The Main Event Boxing Podcast · Fox Sports Australia

JACKSON MURRAY - Aussie heavyweight who sparred Francis Ngannou with stitches in his head

·22 min·1 clip

Jackson Murray sparred Francis Ngannou with stitches in his eye and still took the rounds.

1. The Main Event Boxing Podcast focuses on Jackson Murray, an Australian heavyweight preparing for Stephen Torres after sparring Francis Ngannou with stitches in his eye. 2. Ben Damon hosts Murray, who is the guest and explains why the Top Rank card matters for his career progression. 3. The episode asks how a sparring session with Francis Ngannou opened a door to a fight in the United States. 4. Murray says his management at Mayfair Management made connections that led to the opportunity, and he says the sparring with Ngannou helped him prove himself. 5. He describes word spreading quickly in boxing and says the sparring session changed how people viewed him. 6. Murray says he had stitches in his eye, flew straight to the gym, and went into sparring immediately after landing. 7. He names Devin Haney and Bill Haney at Top Rank gym, where Bill reacted to Murray sparring with stitches and warned him against it. 8. Murray explains that Derek Harmon, who is with Top Rank, watched the sparring and later became his coach for this fight. 9. Harmon is Southpaw himself, and Murray says that detail helped the relationship and the training setup. 10. Murray says Francis Ngannou surprised him by being composed, patient, and box-oriented rather than wild. 11. He compares that approach with the expectations built from Ngannou’s knockout clips and says his assumptions were wrong. 12. Murray says Ngannou’s approach also made Tyson Fury’s job harder, because the style was different from what Fury expected. 13. Murray recounts the first sparring session as cautious because he was worried about the stitches in his eye. 14. He says he was jabbing, moving, and thinking about the eye wound while the coaches kept pushing him to work. 15. He says the second sparring session was more aggressive, and he “gave Francis some good fucking work” before the eye opened back up. 16. Murray says that showing in sparring ultimately helped earn the fight opportunity he wanted. 17. The tone is conversational, blunt, and technical, with Ben Damon asking direct boxing questions throughout. 18. Murray talks in a loose, confident style and moves between self-criticism, humour, and career planning. 19. Best for boxing fans who follow heavyweight prospects and Top Rank. 20. Less useful for listeners wanting polished storytelling or broad sports analysis.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Main Event Boxing Podcast