Irish Boxing

Macklin ready for his biggest challenge

Wednesday, 23 February 2011 14:54
Matthew Macklin is ready for the biggest fight of his career as he continues his preparations for his bout with Ronald 'Winky' Wright in Las Vegas on April 9.
The fight will be the first of a lucrative promotional deal that Macklin has inked with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and will take place at the MGM Grand.
'This is exactly the kind of fight I've been looking for and I believe it will bring out the absolute best in me,' said middleweight Macklin.

'I have the utmost respect for Winky, he is a legend of the sport and his achievements speak for themselves.
'He's someone I've looked up to throughout my career but this is my time to make a big impact in the US and this is the perfect fight to do that in. I know that it will be a huge challenge but that's what appeals to me about this fight and I'm very confident about the outcome.'
The fight was originally mooted for last summer but it failed to materialise and instead Macklin regained his European title before making a successful title defence in December.
Macklin's manager, Brian Peters believes that a win over Wright will lead to a World title fight. 'This is one of the most lucrative deals for an Irish boxer in the last 25 years,' he insisted.
'Matthew has always been hugely ambitious and this deal with Golden Boy gives him the platform to go on and realise those ambitions.
'Matthew won't be phased by fighting in Vegas though. He's already boxed in the States on a number of occasions and was around Ricky Hatton for the build up to a lot of his big fights in the US so he will know what to expect.'

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im no expert but is kiran farrell and oisin ***an good sparrin for a man about to meet the best amatuer fighter of all time

 

Its a ****in joke. This **** with covering for the whole fight is absolute bollocks, no skill involved at all. I think going back to the paper system is a ****in must. At least it will encourage better boxing and better fights.

 

Is O'Kane not turning pro?

 

Two good competative fighters, granted nothing like Rigo's style but they are on the hunt for others as well.

 

on the hunt for others
only one week of trainin after this week
dont want to be disrespectful but oisin is a glorified journeyman livin off his split decision off a finished spadafora and virquan not that good kimborough
farrell doesnt look much kop either to be honest
i know these arent his only sparrin partners but it makes ye wonder will he be 100% prepared come fight night
hope he is but unfortunatly rigo casey is goin to be an easy nights work the closer it comes to the fight for me
all i keep thinkin is mayweather hatton and mayweather gatti
if it does go bad on the night then hopefully he gets back to euro level because hes more than capable at that level anyway

 

Problem here is rigo will be as good as mayweather , willie will never be as good as Hatton. It gonna be like fitzs v Martinez the difference in class between these two. Rigo R1 ko

 

dont think itll be ko 1 rigo but hell be doin well to see the 7th unfortunatly

 

A lot comes down to Caseys punch resistance because he's going to get hit plenty and probably harder and more precisely than he has ever been hit before.

 

mike perez opponant next week
should give him rounds at the least

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=19825&cat=boxer

 

The best he's faced so far? :think

I think so

 

Most experienced I'd say for sure but when you look at Perez making his debut back in late 07/early 08 you have to say he had the potential to be knocking on the door at this stage or at least be getting some hype outside of these Isles. Seems to me like he is going nowhere fast. I would question whether he has the hunger for the game. Collado is the most likely of the 3 in my opinion to win something.

 

he has been in with some good names,lost them all though and is durable but he is a cruiserweight which is a disappointment.should really be fighting better than this.
when was this announced?was only talking about him the other day,slipped under the radar.

 

Were all going on about Casey not being able for Rigo and most are predicting that Rigo will KO Casey. The 1 thing that we havnt mentioned is how will Rigo get on with Casey's power. In his last fight maybe a flash knock down but he was put down. Is Willies Big Bang a bigger punch than what we all expect it to be. It only takes 1 punch to KO a fighter. Skill wise yes of course Rigo is the master but every great master gets beaten from time to time. The more I think of it the more I beleive that maybe this could be the upset that firmly puts Irish boxing and Willie Casey on the map. To be honest the country needs something to smile about and I hope to **** I will be smiling come the end of the fight with the upset win for Casey.

 

Has Casey got any one punch knockouts on his record?