Beach fight for belt
WHAT’S more iconically Australian than winning a world boxing title in a football cathedral?
If Gold Coaster Rohan Murdock and his promoters get their way, it will be fighting for a world title on the beach. Legendary promoter Bob Arum has laid a path to a super middleweight world title showdown between Murdock and Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez on the Gold Coast late next year, if the pair can win their next three respective fights.
“If they both come out without a blemish, then sometime (late next year), we expect to do a world title fight with Gilberto Ramirez defending his title against Murdock in the Gold Coast,” Arum said.
“Rohan Murdock has got a lot of talent, a lot of charisma and he can be a major, major star in the super middleweight division.
“I am confident from what I’ve seen on film that he can be a big star in that division.”
Duco Events director Dean Longergan, the man responsible for working with the Queensland Government and Arum to hold Jeff Horn’s world title bout against Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium, says holding an iconic Battle on the Beach is a real possibility.
“There’s all sorts of configurations you can do on the Gold Coast. Wouldn’t it be cool to have boxing on the beach and a world title fight,” Lonergan said.
“These are discussions we’ll have with the Queensland Government and with the Gold Coast City Council.
“Queensland has shown on a regular basis they just want to get bigger and bigger events here.”
The Coomera Indoor Sports Centre – venue for the netball finals for the Commonwealth Games – and Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre are other possible venues.
Murdock, who was slated to fight on the Jeff HornManny Pacquiao undercard before a hand injury derailed his plans, will fight on the Horn-Gary Corcoran card in Brisbane on December 13, starting a year-long journey he hopes leads to his own title belt.
The 25-year-old, who has a professional record of 20 wins and one loss, will take on Russian Apti Ustarkhanov (15-2-3) in December, before heading to the US and Mexico for undercard bouts on Ramirez fights next February and May.
If he and Ramirez emerge unscathed, the pair will meet in a title fight on the Gold Coast next spring or summer.
“It feels unbelievable,” said Murdock, who has been ranked as high as No.6 in the world but did not have the right promoters behind him to gain title fights.
“To have Bob Arum say my name – he’s promoted some of the biggest fights in boxing history – so the potential for a world title just adds motivation for me to keep winning these next fights and bring that world title belt to Australia.
“We have a long road to get to that but we believe in our ability, and we’re going to kick on forward and win these fights, and I’m really motivated now with the likes of Bob saying these things.”
Arum certainly believes in the rising star.
“Could it happen? Does he have the skill to do that? The answer is yes,” he said.