JOHN Murray produced a sensational performance to win the European Lightweight Championship.

Murray claimed the vacant European belt and successful defended his British title with an 11th round stoppage over brave, spirited Welshman Gary Buckland.

Manchester-based Murray was not in danger of losing but still had to work hard against an opponent who gave everything possible at the Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes.

There was a fantastic atmosphere as Murray was fighting for the European lightweight title for the first time.

His British belt was also on the line as he took on Welsh challenger Buckland. Murray was clearly had the majority of the support, although some Welsh fans had made the trip from Cardiff.

Among the crowd were Ricky and Matthew Hatton, while darts stars Andy Fordham and Gary Anderson were also in attendance.

It was a lively opener with every punch that landed from Murray was loudly cheered and some good work to the body gave him an early initiative. But Buckland showed he was not phazed by the home crowd and showed he was determined to claim the title.

In a sensational opening couple of rounds, Buckland found the target with a right uppercut but did well to survive the second. Murray had gained 16 of his 28 wins inside the distance and nearly finished it in the second as a beautiful right hook caught Buckland flush on the chin and caused the Welshman's legs to wobble. A late Murray onslaught againsaw Buckland take some punishment.

The crowd were being treated to some great entertainment and Murray claimed the third as well with a succession of body shots. It had been a bright start from the defending British champion.

Buckland was getting increasingly frustrated by his failure to land frequently and was warned in the fourth by referee Marcus McDonnell for leading in with the head.

Murray's fans were in good voice at the end of the fifth. Although he had not come close to finishing the fight since wobbling Buckland in the second, he was still well clear on the judges scorecards, although there was still work to be done.

It was proving to be a brave effort from Buckland, who had not given up and was still on the attack, although he was still sustaining a lot of punishment. One shot saw him bleeding heavily from his nose by the end of the sixth.

Murray was providing a boxing masterclass and the fight could have ended in the seventh. A beautiful right hook was followed by a volley of brutal body shots. A classy uppercut then saw blood spurt out of Buckland's nose and mouth.

But Buckland was showing great character and what he was made of with a gutsy, gritty display, even though his face was bruised, bleeding and battered and his right eye was closing.

There had not been a dull round in this thrilling encounter and the eighth saw Buckland soak up more pressure, although he was still going for a spectacular big-finish knockout punch.

The home fans chanted 'easy, easy' but that was a bit disrespectful to tough fighter Buckland. However, he would need something special in the last few rounds if he was to become British and European lightweight champion.

The fight had certainly lived up to his billing with the contest an early contender for fight of the year.

But it was all over in the 11th as another sustained attack saw Buckland take numerous more shots before referee Marcus McDonnell decided he had seen enough and stopped the contest after one minute 46 seconds.

Undercard
A packed undercard saw a number of top fighters in action including Prince Arron, who won the Prizefighter Light-Middleweight Champion in February. Droylsden-based Arron kept his hopes of a British title shot alive with a 78-74 points triumph.

Former Commonwealth welterweight title holder John O'Donnell was also fighting and he produced an impressive effort to stop Hungarian Robert Balogh in the fifth round.

O'Donnell looked in a different class to his opponent, who by the fourth had abandoned any hope of winning and was just looking to survive. But the referee rightly stopped it after another O'Donnell attack with four seconds left of the fifth.

Ex-Commonwealth Super-Featherweight title holder Paul Truscott claimed a routine points win from his six-round clash with Ukraine's Nikita Lukin.

Former British featherweight champion Jamie McKeever slumped to a surprise defeat against Newcastle's Dougie Curran over four rounds. McKeever was floored twice in the opening round and lost 38-36 on points. Elsewhere, there were victories for Manchester trio Johnny Rocco (light-welterweight), Liam Cullen (light-welterweight) and Martin Ward (super-bantamweight).

Main event build-up
JOHN Murray has a chance to add the European Lightweight Championship to his British belt on Friday night in Matchroom Sport's latest boxing show.

Manchester-based Murray, 25, meets Welsh challenger Gary Buckland, 23, at the Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes.

Murray won the British belt in July 2008 with a victory over Lee Meager and this will be his fourth defence but also his first crack at the vacant European title.

It promises to be an explosive clash as undefeated Murray has gained 16 of his 28 victories inside the distance, while Buckland, a former Celtic Champion, has only lost once in 19 contests.

Friday, May 7, 2010
12 x 3 mins  Vacant European & British Lightweight Championship @9st 9lbs
JOHN MURRAY (Manchester) beat GARY BUCKLAND (Cardiff) - RSF R11

8 x 3 mins  Light Middleweight Contest @ 11st 2lbs
PRINCE ARRON (Droylsden) beat MAX MAXWELL (Birmingham) -PTS 78-74

8 x 3 mins Welterwerweight Contest  @ 10st 10lbs
JOHN 'O' DONNELL (London) beat ROBERT BALOGH (Hungary) - RSF R5

6 x 3 mins Super-Featherweight Contest  @ 9st 8lbs
PAUL TRUSCOTT (Middlesbrough) beat NIKITA LUKIN (Ukraine) - PTS 59-55

6  x 3 mins Light-Welterweight Contest  @ 10st 2lbs
JOHNNY ROCCO (Manchester) beat GAVIN DEACON (Northampton) - PTS 59-56

4 x 3 mins Featherweight Contest  @ 9st 2lbs
JAMIE McKEEVER (Birkenhead) lost to DOUGIE CURRAN (Newcastle) - PTS 36-38

4 x 3 mins Light-Welterweight Contest  @ 10st 2lbs
LIAM CULLEN (Manchester) beat MARK LEWIS (Nottingham) - PTS 40-36

4 x 3 mins Super-Bantamweight Contest  @ 8st 13lbs
MARTIN WARD (Manchester) beat MO KHALED (Sheffield) - PTS 40-36

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