Matthew Macklin
Macklin in 2015
Born (1982-05-14) 14 May 1982
Nationality
  • British
  • Irish
Other names
  • Mack the Knife
  • Tipperary Tornado
  • The Roscommon Rock
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Reach71 in (180 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights41
Wins35
Wins by KO22
Losses6

Matthew Macklin (born 14 May 1982) is a British-Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2016, and has since worked as a boxing manager and commentator. He challenged three times for middleweight world titles between 2011 and 2013, and held multiple regional championships at that weight: the Irish title from 2005 to 2006, the British title in 2009, and the European title from 2009 to 2011.

Early life

Macklin was born in Birmingham, England to Irish parents, his father being from County Roscommon and his mother from County Tipperary. He is a dual citizen and travels on an Irish passport.[1]

Macklin and his brother Seamus, also a boxer, spent entire summers and much of their youth in their mother's native county.[1] It was there that he learned how to play one of Ireland's national sports, hurling,[2] and he is still an avid supporter of Tipperary today.[3] He became a talented player in his own right, and is a close friend of now retired hurler Eoin Kelly. Macklin attends the Poc fada and other GAA events when Tipperary are playing.[2]

Following his education at the independent Solihull School, at the age of 18 and whilst studying law at Coventry University as an amateur boxer, Macklin won the 2001 national senior ABA welterweight title for the Small Heath Boxing Club by beating Justin Turley in the final.[4]

Professional career

Debut fight

Macklin left the amateur ranks and turned professional in September 2001, winning his first fight at the Bellahouston Sports Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, in which Macklin beat previously undefeated Ram Singh from Wisbech in a first-round knockout on a card which included Scottish fighters Scott Harrison, Alex Arthur and Willie Limond.[5]

Macklin vs. Jamie Moore

In September 2006, Macklin was involved in his highest profile fight when he was defeated in a fight of the year contender bout against Manchester's Jamie Moore for the British light middleweight title which took place at the George Carnell Leisure Centre, Davyhulme, Manchester, England. Macklin later confessed to having major problems trying to make the weight for the fight. It was one of the best action fights ever held in a British boxing ring and nearly won 2006 Fight of The Year.

Potential Duddy fight

Macklin vs. Francis Cheka, 2008

There was speculation of a potential Irish title fight against New York based Derry native John Duddy. In the summer of 2006 Macklin made a guest appearance in Dublin to hand over the Irish middleweight title to fellow stablemate Dubliner Jim Rock.

At post fight press conference John Duddy's then matchmaker Jim Borzell stated that if Macklin won "the European title then maybe you'll have something John wants." Macklin replied, "maybe I have something for him he doesn't want!".[6]

In December 2009, Macklin moved closer to a world title shot with a points victory over Rafa Sosa Pintos at the National Stadium in Dublin. The fight never happened and Duddy retired in 2011.[7]

European middleweight champion

Macklin beat Finnish Super-fighter Amin Asikainen by brutal 1st-round KO at the Manchester Velodrome, England on 25 September 2009 for the vacant European middleweight title.[5]

Matthew Macklin was later forced to vacate his European title. However he would get in first for the fight for the vacant title. A fight against Englishman Darren Barker was arranged for 18 September 2010 on Frank Warren's Magnificent Seven bill on Sky Box Office. The fight would be a big step closer to a world title fight for both men however Barker was forced to pull out of the contest through injury only weeks before the fight. He was replaced with Georgian slugger Shalva Jomardashvili and won the fight via a technical knock out two seconds into the sixth round after shoma pulled out. Macklin regained his EBU title and stated after the fight he wanted to go on to fight for a world title next.

World title challenges

Mathew fought WBA Middleweight champion Felix Sturm on 25 June 2011. The fight ended in a controversial split decision win for Sturm.

On 17 March 2012 otherwise known as St. Patrick's Day. Matthew Macklin met WBC Diamond Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in Madison Square Garden, New York City. Macklin would go on to lose that fight after his corner retired him on his stool after round 11, a round in which Macklin was dropped twice near the end by massive straight lefts from the southpaw Martinez after gaining a slight lead on the scorecards in the middle rounds. See Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin

Career rebuilding

Coming off two consecutive losses in title fights, Macklin came back on 15 September 2012, he fought on HBO World Championship Boxing PPV on the undercard of the WBC World Middleweight Title fight between Mexico's then defending WBC Middleweight Champion Julio César Chávez, Jr. and Argentina's Lineal Middleweight Champion Sergio Martínez in the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Macklin fought former Light-Middleweight world champion Joachim Alcine (33–2, 19 KO's) of Canada and won with a knockout in the first round. On 30 June 2013, he suffered another setback with a loss to Gennady Golovkin by KO in the 3rd round when Golovkin landed a brutal left hook to the liver.

Retirement

Follow a devastating knockout loss to Argentine contender Jorge Sebastian Heiland, Macklin took some time off from the sport, being undecided on whether he would retire or not. In the meantime, he set up the Macklin's Gym Marbella gym in Marbella, Spain with Daniel Kinahan.[8] Past his best but in hopes of one final title shot, Macklin returned the following year and took part in a couple of easy warm up fights, before dropping down a weight division to defeat domestic level Jason Welborn. He won by close 10 round unanimous decision, on a packed card in his home town of Birmingham. Macklin then defeated former world title challenger Brian Rose by a narrow 12 round majority decision on the Anthony Joshua-Charles Martin undercard. Shortly after the Rose fight, Macklin announced his retirement on May 13, 2016. Having struggled with fighters who he feels he would have beaten comprehensively a few years earlier, Macklin saw it was time to finally hang up the gloves.[9]

In 2017 Macklin announced that his partner Kinahan would be stepping back from boxing promotion due to bad publicity.[8] The gym rebranded as MTK - Mack the Knife, as MGM Resorts International filed a trademark lawsuit over its use of the 'MGM' initials.[8] MTK was bought out by external investors, with Matthew Macklin remaining on the board in an advisory capacity.[10]

He became a pundit for Sky Sports.[11]

In April 2022 Macklin was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States at a London airport because of links to Daniel Kinahan.[11] He was travelling to Las Vegas to cover a fight between Shakur Stevenson and Óscar Valdez on 30 April.[11]

Professional boxing record

41 fights 35 wins 6 losses
By knockout 22 4
By decision 13 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
41 Win 35–6 United Kingdom Brian Rose MD 12 9 Apr 2016 United Kingdom The O2 Arena, London, England
40 Win 34–6 United Kingdom Jason Welborn UD 10 17 Oct 2015 United Kingdom Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England Won vacant WBC International light-middleweight title
39 Win 33–6 Germany Chris Herrmann KO 1 (8), 1:44 28 Aug 2015 Spain H10 Andalucía Plaza, Marbella, Spain
38 Win 32–6 Hungary Sandor Micsko KO 2 (8), 1:28 9 May 2015 United Kingdom Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England
37 Loss 31–6 Argentina Jorge Sebastian Heiland KO 10 (12), 0:42 15 Nov 2014 Republic of Ireland 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland For WBC International middleweight title
36 Win 31–5 Spain Jose Yebes MD 8 27 Sep 2014 Germany Kiel, Germany
35 Win 30–5 United States Lamar Russ UD 10 7 Dec 2013 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
34 Loss 29–5 Kazakhstan Gennady Golovkin KO 3 (12), 1:22 29 Jun 2013 United States Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, US For WBA and IBO middleweight titles
33 Win 29–4 Canada Joachim Alcine KO 1 (10), 2:36 15 Sep 2012 United States Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
32 Loss 28–4 Argentina Sergio Martínez RTD 11 (12), 3:00 17 Mar 2012 United States The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US For The Ring middleweight title
31 Loss 28–3 Germany Felix Sturm SD 12 25 Jun 2011 Germany Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany For WBA middleweight title
30 Win 28–2 Spain Ruben Varon UD 12 11 Dec 2010 United Kingdom Echo Arena, Liverpool, England Retained European middleweight title
29 Win 27–2 Georgia (country) Shalva Jomardashvili RTD 6 (12), 0:02 18 Sep 2010 United Kingdom LG Arena, Birmingham, England Won vacant European middleweight title
28 Win 26–2 Uruguay Rafael Sosa Pintos PTS 10 5 Dec 2009 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
27 Win 25–2 Finland Amin Asikainen TKO 1 (12), 2:34 25 Sep 2009 United Kingdom Manchester Velodrome, Manchester, England Won vacant European middleweight title
26 Win 24–2 United Kingdom Wayne Elcock TKO 3 (12), 0:59 14 Mar 2009 United Kingdom Aston Villa Events Centre, Birmingham, England Won British middleweight title
25 Win 23–2 Serbia Geard Ajetović PTS 10 31 Oct 2008 United Kingdom Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
24 Win 22–2 Tanzania Francis Cheka PTS 10 6 Sep 2008 United Kingdom MEN Arena, Manchester, England
23 Win 21–2 Mexico Yori Boy Campas PTS 10 22 Mar 2008 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
22 Win 20–2 Italy Alessio Furlan TKO 8 (10), 1:28 20 Oct 2007 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
21 Win 19–2 United Kingdom Darren Rhodes KO 4 (8), 2:25 25 Aug 2007 Republic of Ireland Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
20 Win 18–2 Ukraine Anatoliy Udalov KO 1 (8), 2:24 20 Jul 2007 United Kingdom Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
19 Loss 17–2 United Kingdom Jamie Moore KO 10 (12), 1:29 29 Sep 2006 United Kingdom George H Carnall Leisure Centre, Manchester, England For British light-middleweight title
18 Win 17–1 Poland Marcin Piatkowski TKO 4 (8), 2:17 1 Jun 2006 United Kingdom Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
17 Win 16–1 Russia Alexey Chirkov KO 1 (10), 2:44 26 Nov 2005 United Kingdom Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England
16 Win 15–1 Australia Anthony Little TKO 2 (8), 2:20 28 Oct 2005 United States Alhambra Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
15 Win 14–1 United States Leo Ladaut TKO 3 (8), 1:55 4 Aug 2005 United States Borgata, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
14 Win 13–1 United Kingdom Michael Monaghan KO 5 (10), 1:28 14 May 2005 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland Won vacant Irish middleweight title
13 Win 12–1 United Kingdom Ojay Abrahams PTS 4 12 Jun 2004 United Kingdom MEN Arena, Manchester, England
12 Win 11–1 United Kingdom Scott Dixon RTD 5 (8), 3:00 24 Apr 2004 United Kingdom Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
11 Win 10–1 United Kingdom Dean Walker KO 1 (6), 1:25 21 Feb 2004 United Kingdom National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales
10 Loss 9–1 United Kingdom Andrew Facey PTS 10 6 Nov 2003 United Kingdom Goresbrook Leisure Center, London, England For vacant English light-middleweight title
9 Win 9–0 United Kingdom Paul Denton PTS 6 24 May 2003 United Kingdom York Hall, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Russia Ruslan Yakupov PTS 6 15 Feb 2003 United Kingdom Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Estonia Leonti Vorontsuk TKO 5 (6), 1:11 28 Sep 2002 United Kingdom MEN Arena, Manchester, England
6 Win 6–0 France Guy Alton TKO 3 (4), 1:20 1 Jun 2002 United Kingdom MEN Arena, Manchester, England
5 Win 5–0 Bulgaria Ilia Spasov KO 3 (4), 2:35 20 Apr 2002 United Kingdom International Arena, Cardiff, Wales
4 Win 4–0 United Kingdom David Kirk PTS 4 11 Mar 2002 United Kingdom Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
3 Win 3–0 Estonia Dmitri Protkunas RTD 2 (4), 3:00 9 Feb 2002 United Kingdom MEN Arena, Manchester, England
2 Win 2–0 Romania Cristian Hodorogea KO 1 (4), 1:36 15 Dec 2001 United Kingdom Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
1 Win 1–0 United Kingdom Ram Singh TKO 1 (4), 1:52 17 Nov 2001 United Kingdom Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland

References

  1. 1 2 "Matthew Macklin". MGM Marbella. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Four Roads' favourite son". Roscommon Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  3. "'He needs me more than I need him' – Matthew Macklin on possible Andy Lee bout". The42. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. "Amateur game punching its weight". BBC. 12 April 2001. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 Boxrec. "Matthew Macklin". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  6. Rohan, Tomás (7 June 2006). "Stadium Snippets at the National Stadium, Dublin". Archived from the original on 9 June 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  7. "Macklin earns points victory". RTÉ Sport. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 Larkin, Laura (24 January 2017). "Daniel Kinahan takes backseat role in boxing gym business due to 'bad publicity'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  9. "Matthew Macklin hangs up his gloves". Boxing News 24. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  10. MacNamee, Garreth (10 November 2017). "Boxing company co-founded by Daniel Kinahan to receive 'large up-front investment' after buyout". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 Fetherstonhaugh, Neil; Cumiskey, Neasa (29 April 2022). "Sky Sports pundit Matthew Macklin stopped from boarding flight to US over his links to Daniel Kinahan". Irish Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
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