ITโS not often that Martin Murray gets angry. But he is now furious. He was due to challenge WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders but for the second time Saunders has pulled out of the contest.
The champion incurred further ire from Murray when Saunders posted a video on Instagram daring Martin to face him at the Tyson Fury fight on Saturday in Manchester and risk being levelled.
โHeโs got no respect for anybody. Heโs just got no class about him,โ Murray told Boxing News. โHeโs done a post on Instagram, offered me a straightener at Tyson Furyโs fight on Saturday in Manchester. First of all, how old is he? Second of all, he couldnโt fight me because heโs injured but now he wants a straightener.
โWe were meant to be having a proper fight for money in two weeks, but he couldnโt because heโs injured. But instead he wants a straightener next Saturday and heโs okay to do that. Heโs not injured to do that but heโs injured to fight for his world title belt. The thing is with him he doesnโt want to lose his belt because he knows Iโve got his number. Heโs never fought anybody like me.โ
โHeโs a f****** s***house. Thatโs all I can say about him,โ Murray declared. โHe canโt intimidate me. Heโs a f****** idiot. The fightโs gone now, itโs never going to happen. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Thereโs no way Iโd ever fall for it a third time. Heโs still giving it the big โun now. Heโs just an embarrassment, an embarrassment to the sport and just a horrible little creature.โ
Murray has lost on his payday after being forced to abandon two training camps. โIt cost money, two training camps abroad. It cost money, thereโs everything that comes with it. Thereโs money it cost me potentially in sponsorships and stuff like that. Thereโs money thatโs cost you where youโve put stuff on hold because youโve been doing these training camps. Iโve been training the first half of this year. Iโve got f*** all from it,โ he said.
โBut you know what, thatโs only money at the end of the day,โ Murray continued. โI spend every single day with my kids, the fact that I left them for โฆ four weeks in total to do training camps, the fact that Iโve left them for so long, kills me. You canโt put a price on that. You cannot put a price on that.
โMoneyโs just money. Itโs the precious time that you canโt get back and thatโs the time that Iโve spent away from my family.โ
He doesnโt however believe that Saunders called off their fight in order get a middleweight unification with Gennady Golovkin. โI know heโs world champion now and heโs more experienced but I think if you want challenges and you want tests I think by nature youโll take them whenever. He didnโt fancy it then and heโs doesnโt fancy it now. I donโt think the fight will ever happen,โ Murray said. โI donโt even think he can make middleweight. It wouldnโt surprise me if he did super-middleweight in his next fight.โ
Murray is still prepared to box at the O2 later this month. โIโm still ready to fight June 23. Iโve just got to take whatever comes,โ he says. And if Saunders wonโt put his WBO crown on the line, he thinks he deserves at least an โInterimโ title fight. โI think thatโd be, I suppose, kind of a compensation. The fact that Iโve had two sanctioned WBO world title fights and both of them getting pulled,โ Murray said.
โYouโd think that would be a decent thing to do. [But] Iโm not expecting it now.โ