Middleweight Matthew Macklin(31-6, 20KO’s) is returning to active duty this weekend at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England against Ferenc Albert(12-7, 7KO’s), in hope he can return to winning ways after suffering a severe knockout loss to Jorge Sebastian Heiland six months ago in Dublin.
The show will mark Matchroom Sports’ first big foray into the West Midlands area, and as he told Boxingnewsonline.net, Macklin is eager to put on a good show in front of his home crowd.
“It is great to be out in Birmingham. I haven’t boxed in England, never mind Birmingham, since 2010, so it has been a long time and I am looking forward to it. It is great that there is a big show coming to Birmingham and I am excited to be a part of it.”
Ferenc Albert should be an obstacle easily overcome by a fighter of Macklin’s stature, having fought at or near world level for the last four years or so; something to get the ball rolling again. However, if his last performance is anything to go by there are worrying signs that Macklin could be on the downside. He repeatedly claimed he felt in great shape in the build up to the Heiland loss, only to put on a sluggish, almost hesitant display against a previously unknown opponent.
Heiland was a more dangerous version of what Ferenc is meant to be, and if Macklin slips up again here it is hard to see how he can finally achieve his dream of world championship glory. He is still optimistic that he can go back to the top with a few good wins under his belt, and is plotting the possible route already.
“I’d love to fight Andy Lee[WBO] or Danny Jacobs[WBA regular] for the world title. Jacobs defended his World title last week, and he is a name I have been linked with before so we’d jump at that.”
“Andy and I fighting for a World title in Dublin or Birmingham would be massive. Obviously he’s out injured at the moment so I need to get back in there and get winning to be in line for a huge fight with him.”
“I probably have to travel to fight Jacobs, but if I can go and win it and become World champion then I am in the driving seat and can bring the fights to Birmingham or to Dublin but initially I would probably have to go to the States.”
Having said all that, Macklin is adamant he is still focused on the job at hand and is aware of the ramifications an untimely loss could have.
“It is must-win on Saturday; I cannot afford to lose at this stage of my career and coming off the last loss. It is an eight rounder, but it is potentially the fight before a big, big fight. There is a lot at stake.”
At thirty-two years old Macklin is hardly an old-timer in this new era of ageless wonders but he has a lot of miles on the clock from the attritional wars he has taken part in over the years. His British title fight with Jamie Moore in 2006 -a brutal affair still celebrated to this day- is the clearest example, but once he reached the top level against Felix Sturm, Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin, the bruises started piling up.
An Anglo-Irish affair against WBO champ Andy Lee is a plausible option for the near future given that Lee’s mandatory challenger Billy Joe Saunders is entertaining a lucrative rematch with Chris Eubank Jr, though that bout is not set in stone just yet. If Macklin can string a few good wins together, his reputation and longstanding rivalry with Lee should be enough to grant him the fight. If he loses, there are few places left to turn.
