People seem to have lost interest in Macklin lately. Plus he has been hopelessly inactive for years, which hasn't helped. Has he still got some top-level performances in him or is he yesterday's news as many seem to believe?
if mackin wins, he's well into the top 10 on the WBC rankings, rumours are Cotto (wbc champ) wants a "gimme" in January preparing for Alvarez fight, so I can actually see him getting a good payday against Cotto should he come through. suppose its a good indicator how good cotto is at middleweight too. WBC rankings: 1. Martin Murray 2. David Lemieux 3. Curtis Stevens 4. Billy Joe Saunders 5. Sergio Martinez 6. Jorge Sebastian Heiland 7. Andrey Meryasev 8. Domenico Spada 9. Matthew Macklin 10. Marcos Reyes 11. Ryota Murata 12. Tureano Johnson 13. Sergio Mora 14. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam 15. Arif Magomedov
Vast majority on the Murray v macklin thread pick murray to beat Mack. Not one person who typed a comment said Matt beats martin. Total love-in with Murray among fans it seems, no love for Mack....
Well tell me what domestic middle would have succeeded against peak sergio and GGG? Go on..give me a list! Short list innit? EUBANK? atsc Benn?atsch Minter?: atsch Sibson? : atsch.
I don't think he's a "gimme" I'd want macklin to win. However Cotto, if he seriously see's himself as middleweight no1, should see Macklin + most of the other ranked WBC opponents as "gimmes" the same way golovkin does + Martinez did
Well,I don't exactly give Macklin no chance against Cotto. Id make it as near as dammit to 50 50. But,and its only my opinion,out of your list against British middles: To beat GGG. Probably none of them. Against Sergio All of them. The first 3 at their peaks were twice as good as either Murray or Macklin,who I rate about on a par. And Sibson,if he could beat Mark Kaylor,would beat both. So would Kevin Finnegan. And he'd beat Sergio.
I'd say macklin cotto would be 75/25 in cottos favour, don't think macklin would get a decision either. Eitherway, I hope he wins, and wins well this weekend, somewhere along the line, even if its a paper / lesser ranked belt, I'd like to see Macklin win a world title after the Stum decision I think he deserves one.
Perhaps that is because he is fighting the likes of Jose freaking Yebes. I don't know if even I've seen this dude in action. By far the biggest stage he ever fought on was a televised card in Denmark against Patrick Nielsen, co-main eventing with a female world title bout for which - and this is very telling - I did a RBR. That is, for Braekhus vs. Mathis only. I literally tuned out and stopped covering the action before Nielsen vs. Yebes even began...having already gotten what I came for, the only significant action of the card - a female bout. (granted, a world title unification between two of the most exciting women in the sport, but still) http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?t=432020
I know. It's dreadful. In his defence though, he intended fighting Heiland in Sept. That fell through due to factors beyond matts control, and this yebes is one of those last minute substitute jobs to stay busy while ...hopefully....the reasonably meaningful Heiland fight gets rescheduled. As I said at the start though, Matthews inactivity ...over the last five prime years of his career has been a disaster. Fighting once or twice a year just is not enough to be taken seriously. I just can't understand it.
I would've been/will be quite happy with a Macklin vs. Heiland if and when it comes off. That'll be a nice slug-fest while it lasts. Here, though, he really needs to make a statement and win big. If he wants to carry Yebes a bit to get some rust off that's fine but he must take care of business and dominate and preferably get the stoppage - even though it has never been done to Yebes. (although you have to look at the biggest punchers Yebes has fought: Nielsen, half of whose victories came by decision including any time he stepped up past record-padding cans - and El Tigre Santos, who is a very good journeyman both a little better than his overall record suggests and harder punching than his 35% stoppage rate suggests, but still, a journeyman who doesn't exactly pack single blow dynamite)