MATTHEW MACKLIN HAS promised that next month’s showdown with Gennady Golovkin will be a throwback to the golden age of middleweight boxing.
The two go toe-to-toe in the MGM Grand Theatre, Connecticut as the Tipperary puncher looks looks to stun Golovkin, the reigning WBA/IBO champion, and claim a world title at his third attempt.
After ramping up preparations in his Marbella gym, Macklin and head trainer Buddy McGirt decamped for New York last weekend where they will hold their final camp ahead of the 29 June fight.
Coming into the contest with a 26-0 record, including 23 knockouts, the undefeated Golovkin will be one of Macklin’s toughest challenges yet.
But despite near misses against Felix Sturm and pound-for-pound superstar Sergio Martinez, Macklin is undeterred and feels he’s tough enough to force his way into the division’s elite.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in my own ability,” he said. “I think the nature of my career and the ups and downs that I’ve had to get to this point have made me a very mentally strong person.
To become World Champion and finally lift that world title belt is a goal that has driven me since the first day I put on a pair of boxing gloves. I’ve won everything else in terms of Irish, British and European titles and I should have had the world title after I got ripped off in the Sturm fight.Each setback though has just made me more determined to become World Champion so that’s really the driving force behind me at this point in my career.
(©INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan)
Though he has great respect for 31-year-old Golovkin, one month his senior, Macklin warned the Kazakh conqueror that even the greats hit a bump in the road at some point.
He added: “This is a real old fashioned, middleweight ‘fight’ and a throwback to the great middleweight heyday of the ’40s and ’50s where the best fought the best.
“I don’t think there are going to be too many tactical surprises in there from either of us. You have two physically strong punchers who love to come forward, so it’s no surprise that people are predicting a real war.
Gennady’s a great fighter and he will go on to achieve a lot in this sport, but every great fighter hits a bump in the road at some point, and for Gennady, that will come on 29 June.
