MMA Fight! Magazine: Murray makes winning return

Saturday, 23 November 2013

Murray makes winning return

By Adam Norman. Last Updated: November 23, 2013 1:16pm

John Murray: Destroyed Escobar in four roundsFormer world title challenger John Murray made a successful return to action on Friday night, stopping Michael Escobar inside four rounds in Manchester.

It was Murray’s first fight in almost two years following back-to-back losses to Kevin Mitchell and then-WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios.

A month short of his 29th birthday, the popular Mancunian looked determined to make a statement against an overmatched foe, who tipped the scales at more than half a stone above Murray’s 10st.

And the fleshy Nicaraguan appeared to know his time in the ring would be a brief one, swinging from the front row straight from the opening bell.

But Murray was in no mood to back off, mixing fire with fire and managing to get his shots off in a wild and woolly opener.

The second was a similar affair although Murray started to get on top, mixing his shots upstairs and down with the body shots clearly having an effect.

Escobar, who has already taken Scott Cardle and Ryan Doyle – an impressive winner earlier on the show – the distance this year, showed plenty of grit but a right hand floored him towards the end of the third as Murray’s class started to tell.

By the end of the session Escobar had burnt himself out and it came as little surprise when the end came in the next, a thudding left uppercut putting him down again before a scything left to the body cut him down for a third, and final, time.

It was a stirring return for the former British and European champion, who looks as though his hunger for the sport has returned.

The lightweight division is the most competitive on the domestic scene and there will be plenty of opponents waiting for him as he looks to get back to where he belongs.

Elsewhere on Dave Coldwell’s show at Bowlers, Jimmy Kelly moved to 8-0 with a narrow victory over a game Ryan Toms in the chief support bout.

Toms has now lost three in four since an unsuccessful challenge for Erick Ochieng’s English title, and looked aggrieved at the 78-76 scoreline. It could have gone either way.

Liverpool prospect Robbie Davies Jr got six rounds under his belt against Kevin McCauley, while Chorley’s Jack Catterall was also taken the distance by tough Frenchman Renald Garrido.

Oldham’s Mark Heffron made it seven stoppage wins in eight starts when a body shot chopped down Achilles Szabo inside 30 seconds of their middleweight contest.