Fitzgerald fight cancelled as Murtagh injures knee

Following his withdrawal from Saturday’s Irish super-middleweight title fight with Anthony Fitzgerald in Dublin, Lee Murtagh (right) has spoken about the offending knee injury that forced him out and how he now hopes that the fight will be rescheduled for a later date.

 

“I assured (opponent Anthony Fitzgerald’s manager) Don O'Leary it was a genuine injury and he said he never doubted that fact,” said Murtagh. “I hope the title fight doesn't just get forgotten about - I still want it.

 

“The knee has been troubling me for a while but I just gone on with it,” Lee revealed, “but the after three days hard training (double sessions) I couldn't bend the leg or run and by last Tuesday I was in agony. Wednesday night it swelled and the physio took a look; the left knee has had prominent veins for years.  The veins had swelled and I had tendonitis."

 

Murtagh has been at the business end of the domestic division for a while, mixing in good company, yet now fights off an Irish license and was last seen in Limerick on the recent Andy Lee undercard. The slick southpaw revealed that he’s had issues with the knee in the past but expects to recover and fight on.

 

“It's not career threatening I don't think,” he continued, “Horses actually get it and I'm optimistic about full recovery. The medical advice I’ve received tells me that all boxers should stretch well or do yoga to keep flexible; years of hard training can take its toll on the body. I'm hoping I can get back up to speed and fight again, or at least train in my own gym which I run during the week.

 

“It was devastating to withdraw but with the pain what could I do? I did no roadwork and cancelled sparring, before re-consulting with the physio again and I had a groin strain as well by that point. It was a hard decision but the physio took it for me and told me to get off my feet and rest. I have tablets to stop the inflammation.”

 

Anthony Fitzgerald meanwhile has been buoyed by an endorsement from Irish veteran Jim Rock who believes the improving prospect has the ability to stop Murtagh. Ticket seller Anthony was naturally disappointed at the pull-out and still holds out hope that a suitable replacement can be found: "After training for so long it's hard to re-adjust," admitted a deflated Fitzgerald. "They rang me on Saturday and said that Murtagh had suffered a knee injury.

 

“I hope that an alternative opponent can be found as the training has been fantastic and I've worked really hard on strength and conditioning for the fight. The promoter has said I'll get a slot on the bill even if they can't find a replacement for the Irish title. I was thrilled to beat Robbie Long in the rematch recently and I had waited nine months for that return fight. I'd been getting some hard sparring for this fight and preparing for a southpaw style.”

 

“The fans want to see a good fight and I'm a ticket seller so I'm not going to let anyone down," he added.