By Terence Dooley
EBU middleweight champion Matthew Macklin, 27, is set to return to Ireland when he takes on Rafael Sosa Pintos over ten-rounds at the National Stadium, Dublin on the 5th of December. Macklin won the British and European belts this year with KO wins over Wayne Elcock, for the British, and Amin Asikainen, for the European. The Birmingham-born fighter boxes out of Manchester and he also draws a lot of Irish support; four of his 25 wins - 18 early with only two defeats - took place on the Emerald Isle.
Matthew has one-eye on a world title but he has also declared that he will take this fight seriously. His trainer, Joe Gallagher, is also treating this fight with the utmost concern; the Denton-based coach contacted Boxingscene to warn us that Pintos will represent a good test; he believes that the 29-year-old Uruguayan is a solid yardstick for his fighter.
“It is a good ten-rounder with an International opponent,” said Gallagher, who then broke Pintos’ record down. “He’s won 34 overall and KO’d 13 of those opponents; the kid has only lost four fights and two of those came by TKO. He’s lost to Anthony Mundine and Khoren Gevor and lasted the distance with both of them. So he’s been in with world-class guys, highly ranked guys. It is a ticking over fight and will give Matt a chance to showcase his skills in Ireland and show the Irish fans what they’ve missed in his last few fights.”
“Irish boxing is searching for a new star,” continued Gallagher. “We’ve seen the tragic loss of Darren Sutherland. Defeats for Dunne, Duddy and Lee, so Macklin is their form fighter and he’ll go over there and give the Irish fans another great show. He’s got huge support here in Manchester and in Birmingham as well. After a few more fights he could be taking all those fans over to places like New York, where you also have a massive Irish following.”
First, though, Macklin must come through this fight. Sosa went 17-0 before suffering a shocking first-round setback against Ivan Marcelo Taberna, who had some clean KO’s on his ledger but looks your average, tough Argentine fighter. Sosa’s career has meandered somewhat since that defeat, but he now has a chance to cause an upset and steal Macklin’s ranking.
Gallagher, however, firmly believes that his fighter will come through this test to put the icing on a fine 2009. “It is fantastic to end the year with this fight,” enthused Gallagher. “Matt’s the former British and current European champion and fighting a decent kid.
“This kid won in October against Cristian Gustavo Sosa and won in August by beating Wilson Enrique Galli [Writer’s note: The brother of Muchos Muchos] so there is form there for him in recent fights. He may fight for minor titles like the WBC Latino title but they are belts and give you that title experience. He’s got durability and Macklin has only done four rounds in total this year, so why not go ten or eight rounds and then push on with the European belt or towards a world title shot next year?
“This kid is a good fighter and Matt can close out the best year of his career with a win and look back at this year as the one where his career really took off. Elcock and Asikainen were both top ten when Matt beat them. Matt is in the driving seat and ready to go for world titles in 2010. [Manager] Brian Peters has guided guys there before and can do the same with Matthew.”
Finally, the fight will give Macklin a point of comparison. Mundine and Gover both went the full ten-rounds distance with Pintos - a KO win for Macklin would be a statement of intent.
Tickets for the Sierra Fight Night priced from €40 are available from Ticketmaster (phone 0818 719 300 or visit ticketmaster.ie) and all usual outlets.
