Anthony Crolla and John Murray predictably stole the show in Manchester, while Scott Quigg predictably won easy against late notice opponent Tshifhiwa Munyai on today's AWE and Sky Sports show from Matchroom Boxing.
Quigg (28-0-2, 21 KO) smashed Munyai (24-3-1, 12 KO) in the second round of their WBA "regular" super bantamweight title fight, putting the South African "Atomic Spider" down two times, once at the end of the first round on a left hand counter shot, and then again in the second on a right that had Munyai on unsteady legs, forcing referee Howard Foster to rightly stop the contest.
Quigg, 25, did what he always does against this level of opposition, as only Yoandris Salinas (who fought Quigg to a draw in 2013) lasting the distance since 2010. The Bury native looks like he's a prime fighter at 122 pounds, but it should be said that he has yet to beat a fellow top fighter in the division. Today's win, though, does push him closer to something bigger, and he did the job he set out to do.
In the night's final fight and de facto main event, Anthony Crolla stopped John Murray in the 10th round, weathering an early storm from the former world title challenger, taking him into the deep waters as designed, and testing if Murray could still swim. He couldn't, and Murray (33-3, 20 KO) was dropped by a shot that didn't even fully connect, totally exhausted and beaten, leading to referee Terry O'Connor to stop the fight.
Crolla (28-4-1, 11 KO) has now won three straight, and could conceivably find himself in line for a title shot at 135 sooner than later.
Also on the card, Josh Warrington (17-0, 2 KO) kept his undefeated streak alive and pushed it to two straight wins by stoppage, as he forced Rendall Munroe (28-5-1, 11 KO) to retire on his stool after seven rounds. Munroe, 33, was in tears after the fight, admitting that it wasn't there anymore, and sounding as if he'd decided his time in the sport was over. Warrington retained his Commonwealth featherweight title with the win.