Gallagher’s gym will have a World Champion in 2010

[The_budweiser]

The year 2009 has been a good year for Denton based trainer Joe Gallagher and his fighters. Gallagher has seen his long term project John Murray end the year for the second time running as a British champion, with a European title fight on route. Gallagher has also guided Matthew Macklin to British and European glory, started Joe Murray down the right path during his first year as a professional and has re invented the careers of Anthony Crolla and Femi Fehintola.

 

With possible European and World titles for John Murray and Matthew Macklin respectively, Gallagher is both very proud and excited about his gym’s 2009 and what lies ahead in the next 12 months. Gallagher spoke to Livefight.com in depth about his year, what lies ahead in 2010, the possibilities of training Ricky Hatton and the possibilities of pitting his wits against great trainers like Freddie Roach.

 

The esteemed trainer is immensely proud of what his fighters have achieved this year. “It’s been a fantastic year and I couldn’t have wished for anymore. If I had sat here 12 months ago and imagined having a European champion and a British champion alongside boxers like Anthony Crolla, Femi Fehintola and Joe Murray I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s been the best year to date for me as a trainer.”

 

Gallagher’s long time fighter John Murray ended 2008 holding the British lightweight title. Murray has proven during 2009 that he is ready to step beyond British level and Gallagher is excited about the journey yet to come.

 

“John Murray has had a fantastic year with three exciting great fights all with different angles to them. He started off with the drama of a come behind win against McAllister who has since become Commonwealth champion and showed what a good fighter he is.

 

“We then had the drama of John failing the weight which has cost us a bit of money this year but he answered his critics by pounding Lawton in six rounds. Lawton has since comeback and beat a well capable fighter in Derry Matthews.

 

Gallagher then spoke on the moment Murray had been waiting two years for. “Finally there was Jon Thaxton who has been holding back John for two years. John was brilliant on the night and no-one expected John to take care of Thaxton as clinical as he did. People moaned about the stoppage being early but Howard Foster is an experienced referee and it was inevitable that the win was going to come.”

 

Murray’s performance against Thaxton has earned him a mandatory shot at European champion Anthony Merzaache, a man who beat Thaxton on points to win the title and Gallagher is optimistic his steed will prove himself in the coming year.

 

“John has stopped everyone put in front of him and he is number one in Britain. It is so good to look at the ratings and see him number one in both Boxing News and Boxing Monthly and it’s all I ever wanted,” beamed a proud Gallagher. “He has his European title challenge in the New Year against Merzaache. Merzaache will be a tough fight, we can’t think Thaxton give Merzaache a good fight and we beat Thaxton so it will be easy. Merzaache is a good mover and movers in the past have given John problems but we have learned from past fights.

 

John Murray is going to have a fantastic year and he will become the European champion, the world is his oyster and hopefully this time next year we can sit here with John Murray and his European belt beside me, who knows maybe even a world title.”

Matthew Macklin turned to Joe Gallagher at the turn of the year to help the Birmingham middleweight fulfil the potential he had shown during brief spurts of his career and Gallagher is mightily impressed that Macklin has proved his doubters wrong.

 

“Matthew Macklin had a fantastic year,” stated the proud trainer. “Back in March he fought Elcock in what was a last chance saloon for him, everyone picked Elcock to win and Matthew put on a fantastic performance with the pressure on. It was our first fight together and he delivered it in sensational style in three rounds.

 

Gallagher then continued, “You have to remember that Elcock did five rounds with Arthur Abraham and 12 rounds with Howard Eastman, who are both world class fighters, just look at Abraham in the super six now. We said before there would be no excuses and that was one of the highlights for me of the year,” beamed Gallagher.

 

“Macklin then went and beat Asikainen who was a tough opponent. Take nothing away from Macklin, he delivered the punches we had been working on in training. Elcock was a right hand and Asikainen was a left hook. Macklin then managed to get the rounds he needed by going 10 rounds against Pintos. Macklin dropped Pintos three times and has set himself up nicely for 2010.

 

“Like John Murray, Macklin is ranked in the top 10 with the WBC, Macklin is also ranked in the ring magazine and it makes me proud to have fighters ranked so highly. Barry McGuigan gave Matthew Macklin the most improved fighter of the year in his Daily Mirror column and it’s nice to see the plaudits coming in for the lads as it shows the hard work is paying off and they deserve it. More so for Matthew and John as they had points to prove and they did it in style.”

 

This last year saw the emergence of another Murray, Joe, a former World amateur Bronze medallist and Olympian and the younger brother of John Murray. Murray had trained under Gallagher as an amateur and decided that 2009 was the time to turn professional under his mentor.

 

“Joe Murray has had a fantastic first year as a professional ending it with a record of 5-0.His second fight was in Vegas and when you think that Amir Khan has yet to fight in the States it is a big moment for Joe. He fought well and boxed a good kid in Nunez who had never been stopped and Joe put him down.

 

“His last two performances have been brilliant, he beat and stopped Barrington Brown who had a winning record and he also stopped Delroy Spence and only a handful of kids stop him so I’m expecting a big 2010 for Joe Murray and I think him and Frankie Gavin are the two Olympians who will pull away a bit this year.”

 

http://www.livefight.com/news.php?news_id=731&y=2010&m=01

[gemmell100]

i see macklin and murray both picking up world titles next year. good luck to both of em