(Matthew Macklin seen here getting pounded by Sergio Martinez) By Scott Gilfoid: #6 WBC, #10 WBA, #13 WBO Matthew Macklin (31-5, 20 KOs) is in position to become the mandatory challenger to World Boxing Council middleweight champion Miguel Cotto if Macklin beats little known #4 WBC Jorge Sebastian Heiland (24-4-2, 12 KOs) in their fight next month on November 15th at the 3Arena, in Dublin, Ireland.
Macklin might beat Heiland, which isn’t saying much because he’s not a great fighter, but the odds of Macklin getting a title shot against Cotto are very slim in my view. Cotto would take some much criticism from boxing fans if he were to fight Macklin instead of Golovkin.
His argument for not fighting Golokvin is he’s not a pay-per-view buy with a big name. But if Cotto were to turn around and fight Macklin, who isn’t well known by casual boxing fans in the U.S, it would look like Cotto is cherry picking.
Macklin, 32, hasn’t done much to deserve fighting in the WBC 160 pound eliminator, because the guys he’s beaten – Lamar Russ and Jose Yebes – recently since his loss to WBA Super World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin aren’t big enough names for him to be fighting for a chance to get a world title. Macklin looked totally horrible in beating Yebes by an 8 round majority decision last month. I thought the fight should have been scored either a draw or a win for Yebes. It was really bad scoring.
The WBC is giving Macklin a huge, huge break by ranking him so highly, and letting him fight a little known guy like Heiland rather than the guys with some talent like Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Tureano Johnson or Curtis Stevens. I think all three of those guys would beat Macklin if they were fighting him in the WBC eliminator.
“Cotto is such a big draw in New York City at Madison Square Garden, but if you can do 60,000 people at Croke Park then the economics of the fight change,” said Macklin via a press release. “If the fight captures the imagination and sells out a stadium, you can bring anyone, anywhere. That’s the dream. Challenging Cotto in New York would be an incredible experience – to face someone of his stature there. But that’s a lot of wins to put together first.”
If Macklin defeats Heiland, he’ll still be behind Golovkin as the WBC mandatory for Cotto. That means that Macklin will need to wait until Cotto faces Golovkin before he could get a shot at Cotto. Since Cotto will likely never agree to fight Golovkin, it means the best that Macklin can really hope for is a rematch against Golokvin. That wouldn’t even be a fight. Macklin was destroyed in 3 rounds by Golovkin last year in June of 2013, and there’s nothing to suggest that he’ll do any better a second time around.
Macklin also wants to fight Andy Lee if he gets by uneaten #1 WBO Matt Korobov in their fight next December for the vacant WBO middleweight title. Macklin thinks a fight between him and Lee would be a big deal if Lee has the WBO 160 pound title in his possession.
“I think Andy has got a good chance,” said Macklin. “Styles make fights and Korobov is a technical counter-punching southpaw, he’ll give Andy room and time and Andy performs better if he’s allowed that, he’s a class act. If he can win that then me and Andy fighting for the World title is massive. It’s a huge fight anyway but a World title is that key element. I’ll be rooting for him for selfish reasons but also because he’s flying the flag for Irish boxing too and he’s a good lad, so I hope he does the business for himself and also as it sets up a potential fight for us.”
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