By Oli Smith
For a long time, Matthew Macklin has come close to being the man of the British Middleweights. He had a stellar amateur career, and it has taken eight long years for him to step up through the gears and compete at European level. Having been fighting at Middleweight for nearly three years, nothing has come easy for the Birmingham boxer. A 10 round knockout loss at the hands of Jamie Moore in 2006 had been a major stumbling block at 154lbs and signified the end of Macklin’s Light Middleweight aspirations. Having demolished former World title challenger Wayne Elcock in three rounds, incidentally a job that took former Middleweight boss Arthur Abraham five rounds to complete. But on Friday, Macklin faced his toughest challenge to date, for the European Middleweight title - the former holder of this belt, and one time conqueror of Sebastian Sylvester, title contender Amin Asikainen 26-2 (17KO’s).
Macklin-Asikainen also represents Ricky Hatton’s first serious foray into promotion, as such it would take place in Hatton’s back yard, the Velodrome in Manchester. Asikainen is no stranger to travelling and winning and posed a real threat to Macklin 24-2 (17KO’s), who has yet to fight against legitimate world class fighters.
The first round started relatively slowly, Macklin was content to stay at range, firing his long jab in before moving back out again. Asikainen, who has been schooled well in the typical European style, stood upright and looked to time the incoming shots. The first success came from Macklin who landed a straight right to the body and a clean left hook followed it up. It would only be a matter of seconds before Macklin would tear up the script. A brief flurry from both men culminated with two left hooks from Macklin, the first would sail past its intended target, the second landed with devastating accuracy.
Asikainen hit the deck, hard. Having been separated from his senses momentarily, the former champion struggled to his feet, his wandering eyes and desperately unsteady legs belied his insistence that he was ready to fight on. Macklin had smelled blood and was moving in for the kill. Asikainen used every second of his experience to hold on and buy time for his head to clear, it just wasn’t enough. A second follow up saw Asikainen on the floor again albeit from a push. Third time is a charm, as the saying goes, as Macklin took his time as the end of the round neared. He made space for his shots and made sure every one counted. Two huge clean right hands landed high on Asikainen’s head, flooring him for the last time.
Showing true heart, Asikainen beat the count but didn’t do enough to convince referee Luigi Muratore, who waved the contest off in the interests of safety for the Finnish fighter. Amin Asikainen protested initially, although few could argue against the decision, it was certainly made with his best interests in mind. Macklin on the other hand has shown a renewed vigour, riding a great wave of success, winning eight in a row. He is a fighter that thrives on a challenge and gets better in proportion to the quality of challenger put in front of him.
This win has propelled him not only on to the European stage but also sent a message to the World. Sebastian Sylvester now holds the IBF title vacated by Arthur Abraham, Felix Sturm holds the WBA portion of the World title. These fights will likely be the easiest to make, Macklin also believes they will be the easiest to win too. Speaking to Sky Sports after the fight, Macklin stated that Sylvester would be even easier than Asikainen, noting that styles make fights.
Clearly relishing the new found opportunities in front of him, he called out both Sturm and Sylvester. Ricky Hatton meanwhile may have found a golden goose, having put on a European title show in his first major promotion; perhaps he will follow up with a foray into World Championship promoting in his next event. Either way, Macklin looks ready to take the next step and challenge for top honors in the division, he clearly has the power to deal with quality opponents and is a smooth operator when given the opportunity to box. Perhaps Hatton can tempt Sturm or Sylvester out of Germany, using his considerable following to catapult Macklin to the big time. Pavlik or Williams might be looking for a dance partner in the first quarter of 2010 .Based on this performance, it is not unthinkable to rule out the likeable boxer puncher from Birmingham.
