Murray stages major title bill in hometown

Scott Murray with legend Marvin Hagler at his Premier Suite venue

CANNOCK – the Staffordshire town built on coal and long dormant as a pro boxing hub – has bagged a major international fight night.

The bill will take place on September 13 at the town’s Chase Leisure Centre, a spacious venue that last played host to professional boxing 10 years ago.

Long before that, home town promoter Ron Gray staged shows at the centre.

It has been left to another Cannock resident, Scott Murray, to revive the fight scene in his home town.

Scott has promoted exclusive boxing dinner shows through the red-carpet Excelsior Sporting Club, he stages a public show at the Premier Suite on Sunday, May 25.

He now has a new venue in the leisure centre. And September’s extravaganza, staged in conjunction with major Midlands fight figure Jon Pegg, is his biggest and boldest venture to date.

With the deal only delivered today (Thursday), details are sketchy: Fighters appearing on the bill are yet to be announced.

But Murray has confirmed it will be a stacked card of nine contests, with Midlands and international titles contested.

He said: “It’s great for the town. There will be local fights, there will be Midlands and international title fights.

“It’s a great venue that holds around 1,000 people and we’re confident of getting TV for the show. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for and we want to put on three or four shows a year there.”

Boxer appearing on the big night have not been revealed, but I think it’s a safe bet local lad Zach Evans will appear, probably in a long awaited title fight. Fellow Cannock boxer Ollie Cooper will want to be a part of it.

And the stage seems ideal to deliver an international title fight for Jess Barry, the English featherweight champ promoted by Scott.

With Pegg heavily involved, don’t rule out Sam Eggington defending the WBC international silver belt he recently gained – or English super-bantam champ Nyall Berry in a significant contest.

Murray has brought pro boxing back to Cannock. September will show it’s back with a bang.