Matthew Macklin

Last updated

Matthew Macklin
Matthew Macklin 2015.png
Macklin in 2015
Born (1982-05-14) 14 May 1982 (age 42)
Birmingham, West Midlands, England
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)
Stance Orthodox
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.

Contents

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 0022 - Macklin.jpg
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 technical knockout in the first round. [8] 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. [9] 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. [10]

In 2017 Macklin announced that his partner Kinahan would be stepping back from boxing promotion due to bad publicity. [9] The gym rebranded as MTK - Mack the Knife, as MGM Resorts International filed a trademark lawsuit over its use of the 'MGM' initials. [9] MTK was bought out by external investors, with Matthew Macklin remaining on the board in an advisory capacity. [11]

He became a pundit for Sky Sports. [12]

In April 2022 Macklin was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States at a London airport because of links to Daniel Kinahan. [12] He was travelling to Las Vegas to cover a fight between Shakur Stevenson and Óscar Valdez on 30 April. [12]

Professional boxing record

41 fights35 wins6 losses
By knockout224
By decision132
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
41Win35–6 Brian Rose MD12 9 Apr 2016 The O2 Arena, London, England
40Win34–6 Jason Welborn UD1017 Oct 2015Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, EnglandWon vacant WBC International light-middleweight title
39Win33–6Chris HerrmannKO1 (8), 1:4428 Aug 2015H10 Andalucía Plaza, Marbella, Spain
38Win32–6Sandor MicskoKO2 (8), 1:289 May 2015 Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England
37Loss31–6 Jorge Sebastian Heiland KO10 (12), 0:4215 Nov 2014 3Arena, Dublin, IrelandFor WBC International middleweight title
36Win31–5Jose YebesMD827 Sep 2014 Kiel, Germany
35Win30–5 Lamar Russ UD107 Dec 2013 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
34Loss29–5 Gennady Golovkin KO3 (12), 1:2229 Jun 2013 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, USFor WBA and IBO middleweight titles
33Win29–4 Joachim Alcine KO1 (10), 2:36 15 Sep 2012 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
32Loss28–4 Sergio Martínez RTD11 (12), 3:00 17 Mar 2012 The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USFor The Ring middleweight title
31Loss28–3 Felix Sturm SD1225 Jun 2011 Lanxess Arena, Cologne, GermanyFor WBA middleweight title
30Win28–2Ruben VaronUD1211 Dec 2010 Echo Arena, Liverpool, EnglandRetained European middleweight title
29Win27–2Shalva JomardashviliRTD6 (12), 0:02 18 Sep 2010 LG Arena, Birmingham, EnglandWon vacant European middleweight title
28Win26–2Rafael Sosa PintosPTS105 Dec 2009National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
27Win25–2 Amin Asikainen TKO1 (12), 2:3425 Sep 2009 Manchester Velodrome, Manchester, EnglandWon vacant European middleweight title
26Win24–2 Wayne Elcock TKO3 (12), 0:5914 Mar 2009Aston Villa Events Centre, Birmingham, EnglandWon British middleweight title
25Win23–2 Geard Ajetović PTS1031 Oct 2008Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
24Win22–2Francis ChekaPTS106 Sep 2008MEN Arena, Manchester, England
23Win21–2 Yori Boy Campas PTS1022 Mar 2008National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
22Win20–2 Alessio Furlan TKO8 (10), 1:2820 Oct 2007National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
21Win19–2Darren RhodesKO4 (8), 2:2525 Aug 2007 Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
20Win18–2Anatoliy UdalovKO1 (8), 2:2420 Jul 2007 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
19Loss17–2 Jamie Moore KO10 (12), 1:2929 Sep 2006George H Carnall Leisure Centre, Manchester, EnglandFor British light-middleweight title
18Win17–1Marcin PiatkowskiTKO4 (8), 2:171 Jun 2006 Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
17Win16–1Alexey ChirkovKO1 (10), 2:4426 Nov 2005 Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England
16Win15–1 Anthony Little TKO2 (8), 2:2028 Oct 2005 Alhambra Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
15Win14–1Leo LadautTKO3 (8), 1:554 Aug 2005 Borgata, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
14Win13–1Michael MonaghanKO5 (10), 1:2814 May 2005 National Stadium, Dublin, IrelandWon vacant Irish middleweight title
13Win12–1Ojay AbrahamsPTS412 Jun 2004MEN Arena, Manchester, England
12Win11–1Scott DixonRTD5 (8), 3:0024 Apr 2004Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
11Win10–1Dean WalkerKO1 (6), 1:2521 Feb 2004 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales
10Loss9–1Andrew FaceyPTS106 Nov 2003Goresbrook Leisure Center, London, EnglandFor vacant English light-middleweight title
9Win9–0Paul DentonPTS624 May 2003 York Hall, London, England
8Win8–0Ruslan YakupovPTS615 Feb 2003Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
7Win7–0Leonti VorontsukTKO5 (6), 1:1128 Sep 2002MEN Arena, Manchester, England
6Win6–0Guy AltonTKO3 (4), 1:201 Jun 2002MEN Arena, Manchester, England
5Win5–0Ilia SpasovKO3 (4), 2:3520 Apr 2002 International Arena, Cardiff, Wales
4Win4–0David KirkPTS411 Mar 2002 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
3Win3–0Dmitri ProtkunasRTD2 (4), 3:009 Feb 2002 MEN Arena, Manchester, England
2Win2–0Cristian HodorogeaKO1 (4), 1:3615 Dec 2001 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
1Win1–0Ram SinghTKO1 (4), 1:5217 Nov 2001 Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julio César Chávez Jr.</span> Mexican boxer (born 1986)

Julio César Chávez Carrasco, better known as Julio César Chávez Jr., is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former three-division world champion of boxing, Julio César Chávez, and older brother of Omar Chávez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gennady Golovkin</span> Kazakhstani boxer (born 1982)

Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin, often known by his nickname "GGG" or "Triple G", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-time former unified champion. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles at varying points between 2014 and 2023, and challenged once for the undisputed super middleweight championship in 2022. He is also a former International Boxing Organization (IBO) middleweight champion, having held the title twice between 2011 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanes Martirosyan</span> Armenian-American boxer

Vanes Norikovich Martirosyan is an Armenian-American former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2018. He challenged twice for a light middleweight world title in 2013 and 2016, and once for unified middleweight world titles in 2018.

Kelly Robert Pavlik is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three successful defenses before losing them to Sergio Martínez in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joachim Alcine</span> Haitian-Canadian professional boxer

Joachim Alcine is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, where he now resides. He is a former WBA light middleweight champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Moore (boxer)</span> British boxing trainer and former professional boxer

Jamie Moore is a British boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2010. He held the British and Commonwealth super welterweight titles twice between 2003 and 2007, and the European super welterweight title in 2009

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Jacobs (boxer)</span> American boxer (born 1987)

Daniel Jacobs is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2024. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title from 2014 to 2017, and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) middleweight title from 2018 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Martínez (boxer)</span> Argentine boxer

Sergio Gabriel Martínez is an Argentine professional boxer. He has held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010; and the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles between 2010 and 2014. With six successful defenses of The Ring and lineal middleweight titles, Martínez's 50-month reign as champion ranks as one of the longest in the history of that weight class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Rock</span> Irish boxer

Jim Rock is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2009. He is the only boxer to have held the Irish title at four different weights divisions: light-middleweight, middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight.

Darren Barker is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2013. He held multiple titles at middleweight, including the IBF title in 2013; the Commonwealth title from 2007 to 2009; the British title in 2009; and the European title from 2010 to 2011. As an amateur, Barker represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and won a gold medal in the light-welterweight division.

Martin Murray is a British former professional boxer who competed 2007 to 2020. He held the WBA interim middleweight title from 2011 to 2014, the British and Commonwealth middleweight titles between 2010 and 2012, and challenged five times for a world title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canelo Álvarez</span> Mexican boxer (born 1990)

Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán, commonly known as Canelo or Saúl Álvarez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two. In 2021, Álvarez became the first and only boxer in history to become the undisputed champion at super middleweight, holding this distinction until July 2024. He has also held the Ring magazine super middleweight title since 2020.

Boxing in the 2010s includes notable events about boxing which occurred between 2010 and 2019. The decade saw high intensity action in the welterweight division. The match between veterans Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao broke PPV records. The broadcast of the fight in the Philippines was watched by nearly half the country's households. Mayweather retired at a record 50-0-0 while Pacquiao became the first eight division champion. The middleweight division saw immense action in the later years of the decade. After a draw in 2017, Canelo Alvarez ended Gennady Golovkin's long reign in 2018. The heavyweight division was dominated by Klitschko brothers before Wladimir's loss to Tyson Fury in 2015. Other talents that emerged were Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksander Usyk.

Arron Jones , best known by his nickname of "Prince Arron", is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2013. He is a former British Masters champion. He held the British Light middleweight title in 2011 by stopping Sam Webb to claim the belt and challenged once for the EBU European middleweight title in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Pirog</span> Russian boxers

Dmitry Yurievich Pirog is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. In boxing he competed from 2005 to 2012, and held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title from 2010 to 2012. Although his career was cut short due to a debilitating back injury, he is one of the few professional boxers to win a world championship and retire undefeated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin</span> Boxing competition

Sergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin, billed as Get Your Irish Up, is a boxing middleweight bout for The Ring world title and universally recognized middleweight championship of the world. The bout was held on March 17, 2012, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, United States.

Jamie Conlan is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 2009 to 2017, and has since worked as a boxing manager. He held the Commonwealth super-flyweight title in 2016 and challenged for the IBF super-flyweight title in 2017. He is the older brother of professional boxer Michael Conlan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez</span> Boxing competition

Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez was a professional boxing event which took place on November 21, 2015 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. It was televised by HBO pay-per-view.

MTK Global was a boxing and mixed martial arts management and event promotions company founded by Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan and former professional boxer Matthew 'Mack the Knife' Macklin. Originally established in 2012 as Macklin's Gym Marbella (MGM), the undertaking has attracted controversy due to its links to the Kinahan cartel and related allegations of money laundering, and MTK Global announced its closure in April 2022.

Daniel Joseph Kinahan is an Irish boxing promoter and suspected crime boss. He has been named by the High Court of Ireland as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale. The Criminal Assets Bureau has stated he "controlled and managed" the operations of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, a criminal organisation which smuggles drugs and firearms into Ireland, the UK, and mainland Europe, and "has associations that facilitate international criminal activity in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America".

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.[ permanent dead link ]
  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. ↑ Pugmire, Lance (16 September 2012). "Rigondeaux wins by unanimous decision". Los Angeles Times . p. 108. Retrieved 26 June 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. 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.
  10. ↑ "Matthew Macklin hangs up his gloves". Boxing News 24. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. 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.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Darren Sweeney 		Irish middleweight champion
14 May 2005 – June 2006
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Jim Rock
Vacant
Title last held by
Wayne Elcock 		British middleweight champion
14 March 2009 – November 2009
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Darren Barker
Vacant
Title last held by
Khoren Gevor 		European middleweight champion
25 September 2009 – April 2011
Vacated
Vacant
Title last held by
Carson Jones 		WBC International
super-welterweight champion
17 October 2015 – April 2016
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Sergio Garcia
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.