Hatton undercard preview: Martin Murray vs Jorge Navarro and Sergey Rabchenko vs Cedric Vitu

Dave Oakes continues his look at the Hatton-Senchenko undercard.

Another interesting bout on the undercard is Martin Murray taking on unbeaten and unknown Jorge Navarro. Murray looks to be lined up to face Sergio Martinez for the world title next year, so he has to come through this bout unscathed if he’s to get that shot.

His Venezuelan opponent hasn’t fought anyone of note but with ten of his twelve victories coming inside the distance his record suggests he has respectable power. Navarro could be dreadful or dangerous, we won’t know until the fight but Murray can’t take afford to take his eye of the ball either way.

It’s hard to make a prediction considering the lack of video footage of Navarro but Murray has looked very good recently and should be experienced enough and good enough to cope with anything the Venezuelan throws at him.

There’s also a European light-middleweight title clash on the bill, with Sergey Rabchenko making his first defence against Cedric Vitu.

Rabchenko can be a touch cumbersome at times but is very strong and can hit hard with either hand. Whilst I’m not convinced he can go on to world honours, he is a good European level operator and is enjoyable to watch.

Vitu seems to have been around for years without actually achieving anything, this will be his thirty-seventh fight and only his second title fight – his first being a points victory over Christophe Canclaux for the French title, a win that is the stand out performance on an otherwise unremarkable record.

I’m not expecting this to be a barnburner; Vitu has a habit of making fights ugly and doesn’t look like he possesses the tools to upset Rabchenko. The champion should make a comfortable first defence of his title without having to get out of second gear.

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