Macklin not looking too shabby at all

[slapbangwhallop]

[reggaereggae]

I don't think he has ever looked in better shape

[dan28uk]

I don't think he has ever looked in better shape

and he ought to be hes in the deep end this wkend.

[markfightoptions]

whos the other guy, hes the spit of macklin!

[J]

LOOSK IN GOOD NICK BUT THEN AGAIN HE SHOUDL SHOULDNT HE!

hardly earth shattering, Boxer in shape of life for biggest fight of life.

still good luck to the lad, he may need it.

[Londonirish]

whos the other guy, hes the spit of macklin!

Even Stand's the same................

[tommo100]

martinez is fairly vicious,i hope he adjusts his tactics from the sturm fight

[mfc_se15]

Come on Macklin!

[Lenny]

What's peoples opinion of Macklin's current punch resistance? Unfortunately, I can see Martinez catching him on the way in with a shot Macklin doesn't see coming early and it could be lights out

[Counter-puncher]

maybe not lights out, bad cut is just as likely given Macklin's paper skin

[gobbles]

maybe not lights out, bad cut is just as likely given Macklin's paper skin

Paper skin? I don't remember him being cut before

[Counter-puncher]

maybe not lights out, bad cut is just as likely given Macklin's paper skin

Paper skin? I don't remember him being cut before

he marks up very quickly indeed

[Datsue]

I think he's going to beat Sturm.

Really? S'a pity he's fighting Martinez, then.

I think that Brit middleweights recent run of form fighting Felix is going to be shown up here for what it is: decent Euro-level lads fighting a decent Euro-level champ who's slipping, & still not really getting the better of him. Sturm's not really elite for me, Martinez is elite & we're going to see the difference here.

Sturm's never been a hitter in any way shape or form (unless your name's Ronald Hearns) but he was clearly the bigger one-shot merchant all night vs Macklin, & displayed a better chin. I saw Sturm ganked by Javier Castillejo, the former light-middle, but Macklin hit him with everything but the kitchen sink & never budged him. Murray's performance against Sturm puts into perspective just how well the Bosno-German has been matched throughout his career, imo, & some people are in for a rude introduction to the difference between fighting the Zbik, Sturm, Ghevors of Europe & the likes of Martinez.

Sorry.

[Counter-puncher]

Paper skin? I don't remember him being cut before

he marks up very quickly indeed

He had a slight cut to his left eye at the end of the Varon fight after the swelling burst. It was a slight one, quickly sealed in the corner. "But in the 12th he caught me with a haymaker which burst open the cut over my left eye. The blood was pouring down and I couldn't see. I did well to survive." [Macklin]

I think he's going to beat Sturm.

he got marked up quickly against Moore too, from memory

[Shirow]

That looks like a handsome old-school looking gym. Anyone know where it is?

[Lenny]

I think he's going to beat Sturm.

Really? S'a pity he's fighting Martinez, then.

I think that Brit middleweights recent run of form fighting Felix is going to be shown up here for what it is: decent Euro-level lads fighting a decent Euro-level champ who's slipping, & still not really getting the better of him. Sturm's not really elite for me, Martinez is elite & we're going to see the difference here.

Sturm's never been a hitter in any way shape or form (unless your name's Ronald Hearns) but he was clearly the bigger one-shot merchant all night vs Macklin, & displayed a better chin. I saw Sturm ganked by Javier Castillejo, the former light-middle, but Macklin hit him with everything but the kitchen sink & never budged him. Murray's performance against Sturm puts into perspective just how well the Bosno-German has been matched throughout his career, imo, & some people are in for a rude introduction to the difference between fighting the Zbik, Sturm, Ghevors of Europe & the likes of Martinez.

Sorry.

I agree, Macklin looked pretty stunned on a few occasions by Sturm and was lucky there was not a couple of minutes left at the end of the fight. Martinez, with his extra power (although still not a monster hitter) and his unorthodox angles is going to spell trouble for Macklin who I can see marching forward with no pretty shitty defence, trying to smoother him. He's going to need the fight of his life but I think that might have already been it in his losing performance against Sturm.

[Counter-puncher]

I think he's going to beat Sturm.

Really? S'a pity he's fighting Martinez, then.

I think that Brit middleweights recent run of form fighting Felix is going to be shown up here for what it is: decent Euro-level lads fighting a decent Euro-level champ who's slipping, & still not really getting the better of him. Sturm's not really elite for me, Martinez is elite & we're going to see the difference here.

Sturm's never been a hitter in any way shape or form (unless your name's Ronald Hearns) but he was clearly the bigger one-shot merchant all night vs Macklin, & displayed a better chin. I saw Sturm ganked by Javier Castillejo, the former light-middle, but Macklin hit him with everything but the kitchen sink & never budged him. Murray's performance against Sturm puts into perspective just how well the Bosno-German has been matched throughout his career, imo, & some people are in for a rude introduction to the difference between fighting the Zbik, Sturm, Ghevors of Europe & the likes of Martinez.

Sorry.

I must have Sturm on my mind, he's a handsome bloke.

Granted, Sturm is on the slide, but I think that part of the reason why Macklin lost, and I had him a 115-113 loser, is that he showed a good engine on the night yet didn't have any gears. Macklin loaded on every shot, tired, naturally, and the precise punching of Sturm rose in prominense as the rounds ticked by.

Macklin told me that he knows where he went wrong, what to fix and how he could have made adjustments in the fight itself to make his performance more effective. Knowing him and his way of doing things, I think he'll improve for this fight.

good post Tel but, much as I'd like to, I can't agree (re the last sentence anyway). i think/fear he's found his ceiling, actually. a poster in CS put it nicely, Sturm has a habit of making Euro-class guys look world class, and actually fighting a world class fighter (rather than Sturm) may end up exacerbating Macklin's somewhat limited skillset.

if i was scheming for him to do better vs Sturm in another tilt, i'd definitely start off with him not abandoning his jab (as he did pretty early last time), probably try and waste fewer shots banging up against the Bosno-German's guard, too.

i agree Macklin showed a lack of gears vs Sturm. i also think he lost steam a little earlier than people appreciated at the time (he looked to be pushing a lot of his shots as early as the 4th/5th round), and I'm just not sure he's got a great deal more to give. i think his basical talent at world level is what we'd infer from the Sturm fight, ie good engine and not a great deal else. harsh maybe but Sturm gave him every chance to win a fight by way of outworking him, he gave up that big static target to Macklin, hardly moved, hardly tried to lead off on Macklin, the floor was Matt's to try just about everything he wanted to, and what he managed was a load of bodyshots with the right hand and the odd clubbing hook. i exaggerate obviously but you know what i mean, i don't think he was short of ideas as much as the ability to pull of anything different.

and that was against Sturm.

[Lenny]

I think he's going to beat Sturm.

Really? S'a pity he's fighting Martinez, then.

I think that Brit middleweights recent run of form fighting Felix is going to be shown up here for what it is: decent Euro-level lads fighting a decent Euro-level champ who's slipping, & still not really getting the better of him. Sturm's not really elite for me, Martinez is elite & we're going to see the difference here.

Sturm's never been a hitter in any way shape or form (unless your name's Ronald Hearns) but he was clearly the bigger one-shot merchant all night vs Macklin, & displayed a better chin. I saw Sturm ganked by Javier Castillejo, the former light-middle, but Macklin hit him with everything but the kitchen sink & never budged him. Murray's performance against Sturm puts into perspective just how well the Bosno-German has been matched throughout his career, imo, & some people are in for a rude introduction to the difference between fighting the Zbik, Sturm, Ghevors of Europe & the likes of Martinez.

Sorry.

I must have Sturm on my mind, he's a handsome bloke.

Granted, Sturm is on the slide, but I think that part of the reason why Macklin lost, and I had him a 115-113 loser, is that he showed a good engine on the night yet didn't have any gears. Macklin loaded on every shot, tired, naturally, and the precise punching of Sturm rose in prominense as the rounds ticked by.

Macklin told me that he knows where he went wrong, what to fix and how he could have made adjustments in the fight itself to make his performance more effective. Knowing him and his way of doing things, I think he'll improve for this fight.

As for the other side of the equation, if Martinez is elite then we need to invent a whole new class for really elite guys such as Floyd and Marquez, who make Martinez look like a middling pressure fighter. Sure, Sergio beat the slap happy, epically overrated Williams, at the second attempt, although I felt he deserved the first one, and the drunken redneck, but he failed to fire against Barker, who falls into your category of decent European fighters whereas Floyd, for instance, took on a far more accomplishewd British guy in Hatton and utterly demolished him.

Go back further to Martinez's results against Cintron and Margarito, which was way back when Margo was younger, fresher but still the same 1-D plodder, and Martinez's record doesn't quite stack up as a top, top level fighter in the way Floyd's and others do.

You may be thinking, 'Martinez learned from Cintron and the first Williams fight, improved and cracked on from there to become world class', and that is a fair point. It can also be applied to Macklin, who has a firm notion of what he is going to do in this fight and could pull it off.

I'm not daft, he is the underdog, but at some point one of these underdogs is going to show Martinez for what he is, a big, tough southpaw who has found form yet is miles away from being on a par with the one or two truly elite fighters operating today.

No need to apologise for anything other than applying an 'elite' tag to Segio!

Harsh. For me Martinez should have definitely beaten Cintron and if you're going to bring up the Margarito fight, why not mention the Facey fight for Macklin? Barker also fought in a style that was never going to win him the fight and one I can't see Macklin adopting. Plus I feel Macklin has been on the way down for the last couple of years, I can't see him suddenly learning from experience and improving

I hope you're right, but I just can't see it

[Roars Like Me]

I do like Macklin but I always think back to the Jamie Moore fight. I know I probably shouldn't as that was years ago but I can't help myself. No direspect to Jamie but this is Martinez we're talking about and assuming Martinez is up for the fight, he takes Matthew out fairly easily, sadly. Moving onward to the Sturm fight, he did well but did get tagged a few times and looked a bit affected by it. Martinez is well above Sturm's level imo and with that in mind Macklin will lose. He'll acquit himself well for a time but eventually it will too much for him.

[Counter-puncher]

RE Moore, that is what worries me most as Jamie is also a southpaw pressure fighter and it was an exciting fight etc. but Moore was always one step ahead.

aye, great great fight i rewatched on monday night and the calm collected boxing kept his nose in front, loved Mooresy's work that night.

[Lenny]

RE Moore, that is what worries me most as Jamie is also a southpaw pressure fighter and it was an exciting fight etc. but Moore was always one step ahead.

aye, great great fight i rewatched on monday night and the calm collected boxing kept his nose in front, loved Mooresy's work that night.

Agree with you both on that one. One of those really exciting fights but with one guy who seems to be slightly more in control for the duration. Like a longer but lightly more even Sanchez v Gomez... maybe

[Roars Like Me]

RE Moore, that is what worries me most as Jamie is also a southpaw pressure fighter and it was an exciting fight etc. but Moore was always one step ahead.

aye, great great fight i rewatched on monday night and the calm collected boxing kept his nose in front, loved Mooresy's work that night.

I always had that feeling with Moore, he was very in control of himself. To the point sometimes I used think he's not going to win this but he subtly just took over in fights, he was great to watch, I miss him.

[Counter-puncher]

but I am certain that Martinez's top level claims do not hold water unless you create a higher level for someone like Floyd.

or a lower level for someone like Sturm (or, say, Dzinzuruk)

[Counter-puncher]

haha, that'll do me, not one for labels meself.

[bripez]

I don't think he has ever looked in better shape

I agree.

It is interesting to see his sponsors name on his shorts - I guess it has been a while since he enjoyed one of their pizzas !