Moss side Murray knocked out

Updated 09.21 Tue Aug 12 2008
Keywords: gu yu, team gb, olympics, beijing, boxing, Joe Murray

Joe Murray was the first British boxer to be knocked out of the Olympics after losing his fight with China's Gu Yu on points.

One of Team GB's brightest hopes for the Games, bantamweight Murray was out-boxed by the plucky Yu, whose frenetic attack from the get-go seemed to make it very difficult for 21-year-old to counter.

The final score-card read 17-7 to Yu, but in some dubious officiating, at least four of Murray's skilful body-shots went apparently unnoticed

The final score-card read 17-7 to Yu, but in some dubious officiating, at least four of Murray's skilful body-shots apparently went unnoticed which is sure to concern Team GB boxing coach Terry Edwards.

Murray, from the tough Moss side area of Manchester, will leave Beijing frustrated, having beaten the quick-footed Yu in Chicago to pick up the bronze medal in the AIBA World Boxing Championships last year.

Team GB's boxing team were all handed unfavourable draws in the early stages of their respective weight divisions, making the likelihood of a repeat of Amir Khan's silver-medal success in Athens slim.

Super-heavyweight David Price has been landed with the unenviable task of taking on Russia's European champion and world number one, the gargantuan Islam Timurziev.

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