Martin Murray vs Dmitry Chudinov Preview November 12th
British super middleweight Martin Murray will battle it out with Dmitry Chudinov of Russia in Monte Carlo this Saturday, November 12th. The bout was scheduled after WBO Champion Arthur Abraham had to pull out of a rematch with Murray due to injury. Murray last fought back in June and lost a 12-round unanimous decision to fellow Englishman George Groves. Chudinov’s last bout was in July when he beat Andrejs Pokumeiko by an eight-round unanimous decision. Murray has had four shots at a world title and fell short in each of them so is disappointed his contest with Abraham fell through. The Murray vs Chudinov contest can be seen live in the UK on Sky Sports 2.
Murray vs Chudinov Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Dmitry Chudinov +150
- Martin Murray -187
My Pick
The 34-year-old Murray of St. Helens 33-4-1 and has 16 Kos on his resume. He’s fought 226 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and is 6-feet-tall with a 73-inch wingspan and has a 42 per cent knockout ratio. Murray is a fighter who likes to stay active as this will be his eighth bout since February of last year. He’s a former Commonwealth and British champion, had a title shot against Felix Sturm back in 2011, but could only manage a draw. He was then beaten by unanimous decision by Argentina’s Sergio Martinez two years later and stopped by current titleholder Gennady Golovkin in the 11th round in February of 2015. He then dropped a 12-round split decision to Abraham in his fourth title shot last November.
Looking back, Murray feels he may not have been ready for his first title bout against Sturm five years ago since he took a big step up in class to the world level from the domestic level. He’s a good boxer, but obviously falls just short when he steps up in class to meet elite opposition. He won’t really be facing a Grade A boxer in Chudinov on Saturday though, so he may fare a bit better than in his last outing against Groves. So far, the only three men who have beaten him were world champions at the time and Golovkin is the only one who managed to stop him and that came in the 11th round.
The 30- year-old Chudinov also seems to have the same problem as Murray as his only loss came when he stepped up marginally in class against Chris Eubank Jr. His lost that bout in February of 2-15 by a 12th-round stoppage. He’s a former WBA interim Middleweight Champion who will enter the ring with a record of 19-1-2 with 12 Kos. Chudinov has gone 108 rounds since turning professional back in 2009 and started his career by fighting out of California, but he hasn’t faced any top opponents as of yet other than Eubank. I suppose you could add Grady Brewer, Patrick Mendy, Milton Nunez, Patrick Nielsen and Mehdi Bouadla to the list, but none of them are Grade A boxers.
Chudinov has a solid defense and like most Russian fighters, is quite tough with a solid chin. He likes to apply pressure and will need to do that if he’s going to win this fight. However, he’s the smaller man at 5-foot-9 with a 70-inch reach and Murray will look to take advantage of that fact. Chudinov has decent power at 55 per cent, but isn’t really known as a banger, just like Murray. Therefore, fans should expect to see more of a boxing match here rather than a brawl.
Prediction…
This is another close fight to call as both fighters have been active recently so there shouldn’t be any ring rust. Murray has fallen just short in his four world title shots and he has plenty of experience in big fights against top opposition. He may have lost some motivation though since he was in training for a title shot in a rematch with Abraham. He can’t afford to take Chudinov lightly, but should do enough to beat him.
A close call, but Murray’s experience should be the difference.
Play: Murray -187 @ 5dimes.eu
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Dmitry Chudinov betting • Martin Murray betting