Middleweight Matthew Macklin (32-6, 21 KO’s) will headline the first ever solo show put on by his own company MGM Promotions, on August 28th in Marbella, Spain against an opponent as yet unconfirmed.
The Macklin Gym Marbella has been based on the sunny side of the European continent for the past few years, housing and helping fighters at varying stages of their careers. Veteran WBA interim lightweight champ Derry Matthews is a regular visitor as well as WBO middleweight number one contender Billy Joe Saunders. By all accounts the set-up is buzzing with activity.
Aside from growing the brand he and his brother/trainer Seamus have established Macklin is revving up for another sprint at world honours, and hopes a win at this inaugural event will springboard him forward in good fashion.
He outlined his plan to World Boxing News.
“From a personal and individual point of view this fight is the first of a three-fight plan between now and Christmas, which will give me really good momentum and leave me sitting in a good position going into next year, where I’ll be looking for another world title shot at either 160lbs [middleweight] or 154lbs [light-middleweight].”
Macklin has often spoken of his desire to take on WBA World middleweight Danny Jacobs (30-1, 27 KO’s), who just came through a two-round humdinger with veteran Sergio Mora a fortnight ago. The Brit has already been in with the man rated above Jacobs, WBA Super champ Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KO’s), and suffered a wince-worthy KO to a body shot in the third round.
The WBO belt is yet to be contested between Andy Lee and the above mentioned Saunders while the WBC belt is nailed down for a super-fight in November between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez. Jacobs still looks the easiest route.
But at his stage in a long and hard career, the question remains whether Macklin is still able to compete at the highest level, as he has shown himself capable of doing during his peak at the beginning of the decade.
Since that loss to Golovkin in 2013, Macklin looked steady against average opposition in wins over Lamar Russ and Jose Yebes, but took a savage beating at the hands of Jorge Sebastian Heiland late last year, suffering a knockout in the tenth round.
He beat a Hungarian journeyman Sandor Micsko in under six minutes in a bounce back affair for a win that illustrated nothing more than his desire to regain confidence before making his next move.
The likelihood of success in this, his fourth march towards a world title, will be determined by the quality of opponent he decides to mix it with on his way back up the ladder. If his three-fight plan to finish the year ends in three wins and contains at least one reputable name, that is something to work with. But if they all are replicas of the last fellow he faced, then his chances will be severely hampered.
