25,000 Brits coming out to Vegas to see Ricky, so hopefully a few will come down to watch some more boxing the night before. Not everyone could get tickets for Ricky’s fight, but they’ve got the chance to see two other Manchester fighters the night before. It’s a great chance to show my talent to the American audience again and I feel great after my last performance.

“I’ve been sparring with Ricky Hatton and what he has achieved is something that I am aiming for. I want to be fighting in Las Vegas as the main event one day.”

Lee Meager said: “It’s very exciting to have the chance to be fighting in front of a lot of Manchester fans on such a big weekend for British boxing. It’s great to be part of it and I intend to get the weekend off to a good start.”

Murray and Meager’s promoter Mick Hennessy said: “This is an incredible event taking place before the Hatton fight for British boxing fans in Las Vegas. It’s a chance for fight fans to see two absolutely class Manchester boxers. John Murray is unbeaten and headlines the British side of the show. We’re also hoping to get it on British TV.”

Other British boxers on the bill include middleweight Craig McEwan (Edinburgh) 8-0, middleweight Jimmy Campbell (London/Indianapolis) 10-1, lightweight Martin Gethin (Walsall) 10-0 and welterweight Dean Harrison (9-0).

Former world title challenger Bronco McKart (USA) 51-7 faces Enrique Ornelas (Mexico) in the main event.

Tickets for “The British Invasion,” priced at $125, $75 and $50, may be purchased at any MGM Grand box office outlet or by calling MGM Grand at 702-891-7777. Fans also can obtain tickets at all Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino), by calling Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 4 p.m. and the first bell will ring at 4:30 p.m.