Martin Murray vs Domenico Spada Preview Oct. 25
British middleweight Martin Murray returns to the ring this Saturday, October 25 when he takes on Domenico Spada of Italy in a 12-round bout in defence of his WBC Silver Middleweight Championship. Murray is keeping active while he hopes to earn another world title shot while Spada is looking to upset the applecart and make a name for himself on the world stage. This fight can be seen live in the UK on Channel 5 and will take place at the Salle des etoiles in Monte Carlo.
The 32-year-old Murray climbs through the ring ropes with an impressive record of 28-1-1 with 12 Kos while the 34-year-old Spada enters the fight with a mark of 39-5 with 19 Kos to his name. Murray has a three-inch height advantage as he’s 6-feet tall with Spada measuring in at 5-feet-9-inches. However, when it comes to pro experience, Spada has the edge with 256 rounds under his belt compared to 170 by Murray.
The Englishman has fought better opposition though and his lone loss came in a world title fight when he was beaten by then WBC Champion Sergio Martinez via a unanimous decision in April of 2013. Murray managed to knock the ex-champion down in the eighth round, but didn’t have enough power to finish the job. He also fought WBA Champion Felix Sturm to a draw in Germany back in 2011.
Spada has also faced some decent boxers during his career, but has come up short when taking a step up in class. In 2009 and again in 2010 he lost to Sebastian Zbik by unanimous decision and Darren Barker beat him the same way back in 2011. He was stopped in the 10th round by Marco Antonio Rubio last April and his first loss came back in 2007 when Mahir Oral beat him by a split decision for the European title.
While Murray doesn’t really possess a lot of power he likes to trade punches and isn’t afraid the initiate the action. Spada is more or less a brawler who has decent power, but a questionable chin. Their two styles should make for a fan-friendly fight though. Murray is quite durable and has good boxing skills. He has a good jab and doesn’t forget to go to the body. Spada likes to pour on the pressure as much as possible and has a pretty good defensive stance. He’d prefer to bang on the inside and make this a brawl rather than a boxing match.
Murray can’t afford to be lazy with his punches here or he’ll be made to pay for it. He needs to get his shots of quickly and make sure his arms are back as fast as possible to protect against wild counter shots. The Englishman needs to use his height and reach advantages and pick Spada off whenever he comes within reach. Keeping Spada on the outside should be his objective while landing crisp, sharp shots to the head and body to keep his opponent from getting into a rhythm.
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Prediction
If Murray sticks to boxing and takes advantages of his openings he should do fine. He has to keep his work rate up though and make sure he blocks as many shots as possible. Murray has a solid chin, but can’t afford to leave himself open. Spada will try to physically force his way on the inside and wing shots whenever he’s within firing range. He’s going to have to be quick though and land a few hard shots to discourage Murray. There’s a good chance this fight will go the distance with Murray taking the decision.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights with a Murray win listed at -1375 and a Spada victory at +900. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done.
Domenico Spada betting • Martin Murray betting