With just over a week to go to the Golden Gloves championship fight card in Monte-Carlo, Hekkie Budler and Martin Murray are said to be in the shape of their lives.
Budler, the WBA and IBO minimumweight champion, hasn’t deviated much from a method that has worked so well in the recent past, but has ramped up his intensity. Just as well, for he expects a bruising battle with Mexico’s Jesus Silvestre (30-5, 22 KOs), who has a reputation on the circuit for fighting fast and rough.
Budler (27-1, 9 KOs) and his team, headed by savvy Colin Nathan, leave on Sunday and will head to the gym and hotel they are already familiar with given that his last two fights took place in the principality.
He put on a virtuoso display each time and has since become a favourite among Monegasque locals.
This fight also heralds Budler’s debut on HBO, making it a vital point in his career. The US cable network traditionally shies away from lower-weight fighters, but this could be Budler’s opportunity to convince them otherwise.
Murray (29-1-1, 12 KOs) has no such concerns, despite his inability to secure a visa to fight in the US. If he produces the shock of the year and beats Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28 KOs) in his challenge for his middleweight championship, he’ll become a major figure on the fight scene.
Despite Murray’s impressive resumé, boxing experts are writing him off against the big-hitting Kazakh. Trouble, is, Murray isn’t listening and doesn’t care.
He’s about the only person in boxing not seduced by the hype and has gone about his training in the usual fashion: head down, hard and dedicated.
He has spent his time at training camp in SA very well, without the distractions and cold of his Merseyside home.
“I expect it will be tough and I’ll need to go through pain, but I’m prepared for that, whatever it takes,” said Murray, caring little for Golovkin’s reputation.
Promoter Rodney Berman, who departs for Europe at the weekend, says he has been blown away by the interest in the tournament.
“The interest from the public and press has been phenomenal. I’m quite sure we could have doubled or tripled the attendance had we gone to a bigger arena. I’m expecting four fantastic fights. Hekkie has been with us all his career, so I am desperately keen to see him do well.
“Martin is our fighter and a genuinely nice man. But so is Golovkin, so it will be tough watching on Saturday night. But I expect a tremendous contest.”
