Eighteen years to the day since he first stepped into a ring, Matthew Macklin bids for his place in British boxing folklore tonight.
It was St Patrick’s Day 1994 that an 11-year-old Macklin won his first amateur contest at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham. Tonight he faces Sergio Martínez for the world middleweight title at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s the stuff dreams are made of, but it’s difficult to imagine anywhere more different from the Grand Hotel,” Macklin, 29, said. “I beat a kid from Wednesbury called Martin Bird. I’m still in touch with him on Facebook.”
The time in between has been quite a journey. A decorated England international as an amateur, he gave up a law degree at Coventry University to pursue his dreams as a professional boxer. He has won British, Irish and European middleweight titles. This is his second world-title shot, having got the wrong end of a split points decision against Felix Sturm for the WBA title in Cologne last year that Macklin still calls “shocking”.
The pain has long since subsided from that night, however. Macklin made his name in the ring in Cologne and was able to ignore Sturm’s offer of a rematch — as the German looked to restore the battering his reputation took — and pick an altogether bigger deal. The Brummie with Irish roots set his sights on New York, where he has become a hero of the Irish community without most of them having seen him in action.
Advertisement
“Matt can become a superstar overnight,” said Lou DiBella, the American who promotes both boxers, having signed Macklin after the Sturm bout. “He’s a great kid and his style is made for television. I was incensed the night of the Sturm fight. I started tweeting about the result and I was on the phone to Brian Peters [Macklin’s manager] that night promising him a shot at the big time.
“What he did over the last six months, coming to New York and building an Irish following, was incredible. He’s got that kind of charisma and personality that will make him a star.
“I am sure that this is going to be a great fight and win, lose or draw, Matt is going to walk out of that ring with his reputation enhanced, because he is simply one of the most exciting guys in the business.”
Martínez, from Argentina, will be introduced in the ring tonight simply as “the real world middleweight champion”, although the politics of boxing mean that he holds only The Ring belt and the WBC Diamond title.
Few doubt, though, that he is comfortably the best of the world title-holders and he is regarded widely as the third best pound-for-pound boxer in the world behind Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao.
Advertisement
The Garden, in its various incarnations, has had a particular love affair with the middleweight title, from Emile Griffith in the 1960s, through some of the great battles of Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta, all the way back to Harry Greb in the 1920s.
The last British boxer to challenge for the middleweight title in New York was the great Randolph Turpin, another Midlander, who lost to Carl “Bobo” Olson at the Garden in 1953, having battled Robinson in a titanic duel at the Polo Grounds, a New York baseball stadium, two years earlier.
As keen a student of the sport as you will find, Macklin knows that he must not be overawed. But he also knows he has a good chance.
Martínez boxed for a long time before he started to become recognised for his talent. But he is 37, getting on for any boxer, let alone one who relies on speed and awkwardness. Martínez has shown no signs of slowing up, but Macklin could turn out to be the right guy in the right place at the right time.
“I know he’s quicker than me, but I’m stronger than him,” Macklin said. “As the fight goes on, I’ve got to make that work in my favour.
Advertisement
“Martínez is better than Sturm was. I’m not kidding myself, he’s the best in the world. But I’ve got my big chance and I’ve got to take advantage of it. I really can’t wait.”
• Kell Brook could be on the brink of something special if he beats Matthew Hatton, the former European welterweight champion, at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield tonight. More than 10,000 fans will be hoping to see if Brook, unbeaten in 26 bouts, can live up to the hype. Hatton will provide a stern test, particularly as Brook is unlikely to deter him quickly. “People talk about there being pressure on me but I thrive off that,” Brook said. “I’m going to show the boxing world why they call me Special.”