Boxing: Hide too good for Murray

HERBIE HIDE won the British heavyweight title last night by stopping Michael Murray at the start of the fifth round at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, in a bout watched from ringside by the world heavyweight champion, Riddick Bowe, writes Jonathan Rendall.

The lumbering Murray was speared by a series of rights and lefts that left him beached on the canvas. Although he got to his feet at the count of seven, the referee Dave Parris ended what had become a one-sided contest. Bowe said of Hide: 'He's quite small and I think that would be a big factor if he fought me. To me he looks more like a cruiserweight.'

Murray, 28, was down in the second, third and fourth rounds. After a respectable start he went into his shell, emerging only occasionally to throw optimistic swings. However, Hide seemed to know that he was not overly impressive and at times was made to look amateurish.

Murray was not expected to last more than a couple of rounds. But at 16st 2lb he had nearly a 2st weight advantage over the unbeaten Hide and in the first he did not seem troubled when the 21-year-old prospect came out keenly throwing flurries of punches. Instead, it was a right hand from Murray that appeared briefly to worry Hide.

Murray was briefly ambitious in the second, but after sampling Hide's first real attacks it became a matter of survival.