cheers bigears,raging i couldnt watch the fight live ... before the fight i really wasnt sure how macklin would cope with campas but he came out and did supremely well,i was more than impressed with him,saying that,campas at this point in his career (no disrespect to such a great warrior) is only a glorified journeyman with a great brain,i have no doubt that he is a good test and surely it will only propel matthew onto bigger and better things.
Hello Greengloves,I read today that Macklin due to have a fight on May in America.They hope it to be a against a name fighter.
the prospect of 'named' fighters is so annoying a named fighter could be a 38 year old who once fought for a title ... i guess it's just the way boxing is though and we have to deal with it,what i would like to see is matthew being put in with a prospect,undefeated or not (we seen how much undefeated means on friday night :twisted: ).macklin has very good skills has good size and is powerful i'm pretty sure he'd give anyone in the middleweight division a good fight.nice to see he'll get some exposure in the US though. ardy how do you feel about the prospect of irish boxing at the minute,the amateur scene seems to be buzzing with a hell of a lot of talent and darren sutherland looks like he could definatly step up after the olympics (with medal in hand fingers crossed) and make some waves in the middleweight division.while the professional scene is in an endemic crisis,not marketing wise, but rather fighters aren't living up to the hype that they were given,in recent months we've seen duddy seriously struggle against a club fighter,bernard dunne get ko'd,andy lee showing some serious flaws and subsequently getting stopped ... paul mccloskey (the most underhyped fighter) seems to be the only one making real progress and proving his potential.i really feel as a fight fan that i have been fooled into thinking fighters were something they are not through fighting boxers with blown up records and serious flaws. it's a grim realism and one that seriously needs to be addressed.
The Irish amateur scene is always strong. Irish amateurs can mix it with the best in the world,they might not win much, but they always give a good account of themselves. The professionals we have at the moment in reality are doing ok. Will any of them achieve "super star" satus, well that's unlikely. Lee, Duddy, Macklin,Dunne and McCloskey are being hyped by the Irish press, basically because of the RTE factor, these boys are achieveing great ratings on TV. The southern Irish professional fight scene has erupted into life since Peters struct his TV deal with RTE, these are massive pluses for boxing.At the moment we are producing contenders, but for this forward momentum to continue, we need to produce champions, like another McGuigan, and Darren Sutherland could be the guy to step up to that mighty task . He already fights like a professional,so when he turns pro this year I hope an Irish promoter can pay him enough to keep him at home, instead of going to Britain or America.Greengloves, don't despair Rome wasn,t built in a day, and building champions can be a lenghty process. But having a world class promoter like Peters with RTE backing[ and I hear Setanta Ireland might start broadcasting Irish professional boxing also]things have never looked rosier.:good
None taken. I just thought you misunderstood my original post. In truth, he could be part Irish. All of us Americans are mongrels. I look for him to stay in Youngstown for at least as long as his loyal fan base is relevant. I'm sure eventually he will do what he feels is best for him and his family with the earnings. After a few rounds with the Irish lads he may seek warmer climates for his aching body.
I think he is 25.I know what your thinking, he could be a bit old for turning over, but like James Moore who also turned pro late, he has a wealth of experience in the unpaid code which will stand by him in the pro game.I really believe Sutherland has great potential and will pull the crowds in both sides of the Atlantic.
I haven't seen much of him but he seems like a big middleweight.There are no superstars at 160 except Pavlik and maybe AA.When Pavlik moves up in about 18 months the division will be wide open.
thanks for that ardy,i understand where you're coming from and i always appreciate your opinion ... you know as well as anyone,we complain about the english and 'hype' when at the exact same time we are guilty of the same pleasure.its true,we need an ongoing process of top amateurs coming through to the pro rankings and eventually those who are committed enough will get their in the end. btw,doesn't sutherland apparantly have serious attitude problem,and if so this could be detrimental to his progression as a pro ... and it also doesnt help when boxers are in the limelight from the beginning of their career as all too often it can come crashing down in a bad way and in front of the glaring eyes of the rest of the world.
I know Sutherland hasn't always been focused on his boxing. But in recent years he has shown a renewed determination, and is yet to falter.He's very charismatic, and very confident in his ability, and loves the limelight.Darren has an obvious strategy for his boxing career, in that he has definitively stated that he his turning this year, which tells you he has set himself an agenda that he is working to, which also tells you he is very serious about his boxing.Being in the public eye will be nothing new to him, as he is in it now, so hopefully it won't effect his progress.:good
its been a very demoralising time lately...with lee defeat...and a poor duddy performance.. and of course dunne getting sparked... but now macklin has won.... lets hope mccloskey can turn on his magic on saturday
We are known in NZ ardy.:yep There are other irish families making their way now, the Whalley family have 3 fighters making their way, still young though. Great irish!
As I said to greengloves, their is no need to feel down, as Irish boxing is on the rise. We have got guys competing at high levels of world boxing, and if they fall short, at least they were up there competing.