With Carl Froch looking to add another significant victory to his already impressive ledger on Saturday, it's a good time to take a look at where the Nottingham fighter ranks among Britain's greatest Super-Middleweights.
10. Murray Su...
With Carl Froch looking to add another significant victory to his already impressive ledger on Saturday, it's a good time to take a look at where the Nottingham fighter ranks among Britain's greatest Super-Middleweights.
10. Murray Sutherland 48-14-1 (KO 40)
The Scottish born banger was based in Michigan for his entire career and never fought in Britain. Having fought at light-heavyweight giving size away, and then at middleweight struggling to make weight, he fitted the super-middleweight division perfectly when it was introduced in 1984.
Having fought and lost against the likes of Matthew Saad Muhammed, Tommy Hearns and Michael Spinks twice, Sutherland finally had his night of triumph against Ernie Singletary. Fighting for the IBF title in the newly created division, he outmanned Singletary over fifteen hard fought rounds to win via a unanimous decision.
He lost the title in his first defence, being knocked out by Chong-Pal Park in the eleventh round of their battle in South Korea. Sutherland fought on for another couple of years, producing more highlight reel knockouts before defeats to Bobby Czyz and Lindell Holmes brought his career to an end.
Sutherland is often forgotten by British fans, mainly due to him never fighting there, but he is well worth checking out on youtube or via other means. He wasn’t what you’d call dull; he was a come-forward fighter who had pulverising power in both hands. Whilst he only held the IBF belt for a short period, his willingness to trade blows and his never quit attitude means he makes this top ten with ease.
9. Brian Magee 36-5-1 (KO 25)
The Belfast southpaw has had many ups and downs in his career, he’s well skilled, hits hard enough to gain an opponents respect but doesn’t possess the best of chins. He went unbeaten in his first twenty-two fights, beating decent second tier fighters like Andre Thysse and Miguel Jimenez.
The first signs of a weakness around the whiskers came when he was dropped by Jerry Elliot in his twenty-second bout. Confirmation came in his next bout when he was dropped four times by Robin Reid on his way to a points defeat. Magee got to his feet every time he hit the canvas and has tried to do so all the way through his career, showing he’s never been short of heart.
He lost in a European title tilt in 2005, being on the wrong side of a highly debateable split-decision against Vitaliy Tsypko. Magee seemed to have won the fight comfortably but the decision went to the hometown fighter. A year later he faced Carl Froch for the British and Commonwealth titles. Magee was down early but rallied to have some success in the middle rounds. The pressure Froch was putting Magee under started to have an affect as the fight wore on and the Irishman went down again in the ninth. Froch battered Magee all over the ring in the tenth before finding a tremendous right uppercut in the eleventh that left Magee face first on the canvas and on the end of the first knockout defeat of his career.
A year later he drew with Tony Oakey in his first shot at the British title, before stopping Steve McGuire in the eighth round in his second attempt at the title in 2008. He won the European title just over twelve months later, stopping Mads Larsen in the seventh round. His performance against Larsen is probably the best of his career; he was near enough punch perfect, repeatedly dropping Larsen with some vicious body punching.
After making one defence of the European belt, Magee travelled to Canada to take on Lucien Bute for the IBF title. Bute was in control from the start, dropping Magee three times, the final knockdown in the tenth prompting the referee to intervene. It was the fourth defeat Magee had suffered yet he wasn’t to be deterred and returned to the ring four months later to claim the interim WBA title, beating Jaime Barboza on points in Cost Rica.
He defeated Rudy Markussen in five
 via Mattters)
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