By Shaun Brown
Boxing Scene understands that Matthew Macklin could fight Brian Rose on April 9 in London.
The Matchroom promotion, set to be headlined by rising heavyweight star Anthony Joshua in his sixteenth pro start, will be staged at London’s O2 Arena - the scene of Joshua’s biggest win to date when the 2012 Olympic Gold medallist stopped bitter rival Dillian Whyte in seven rounds just over two weeks ago on Sky Box Office.
Details on a possible Macklin vs. Rose fight are scarce at this stage, with no decision made on whether or not the bout will be held at light middle or middleweight. Two weight divisions that both men have flirted with back and forth between recently.
Earlier tonight (December 28) on Twitter, Rose tweeted: “Fighting at O2 Arena on 9th April in a big fight. I’ll be able to release name of opponent in a few days.” And we understand that a fight between the two former world title challengers (Macklin at 160lbs, Rose at 154lbs) is one that has been talked about in the recent past.
Macklin (34-6, 22 KOs) last fought in October at 154lbs when the 33-year-old defeated Jason Welborn over 10 rounds. The win gave the former British and European middleweight champion the WBC International light middleweight belt and positioned him at number 14 in their rankings.
Rose (28-3-1, 8 KOs) is coming off an eventful 2015 thanks to two bouts with Carson Jones.
On Valentine’s Day this year Rose was halted in the opening round of their first fight after referee Ian John-Lewis controversially waved proceedings off and gave Jones his 27th win inside the distance.
A furious Rose got his rematch in August and produced one of the best performances of his career to outclass the American with a 12-round unanimous decision victory. The Blackpool native rounded off 2015 with a win in a keep busy eight round contest against Ruslan Pojonisevs.
Shaun Brown is Boxing Scene’s UK News Editor. Follow him on Twitter @sbrown2pt0 Contact him at sbrownboxing@gmail.com
