Ranking the Best Opponents for Martin Murray's Next Fight

It became a farce more than a fight, but Martin Murray still made it three wins from three in the super middleweight division with a victory over Jose Miguel Torres in Leeds, England.

Murray put his opponent from Colombia down seven (yes, SEVEN) times before eventually securing a fifth-round TKO triumph at the First Direct Arena.

The bout had been seen as the first real test for the fighter from St Helens since he stepped up to 168 pounds.

Instead it was another comfortable night's work for Murray, who told Sky Sports afterwards, "It was quite hard to pin him down, but I knew if I stuck to the game plan I would get him out of there."

Now he is taking aim at a fourth world-title shot, having previously failed with three attempts to become a champion at middleweight.

Here Bleacher Report picks out five names—and some honourable mentions—who could be potential opponents for Murray.

Murray is not short of options out there when it comes to potential foes in the division.

Robert Stieglitz (47-5-1, 27 KOs) is a German with a decent pedigree. He recently lost to Arthur Abraham but is ranked above Murray in the WBO's pecking order.

Another German making waves in the division is Vincent Feigenbutz (20-1, 19 KOs). But, at the age of just 19, his promoters would be wary of putting him in with someone of Murray's experience.

Denmark's Patrick Nielsen (26-1, 12 KOs) is ranked highly by the WBO organisation, along with unbeaten Mexican Gilberto Ramirez (32-0, 24 KOs).

The Dirrell brothers, Andre (24-2, 16 KOs) and Anthony (28-1-1, 22 KOs), are recognised names on the world scene, with the latter beating Marco Antonio Rubio on Sunday in Texas.

But, while he will be an interested spectator when Rocky Fielding (21-0, 12 KOs) fights fellow Liverpudlian Callum Smith (17-0, 12 KOs) for the British title, Murray has no plans to take on either man.

As he explained to Micheal McKenna of the Liverpool Echo, "Rocky is a very good friend of mine, at the same weight so there’s no way that fight is going to happen, so I’m not even considering it."

Fedor Chudinov defends the WBA title against Englishman Frank Buglioni on September 26.

The winner of that fight, which takes place at Wembley Arena in London, should be firmly on Murray's radar, though a Chudinov victory would make negotiations easier.

The Russian (13-0, 10 KOs) became a world champion in just his 13th professional fight, claiming the vacant belt thanks to a split-decision points triumph over German Felix Sturm.

He had been due to make his first defence against Buglioni in July, only for an injury picked up in sparring to force the postponement of that original bout.

Buglioni (17-1-1, 13 KOs) will hope to make it a short reign for Chudinov when they do eventually meet in the ring.

However, the Londoner works with promoter Frank Warren, potentially making it tough to do a deal with Murray's counterparts at Matchroom.

If Murray doesn't get a world-title chance next, how about he takes a trip down memory lane instead?

A rematch with Felix Sturm (39-5-3, 18 KOs) would offer the Englishman a good test at 168 pounds, while also giving him the chance to avenge the result from their first meeting.

The two went toe-to-toe when they were both down at middleweight in 2011, with Sturm retaining his WBA Super title courtesy of a draw.

Murray felt he had done enough on the night, telling Sky Sports (h/t the Guardian), "We thought we'd won but you're in Germany, in his own backyard. We're gutted we didn't get the win but it's expected in Germany."

Per George Gigney of Boxing News, he turned down an offer from Sturm last year, "Early last year Felix Sturm offered me a rematch but the money was even worse than the first time round and so were the terms. I’ve got to think about my family and our future, so I had to turn it down."

Sturm missed out on becoming the WBA super middleweight champion when he lost on points to Fedor Chudinov in May.

A second showdown with Murray, though, would be a great opportunity for both men to prove themselves at the new weight limit. 

James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs) claimed the IBF crown that had been vacated by Carl Froch earlier this year.

Chunky defeated Andre Dirrell on points in Boston, making him the first British fighter to win both a world title in the professional ranks and a gold medal at the Olympics.

It is yet to be announced who DeGale will face in his first defence.

Promoter Eddie Hearn hinted in his column for the Mail last month that the Londoner could go up against the winner of the clash between Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith, which takes place in Liverpool on November 7.

However, Murray is also an option for DeGale, who will want a fight on home turf to show off his belt.

A deal can easily be made for that fight too, and the challenger would give the southpaw a serious test.

George Groves will hope to make it third time lucky when he challenges for a world title on September 12.

Saint George goes up against current WBC champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) on the undercard to the bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Londoner (21-2, 16 KOs) failed in his two attempts to dethrone Carl Froch, though he impressed in defeat.

Murray knows just how that feels, having performed admirably in his three unsuccessful bids to claim world belts at middleweight.

He fought Felix Sturm to a draw, then pushed both Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin before being stopped in the closing rounds.

Per Micheal McKenna of the Liverpool Echo, Murray is keen to be part of a big domestic battle, "I would definitely love a huge domestic fight because it’s something I’ve never had. Now that there’s loads of us in a booming domestic scene, I’m more hopeful than ever of getting one of those fights."

For that to happen, though, he needs Groves to dethrone Jack.

Arthur Abraham is the reigning WBO champion, who has only lost four times in 47 professional fights.

He has already seen off one British challenger for his title in recent times, beating Paul Smith twice on points.

However, even before he had faced Torres, Murray seemed to have taken a shine to King Arthur's crown.

He told Matchroom Boxing, "I really I want the Arthur Abraham fight. Eddie Hearn was with the Sauerlands (Abraham's promoters) last week, so hopefully it gets made. I doubt he would give me a voluntary defence as I’m too dangerous—so I would have to go down the route of becoming mandatory challenger in one of the governing bodies."

Murray's wish makes sense.

He has fought in Germany before when losing to Felix Sturm and will be able to take much from the two performances Smith put in against the champion.

Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) shows no signs of slowing up at the age of 35, yet he is not a fighter who is willing to stretch himself beyond more than is necessary.

Murray is always in excellent shape on fight night, meaning at the very least he would make the Armenian-born Abraham work hard to retain his belt.