The best is yet to come
ROHAN MURDOCK MAY NOT YET BE A HOUSEHOLD NAME BUT THAT COULD SOON CHANGE, AS CONNOR O’BRIEN DISCOVERS
TOMORROW, a mature, well-rounded, determined Rohan Murdock will step into the ring against Frankie Filippone for a fight crucial to his plot to snatch the world title this year.
He wasn’t always like that though, according to Platinum Boxing Club trainer Chris Carden, who has worked with Murdock for the past 13 years.
“The way that he approaches the game now is a lot different to obviously how he did when we first turned him pro,” Carden told the Bulletin.
“There were a lot of improvements that he needed to make. He’s a true professional now.”
Those improvements have come in areas such as preparation, while his willingness to give time to the media and others has reached the point where Carden sometimes has tell him enough is enough.
“He’s a good kid,” Carden said. “He has got a good heart and will always try to do the right thing by everyone.”
While he is boxing “great at the moment”, Carden is sure Murdock still is only a fraction of the boxer he has the potential to become.
“He has barely touched the surface of how good he can be,” he said.
“The better opponents that you fight, the better you have to fight to win. That’s always going to make you better.
“If it doesn’t, you fold under the circumstances and he has never been one to do that. The bell rings and pretty well every time he steps up to the mark.”
Murdock’s 21-1 professional career record is evidence of that.
Though Filippone is in the twilight of his career at age 37, being a southpaw presents a rare challenge. As a professional, Murdock has only once before faced a leftie – many years ago – scoring a majority decision win.
“But at the end of the day, he’s had about 110 fights (including his amateur days) so he has fought plenty of southpaws,” Carden said. “We’ve got no excuses.” The biggest asset on his side is supreme speed for a super middleweight.
Murdock is tipped to use that, and fitness, to his advantage over the eight rounds at the American Bank Centre in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“Ro always likes to start reasonably quick without doing stupid things – that’s the most important thing, you don’t want to go out there and get caught cold or anything like that,” Carden said.
“When you are at this sort of level, anyone can hurt you, so you have to be wary and at the same time you have to try to fight to your game plan.
“I think he’ll look to try to push the pace a little bit because he is a fit kid.”
Should Murdock account for Filippone and super middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez fends off Ghanan challenger Habib Ahmed in the main event, the stage will be set for the Gold Coaster to push on with his world title dreams.
Discussions are being held to have Murdock take on Ramirez
in a world title showdown at Surfers Paradise later this year.
Fox Sports 2 will broadcast to Australia on Sunday night delayed vision of Murdock’s fight with Filippone.