By William Mackay: In what is a very strange fight, #3 ranked middleweight contender Matthew Macklin (28-2, 19 KO’s) will be facing 2nd tier middleweight Khoren Gevor (31-5, 16 KO’s) in a WBA middleweight title eliminator on the undercard of the April 16th fight between WBA Super World light welterweight champion Amir Khan and challenger Paul McCloskey at the M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, England. How in the world Gevor, a fighter that has lost two out of his last three fights and is no longer ranked in the top 15 by any of the sanctioning bodies can be facing Macklin in a WBA title eliminator is beyond me. What is that all about?

Why isn’t Macklin being made to face someone like #2 ranked David Lemieux at least? The WBA has some really crazy rankings though. Look at their #1 contender Avtandil Khurdsideze. I don’t mind that Macklin isn’t facing that guy because it would be too easy for Macklin, but you at least got to make him someone in the top 15, don’t you? And if Macklin wins, which WBA champion does he face? There’s a couple of them right now – WBA regular champion Gennady Golovkin and WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm.

Does Macklin get to fight Sturm or does he have to face Golovkin? Macklin better not hold his breath waiting for Sturm to fight him because he could end up waiting for a long time. If it was me, I’d pass on the whole WBA thing and look to go after one of the other belts like the WBC or IBF. Macklin could wait forever to get a shot at Sturm if he’s the one, and I don’t give Macklin any chance of beating Sturm, especially if the fight takes place in Germany and it probably will.