(Photo credit: K2/Will Hart) By Scott Gilfoid: Abel Sanchez, the trainer for WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (26-0, 23 KO’s), likes his match-up on Saturday night against the very hittable Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KO’s) at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort, in Mashantucket, Connecticut, USA. Sanchez sees Macklin as the idea opponent for the hard hitting Golovkin to fight because he’ll likely not have to go looking for him.
Macklin’s slugger instincts will put him right in front of Golovkin for as long as this fight lasts, which probably won’t be very long.
The main thing that Macklin has going for him in this fight is his trainer Buddy McGirt, who will likely have given Macklin sound instructions about not standing in front of Golovkin and not slugging with him.
The thing it’s almost impossible to change a fighter’s true nature no matter how much instruction you give them. Unless they’re really good at following instructions, they tend to revert back to form and be what they’ve been in that past.
In Macklin’s case, he’ll revert back to being a slugger after a round or two and then likely get knocked out by one of Golovkin’s hard shots.
Sanchez said “We are excited about this fight because we know Matthew is going to be right there in front of us. We are expecting a tough fight on Saturday, but also a short fight. It is going to be very exciting for as long as it lasts.”
A short fight it’ll probably be. Macklin will do well for a little while, but he won’t be able to follow McGirt’s game plan for the entire fight without slipping back into his old form, and that’s all it’ll take for Golovkin to knock Macklin out.
One lapse of concentration by Macklin and he’ll be knocked out by Golovkin.
Macklin probably won’t do well even when he’s trying to box Golovkin because it’s not as if he’s got the height, reach and size advantage that would allow him to bomb from long distance.
Golovkin’s the taller guy with the better reach, so Macklin won’t be able to out-jab Golovkin from afar. Golovkin has the advantage on the outside, inside and at medium distance.
Comments are closed.