In a clash of two murderous punchers this weekend in Golovkin vs Macklin, the fans are sure to be the real winners in this middle weight title showdown
Ah yes, a fight Irish boxing fans have been waiting on for months is almost here. Matthew Macklin challenges the brick fists of Gennady Golovkin for the WBA and IBO middleweight titles in Connecticut this Saturday.
On paper you’d have to say Macklin will be going into this as a fairly decent sized underdog, but when has that ever meant anything in boxing anyway? Matthew Macklin can punch as hard as any middleweight in the world on his day and has proven this countless times in the past. He can box and brawl but more than likely the first option as opposed to the latter would be the more wise move against Golovkin.
Golovkin is a man riding the crest of a ridiculous wave having knocked out incredibly all of his last twelve opponents. He has developed quiet the reputation as a ferocious puncher in recent times, and will fancy his chances again of winning inside the distance against Matt Macklin. For me Golovkin is at his most dangerous when he gets on the inside, when he’s near enough to do his most damaging work.
Macklin has shown in the past that he can be very effective at range, which I think he should try to do here against Golovkin. Use the jab and combinations to full effect, and I think early on in the first two or three rounds he should put the pedal to the metal right away to get Golovkin’s respect, a man who sometimes can be a bit of a slow starter.
Stylisitically both men are virtually the exact same height with only an inch in the reach to Golovkin’s benefit. Both are orthodox and big punchers who have massive hearts. These ingredients have all the makings for an absolute barn storming tussle. I think Macklin really needs to resist the urge to get involved in a toe to toe battle with Golovkin. If he can somehow stick to his boxing like he did against Sergio Martinez (in the first half of their encounter), I think he could potentially get a points win.
I feel it’s also important to remember that Golovkin with all his vicious knockouts , has never actually been the full twelve rounds in his entire career. Matt Macklin has on many an occasion. Maybe if Macklin employs a game plan of wearing Golovkin down as the fight progresses with calculated attacks from the outside and then when Golovkin is tired in the 11th or 12th go for the finish.
It really is a very hard fight to call. My heart says Macklin on points, my head says Golovkin inside the distance.
Nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing Macklin pull it off though. Maybe he’ll be third time lucky (Sturm, Martinez) in world title shots.
Come on the Macklin!
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