We started off wanting a proper foundation for Hatton Promotions and wanted to get the structure in place first with TV being the bonus. Now we have it and it does leave us in a very strong position. What it means is that we can fulfil our contractual obligations to the young fighters who we have already signed and we can look to be more aggressive with signing other fighters.

I am sure there are many who are out of contract and we are more than happy to speak to anybody. Hatton Promotions are a growing force and we want to be the best there is and this is a fantastic platform to achieve that ambition.

Joe Murray 2010

Joe Murray was disappointed after returning home from the 2008 Olympics without a single win under his belt, the Mancunian lost out to China’s Gu Yu by 7-17 in their first-round encounter but has since jogged to 7-0 (3 early) as a pro. Murray’s last contest saw him notch up a points win over Yuriy Voronin back in March, the featherweight prospect is back in the gym, waiting on his next engagement.

“Looking forward to it,” said Murray when looking ahead to his next date. “My last fight was a good test and a good win over Voronin. I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Murray’s win over Voronin came hot on the heels of Hatton Promotion’s stablemate Scott Quigg’s sixth-round TKO win over the tough Ukrainian, Quigg is fighting for the WBA International super-bantamweight title on the 25^th of September; Murray believes that his performance against Voronin has given a clear indication of how far he can go as a pro.

“I took a lot of experience from it. If you look at some other prospects you’ll see their head pop if things don’t go their way but we stayed calm when it didn’t go all my way. Voronin is strong, all the Eastern Europeans are, so I had to use plan 2 and 3 when he got close. I kept it at range when I needed to and got eight good rounds,” revealed the 23-year-old.

“Voronin has boxed for the European title three times and he had six weeks notice for me, most people get him on a week notice. He’d seen films of me, it is not hard to get footage of my amateur career, and I think he boxed to the best he could do on the night but I still got a comfortable victory.”

Murray has scored stoppage wins over Delroy Spencer, Barrington Brown and George Mchedlishvili, though noted for his boxing the flame-haired fighter believes that punching power will come to the fore during his rise through the ranks. “I don’t get paid by the round so if I can take them out early I will do,” he pledged.

“I want to show the world that I’m more than just a boxer, I can punch as well. The more I get off with clean shots, the more I will hurt people. Like my stoppage of the Georgian [Mchedlishvili], who was undefeated [5-0-1] going in – I stopped him with a great body shot. I was five undefeated, he was six undefeated and he’s recently beaten the kid Stephen Foster fought in his comeback fight [Kakhaber Avetisian], who gave Foster a tough fight. I’ve read that Mchedlishvili has gone back to Georgia and won the national featherweight title. It was a proper stoppage, the ref didn’t jump in – the kid was on his knees. That was a good learning fight and a good performance.”

Murray’s decision to join with Ricky Hatton’s promotional company was a deliberate bid to distance himself from his older brother, John Murray is promoted by Mick Hennessy – though proud of John’s achievements, Joe is keen to establish his own identity.

“We went with different promoters because I wanted to make my own name. I didn’t want to be in the shadow of my brother. It happened to Matthew Hatton in the past but he’s now coming out on his own shows and it has done great for him. I want to make my own career and for people to judge me for me, not compare me to John all the time,” he insisted.

“John is more on the front foot and I’m a bit more of a boxer, we’re a different kettle of fish. John is a tough man who will keep coming forward and I sometimes like to stay on the backfoot and box my way in.”

Trainer Joe Gallagher has charged his two most experienced charges, Anthony Crolla and Murray, with the task of giving the young professional perspective. Murray trained in pro gyms when coming through the amateur ranks and credits Gallagher’s other fighters for helping him make the adjustments needed for paid success.

“We’ve got no egos in this gym. John is a European title-holder and a top ten fighter but he’s just one of us. I worked with the other guys [James DeGale, Frankie Gavin, Tony Jeffries, Billy Joe Saunders and David Price] in the amateurs but have followed John all my life so I look up to him because he’s close to home; he’s my biggest inspiration. My brother has done it the hard way so I don’t mind following his footsteps and doing it the hard way – I’m not mithered about how the other Olympic boxers or prospects are doing things,” stressed Murray.

“I’ve got the backing of a Manchester legend after signing with Ricky Hatton and his knowledge of boxing and interest in my career is there for all to see. I can only get better from fighting for Ricky and learning from him, he gives me little tips after my fights and it is great advice for a young fighter.”

by Terence Dooley