Lee Murtagh [right] takes on Anthony Fitzgerald for the Irish Super-Middleweight title Lee Murtagh's Boxing Diary:
Westminster, Tenerife & Limerick
By Lee Murtagh for East Leeds Magazine,
November 2010
An unusual start to October had me invited to Westminster as part of a government think tank concerning how to tackle anti-social behaviour and bring communities together. It was a great experience and led to a few interesting contacts but my world is boxing not politics, although there are enough internal politics in boxing to make Westminster look like amateurs.
Then my thoughts turned to November 6th, my challenge for the Irish Super-Middleweight belt in Limerick. I train myself really, and have got in the habit of using a training camp in Tenerife. The camp is at quite a high altitude and consists of stamina work in the morning and then the boxing stuff in the afternoon. Also it was nice to have a bit of sun on my back as winter approached. Boxing is actually a big sport on the island. A lot of big names such as Nigel Benn have trained there in the past and I've built up a few local contacts to get some of the Bethlehem Boxing Club lads on various bouts over there.
On to Limerick. It might sound cheesy but due to my Irish parents, the Irish title is one I've dreamed of since I started to box as an eight year old. It's fair to say there's been a war of words with the current holder Anthony Fitzgerald, as two fights have been scheduled before and I've had to pull out with injury on both occasions. So as a gesture of good faith to the promoters I offered to fight for nothing & pay my own expenses. This seemed to endear me to the locals in Limerick who seemed to treat me as the 'home' fighter. I did feel I had a point to prove though, Fitzgerald had got it into his head I was avoiding him when nothing was further from the truth, injuries in boxing are an occupational hazard and nobody felt as bad as I did at having to pull out.
So, after probably the longest build-up to a fight in history, we finally got to lock horns in the ring. I knew what he would be like - he came out of the corner with a right-hander that started in Dublin and finished in Limerick. I've studied him fighting before. It was exactly what I expected and not difficult to deal with. I went into my corner happy enough with how the first round had gone.
The second round was pretty much the same, then ...bang. I wasn't sure whether it was his head or elbow but I got cut and the ref called the fight a ‘no contest’. I couldn't understand Fitzgerald jumping up on the ropes as if he'd won the world title or something. I was gutted, at the time I would have preferred to have lost the fight fairly rather than a ‘no contest’. I know I'd taken the first round and felt I was in control of the fight. I felt awful for my family and friends who had paid a lot of money to get to the fight.
Every cloud had a silver lining though, the President of the Irish Boxing Union came in to my dressing room and promised me he wouldn't be defending his title again until I've had a re-match. So we're hoping to get that organised for late February although nothing is set in stone as yet.
I had a bit of a bulging mail bag regarding my views on point scoring in amateur boxing. I'll stand corrected. I'm told the rule book still says you can point score in more ways than a jab, but if that's the case why have I seen so many amateur fights when one of the lads is covered in blood and the scoring remains 0-0? It's a common debate in such as Boxing News etc.
On the subject of amateur boxing it was lovely to see local lass Nichola Adams on the TV, I’ve known her and her family since she was a little girl when she boxed for the Star Gym I used to train at. I wish her every success and hope she achieves her dream of Olympic gold.
