Matthew Macklin vs. Daniel Geale possible for May 24th on HBO

By Scott Gilfoid: Matthew Macklin (30-5, 20 KO’s) is being talked about for a fight against former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KO’s) on May 24th in a fight that will take place on HBO, according to Steve Kim. There won’t be any title on the line obviously because Geale was beaten by Darren Barker last year in August and he lost his IBF strap in that fight. Since then, Geale has only fought once in beating Australian fighter Garth Wood. Geale had the chance to fight WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, but the fight never materialized.

Macklin, #9 WBA, #10 WBO, #14 WBC, was destroyed in 3 rounds by Golovkin last year in June in a failed attempt to capture his WBA 160lb title. Macklin has fought once since then in beating Lamar Russ by a much tougher than expected 10 round unanimous decision last December. Macklin took a pounding by the taller 6’2” Russ, and if this fighter hadn’t run out of gas late in the fight, he would have definitely beaten Macklin.

“Being told that a bout between Danny Geale and Mathew Macklin is a possibility for May 24th on HBO. Nothing finalized #boxing,” Steve Kim said.

Geale, #3 IBF, #3 WBA, #4 WBC, has the better skills than Macklin, and he should be able to beat him as long as he remembers to throw punches and fight aggressively. Geale was a little too timid in his fight against Barker, and he really let him off the hook after knocking him down with a body shot in the 6th.

Geale could have easily finished the job in the second half of the fight by continuing to throw body shots, but for some incredibly strange reason, he stopped throwing to the body. The fact that Geale didn’t have the presence of mind to continue to throw body shots after he knocked an opponent down with a body, it tells me that there could be a problem in terms of Geale’s training.

A good trainer like Freddie Roach would have ordered Geale to throw nothing but body shots if was working that fight. Had Geale done that, he’d have likely cut Barker down by the 7th, and he’d still be the IBF 160lb champion.