By Jake Donovan - The last time Matthew Macklin hit the road was also the last time he stepped foot in a boxing ring.
Needless to say, the past nine months have been filled with anxious moments and bitter memories.
“I beat Felix Sturm from pillar to post,” Macklin (28-3, 18KO) said of last June’s middleweight title challenge, in which he traveled all the way to Germany only to land on the wrong end of one of the worst decisions of the year. “Anyone who saw that fight knows it was a bad decision.”
Having not fought since then, it’s fair to question why the UK-based boxer would cross the Atlantic to fight Sergio Martinez this weekend in New York City. Macklin will be thousands of miles of home, facing the best middleweight in the world without the benefit of a confidence builder in between.
Perhaps a fair response would be that Macklin and his handlers gained all the confidence they needed in winning last year’s title challenge in every way but officially.
“It wasn’t just a victory, it was an ass-whooping,” noted Lou DiBella, never one to mix words. The New York-based promoter signed Macklin to a promotional contract soon after the Sturm robbery. [Click Here To Read More]
Needless to say, the past nine months have been filled with anxious moments and bitter memories.
“I beat Felix Sturm from pillar to post,” Macklin (28-3, 18KO) said of last June’s middleweight title challenge, in which he traveled all the way to Germany only to land on the wrong end of one of the worst decisions of the year. “Anyone who saw that fight knows it was a bad decision.”
Having not fought since then, it’s fair to question why the UK-based boxer would cross the Atlantic to fight Sergio Martinez this weekend in New York City. Macklin will be thousands of miles of home, facing the best middleweight in the world without the benefit of a confidence builder in between.
Perhaps a fair response would be that Macklin and his handlers gained all the confidence they needed in winning last year’s title challenge in every way but officially.
“It wasn’t just a victory, it was an ass-whooping,” noted Lou DiBella, never one to mix words. The New York-based promoter signed Macklin to a promotional contract soon after the Sturm robbery. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment