Tonight (October 25, 2014) in Monte Carlo, Monaco hosts a highly anticipated card that will air on British TV. The most watched match features Merseyside’s Martin Murray taking on Italian Domenico Spada in a Middleweight fight for a WBC Silver title. Right now at the books, Murray (-1375) is a big favorite, with Spada returning at (+900). Murray is (28-1-1) overall, and that lone loss is to Sergio Martinez back in April of 2013. Since then, he has worked hard to get back on the radar, going 3-0. In his last outing, back in June of 2014, he defeated Max Bursak for the WBC Silver title, so he is defending this belt for the first time. Murray is considering this fight a match that will set him up for a big fight, and he has been mentioned as a potential next opponent for Middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin for what would be a big money fight. Spada is looking to put together a second win since dropping his April 2014 meeting with Marco Antonio Rubio for an interim WBC belt. In August, Spada returned for a six-rounder, so this match with Murray signals a return to more competitive fights. Spada however, has maintained a habit of winning in Italy and dropping his fights when he leaves his safety zone. His competition level in those fights such as Rubio, Darren Barker and Sebastian Zbik where he has found his ceiling are certainly on par with Murray, so there is no reason to expect him to break the pattern. China’s Xiong Zha Zhong is a big underdog at (+1400) to Hekkie Budler, who pays (-3050). The fight is for multiple titles at Minimumweight that belong to Budler, who at 26-1 has started to get on the radar and he may be a name to remember. Unfortunately at that weight class, he may stay under the radar unless he starts to move up in size, but he is something to watch. Zhong is a solid veteran, but his experience is mainly in Asia, winning in his homeland of China and losing in his chances in Japan. This is a long, overwhelming trip for him to face a dominant guy. Several other much more competitive lines are also available, as Stuart Hall is an underdog (+325) in his match with Randy Caballero favored (-400) in their bout for the vacant IBF World Bantamweight title. Caballero is a perfect (21-0) overall in boxing, and Hall is a veteran with a 16-3-2 record. At Light Heavyweight, Eleider Alvarez is favored at (-170) over Ryno Leibenberg, who comes back at (+140) in their showdown for a WBC Silver title. Both are undefeated fighters and giving the card a truly international feel, as Alvarez represents Canada but is from Colombia, and Leibenburg comes from South Africa. Leibenburg is defending the belt he won in his lat outing as an underdog, indicating that Alvarez’ early career work carries a higher level of competition, but this is the closet line at the books and is likely to be the most competitive fight of the evening.
