Matthew Macklin is a boxer that finds himself at a crossroads in his career. At the age of 31 Macklin is coming off of a 1st round KO of his last opponent; a victory which usually carries a large amount of momentum. For Matthew though his two previous losses still hold precedence in the mind of boxing fans and analyst.
A narrow loss to Felix Sturm, a fight many felt he won, was the first blow to Macklin’s boxing ego and the KO loss to fellow Middleweight Sergio Martinez didn’t help matters.
Martinez is considered by most to be the best Middleweight in the world so an eleventh round KO is nothing for Macklin to be ashamed of but the fact remains that he needs victories if he hopes to receive future fights with the classes’ elite.
We had the chance to speak with Matthew Macklin before his fight with Gennady Golovkin this weekend on HBO:
MM: No, it’s pretty much the same. We began our training out in Spain; we did some good hills runs on some steep hills to really build the stamina. Then did some strength work with the sledge hammer and tire, which I always do a bit of but did a little more of this time. Then we came back to the states, New York, for more of the boxing workouts in the gym.
MM: No. Just trying to build my own strength and strength endurance. When you swing a 22 lb hammer and go on the tire for 3 minutes it’s tough. You build up the 6, 7, 8 rounds of that and get yourself into good shape. But you either can punch or you can’t.
MM: He’s a good fighter with good power and so am I. He has 23 knockouts in 26 fights and I have 20 knockouts in 29 fights but I’ve fought the much better fighters. I hit plenty hard enough to knock him out.
MM: Without a shadow of a doubt. Who else up there could you even compare me to? He’s beaten some good fighters but he hasn’t beaten any world class fighters.
MM: Yeah, I mean i’ve been 12 rounds a few times and I’ve been 10 rounds a lot of times. It’d be good to get the fight into the later rounds and see how he handles it.
MM: The Sturm fight was a hell of a fight, I threw over 1,000 punches in 12 rounds. it was a frantic pace. I’ll have to make sure he (Golovkin) works throughout the fight and throws a lot. During the Sturm fight I threw a lot and this fight I have to pace myself.
MM: Definetely, because Sergio I have the upmost respect for Sergio. He is an amazing guy and a friend but in this sport we are competitors. We all want to be the best and we have to fights to be the best. I think Golovkin is one of the best, I think I’m one of the best, and I think Sergio has proven to be the best. I’m not overlooking Gennady in this fight but if I win I’d love to fight Sergio again, I think I can beat him.