by David P. Greisman

Buddy McGirt is training Matthew Macklin for his March 17 fight against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. He spoke briefly with BoxingScene.com about the bout.

BoxingScene.com: What advantages is Macklin bringing into this fight with Sergio Martinez?

McGirt: “I think that Matthew, one, he has a lot of determination, but two, he’s very smart. He sees a lot of things. He comes to the gym every day. He understands certain things that he has to do to win this fight.”

BoxingScene.com: What does Macklin have to do to win?

McGirt: “Number one, you have to be patient with Martinez. You can’t stand in front of him, and you can’t bum rush him, because if you bum rush him, he eats you up. So if you put pressure on him, you have to put smart pressure on him. You got to be controlled. You got to be smart. Your defense has to be tight. Martinez sets traps. He’s good at setting traps. And then he explodes.”

BoxingScene.com: What did you take away from Martinez’s performance against Darren Barker, which some felt was sub-par? Did that give you any ideas on how to approach this fight?

McGirt: “I don’t even look at that fight. I just don’t. Who knows if Barker was that good, or was Martinez just having one of those days? You really don’t know. Matthew’s not judging Martinez on his last fight, because once Martinez picked it up, it was all over.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com

Tags: Sergio Martinez , Matthew Macklin , Martinez-Macklin , Martinez vs Macklin