Glover May Have Derailed Murray-Thaxton For Good

Boxing Scene Terry Dooley21st July, 2009

Tom Glover, 28, put down his bricklaying trowel to claim a surprise late-notice win over former European champion Jon Thaxton on the York Hall undercard over the weekend. Thaxton, 34, was up in weight, fighting at light-welterweight for the first time in three-years, he also looked over-the-hill as he laboured to this shock eight-round defeat.

Thaxton lost his last fight also, when giving up his EBU lightweight title to Anthony Mezaache in February; Jon has looked poor since defeating Juan Carlos Melero for that title last year. Glover's free-swinging attacks should not have nailed Jon, but they did, time and time again.

A tiring Thaxton tried to get into the fight in the middle rounds, sensing that it was slipping away. It was close, but Glover's strength told, the referee rewarded the underdog's efforts with a 76 to 77 win, a point deduction, handed out for persistent holding, denying Thaxton the draw.

Glover is on a roll, he defeated Nadeem Siddique in his last fight, he is now set to fight Adnan Amar for the vacant English light-welterweight title, and Tom will be buoyed after adding Thaxton's name to his win column.

This loss looks to be the final nail in the coffin for Thaxton versus John Murray, as an attraction at least; the fight was talked about just under a year ago, when Jon was EBU boss, and Murray the British holder.

Thaxton has lost, twice, in the interim period; Murray is still undefeated, although he did lose his British lightweight title on the scales in June; consequently, what was once a dual-title showdown has become a fight for the vacant British title.

Promoter Mick Hennessey, who guides both Thaxton and Murray, spent too long procrastinating over this match, it has lost much, if not all, of its value.

Murray contacted Boxingscene during the Thaxton fight, mainly to inquire if he will still fight Thaxton should Jon lose, he probably will, the fight has been mandated by the BBBoC. Murray then contacted us again when the result came in, telling Boxingscene that he will 'smash' Thaxton should they meet.

Manchester's Murray has been in the gym since defeating Scott Lawton in June, he had kept himself fit in the hopes of stepping in for Andreas Kotelnik, should the Ukrainian fail to face Amir Khan.

John is a changed man, he has adopted a grim mindset since losing his British title, aware that his tongue-in-cheek 'trash' talk attracts criticism, Murray outlined his new approach.

"A switch has gone off," he told me when talking about the Thaxton, or any, fight. "People criticise me so I've decided to just go out there and hammer anyone they put in front of me. Losing my title was a big blow, I took a lot of stick, but it has made me realise that my back is against the wall, and I am going to smash people to bits from now on, and see what people say then."

However, Thaxton is a warrior; he may have a surprise or two up his sleeve come the Murray showdown. Speaking to ITV after the fight, Jon was philosophical about the set-back.

"I love the game and I love nights like tonight. It's the way I am," he mused. "I don't regret taking the fight - I just love to fight. I want to fight all the time. I can promise you when I go back to lightweight against John Murray it will be a very different story."