Hennessy Boxing: Thaxton Believes Murray On Hiding To Nothing

Former British and European Champion Jon Thaxton believes the pressure is all on John Murray ahead of his British Lightweight title clash with Scott Lawton in Wigan this weekend.

Murray makes the second defence of his title against reigning English Champ Lawton on Hennessy Sports “Rule Britannia” event at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan this Saturday (June 13th) with the winner set to defend against Thaxton in the autumn.

The Norwich man will be ringside in Wigan to provide expert analysis for ITV4 who are broadcasting Saturday’s event live. Having stopped Lawton in seven rounds during his own British title reign Thaxton is tipping Murray to retain his title but he believes it could be a difficult night for the unbeaten Mancunian.

“I think Murray is going to win but in a sense it’s a “no win” fight for John Murray,” said Thaxton. “If he stops Lawton then people will say so what, ‘Jon Thaxton and Amir Khan did the same thing a few years back’ and if he doesn’t stop him then that won’t look good for him either so there is a lot of pressure on Murray to not only stop Lawton but to look really good doing it and make people sit up and take notice.

“I think Murray will apply a lot of pressure, work Lawton’s body and wear him down for a late round stoppage but if Lawton can make a good start, get his confidence up and start to believe that he belongs at this level then it could become very interesting.”

Lawton has successfully rebuilt following those back to back title defeats to Thaxton and Khan in 2007 and is on an impressive run of form which has seen him lift the English title courtesy of an impressive win over Martin Gethin. While Thaxton is predicting a Murray victory he’s not ruling out the possibility of Lawton of upsetting the applecart.

“Lawton’s a very capable guy and when he sticks to his boxing he’s the kind of boxer that can give you all kinds of problems. A lot of it will depend on just how hungry he is for the British title. If he’s truly up for the fight then I think he could be in with a shout but when you’ve already fallen short at British level the danger is that it becomes a mental block and you can never get past that obstacle.”

Regardless of who wins Saturday night’s clash Thaxton is desperate to get his hands on the winner as another victory in a British title fight would see him win a Lonsdale belt outright.

“Ever since I turned pro as an 18 year old it’s been an ambition of mine to win a Lonsdale belt outright and I’m just one win away from that. To win that belt for keeps would be a hell of an achievement and it’s something I would treasure. I don’t mind who wins, if it’s Murray then I’m very confident that I could hand him his first defeat and I’ve already beaten Lawton so I’d have no problem with that fight either.”

The John Murray – Scott Lawton British Lightweight title fight headlines a big night of boxing at the Robin Park Arena, Wigan on Saturday, June 13th. Unbeaten Heavyweight sensation Tyson Fury will have his seventh professional outing while in a battle of Champions, Central Area title holder Nadeem Siddique takes on Southern Area Champ, Tom Glover.

Hot prospects Steve “Super Bad” Barnes and Phill Fury also feature alongside the pro debut of Bobby “Boogaloo” Ward, the last Englishman to defeat Amir Khan. Exciting puncher Andrew Singh Kooner completes the line-up.

Tickets are available from the Ticketline box office on 0844 888 4402 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.