(Photo credit: Dibella Entertainment) By Peter Wells (twitter @boxingbrains): Its not every fighter that will be awarded with 3 world title shots in 3 years when he loses the first 2. So when Matthew Macklin – 29-4(20) – was awarded with the chance to make it 3rd time lucky then there must have been as much relief as joy. Deep down ‘Mack the knife’ knows that a defeat at the hands of WBA ‘world’ Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin – 26-0(23) – would culminate in a hard road back to convince promoters and TV companies he can change his fortunes.
Win or lose and Macklin still has a couple of lucrative fights in store for him. A much anticipated mini-tournament is what British fight fans crave. British trio Macklin, Darren Barker and Martin Murray have all proved to be world class. Barker and Macklin both put up brave efforts vs Sergio Martinez but were both ultimately outgunned. While Martin Murray was very unlucky not to get the decision in Argentina when challenging Martinez. Murray and Macklin also have both come close to upsetting Felix Sturm. Macklin losing a close points decision while Murray claimed a draw.
Gennady Golovkin – known as Triple G/GGG – has recently launched himself to become one of the most feared punchers pound-for-pound, but lest we forget, Matthew Macklin is by far Golovkin’s hardest challenge. Grzegorz Proksa and Gabriel Rosado were both tough, but lacked any defensive skills and Ishida boxed well before being caught by GGG, and was out for the count. But say what you please about the opposition. 13 stoppages in a row is something special.
Lack of activity for Matthew Macklin could prove critical, as he has only fought 1 round since his March 2012 defeat to Sergio Martinez. While Golovkin has taken to the ring twice this year.
For Macklin to win, first things first. He needs a solid chin, because he will take flush shots. If Macklin can force Golovkin onto the back foot, he has the engine to outwork the Kazakhstan fighter, who may begin to start looking for one big shot.
For most of the build up I have picked Golovkin to win on points. I feel he can land enough clean blows to slow Macklin down and take the fight down the stretch. But some inclination is telling me that Macklin can pull this off. If he can avoid Golovkin’s bombs early in the fight then Macklin will have enough in the tank to survive some very shaky moments in the later rounds before he is rewarded with a close points decision win. The likelihood of this happening though is very slim. Macklin on more than the odd occasion is caught by solid punches. So I will stick to my original pick and say that Golovkin will come out victorious on points.
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