Matthew Macklin (31-5, 20 KOs), ranked #6 by the World Boxing Council, will be in action next month in fighting #4 WBC Jorge Sebastian Heiland (24-4-2, 12 KOs) in a WBC middleweight eliminator bout on 11/15 at the 3Arena, in Dublin, Ireland. Macklin, now 32, is hinting that if he can’t beat the 27-year-old Heiland then that might be it for him in terms of his career.
It’s not known if Macklin would retire, but a loss to Heiland would definitely be a clear sign that Macklin doesn’t have what it takes to be a world champion at 160. It would also make it difficult for him to continue to get world title shots the way he’s been getting over the last three years.
Macklin has fought for world titles on three separate occasions, but he’s lost each time. Macklin’s boxing fans feel he deserved a win against former WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm, but there’s not much you can say about Macklin’s attempts at capturing world titles against Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin, because both of those fighters beat him.
“Sebastian Zbik beat him in a very competitive fight in Germany, he’s a better fighter now and it’s a tough, tough fight, the fight I need at this stage and if I cannot beat him, then that’s it really, but I know I will beat him and it will set me up for a big 2015 where a World title shot will definitely come about,” Macklin said as quoted by Skysports.com.
Macklin hasn’t looked good in his last two fights against Lamar Russ and Jose Yebes. Macklin won both of the fights, but either he’s lost a step or the other fighters in the division are catching up to him. Macklin looked especially bad against Yebes last month in winning an 8 round majority decision. One judge scored it a draw at 76-76, which was a pretty fair score given how poorly Macklin fought. The other two judges scored it 77-75 and 77-75.
“For me it’s an eliminator and the most meaningful fight for me since Gennady Golovkin,” Macklin said. “Golovkin is the best middleweight in the world, but I am confident I could beat any of the other fighters in the division, but I have to get past Heiland who is a serious fighter. He’s never been stopped and a couple of losses he has had he has gone on to avenge them.”
Macklin will have to fight a lot better against Heiland than he did against his last two opponents. As for Macklin beating everyone in the middleweight division except for Golovkin, that’s pretty bold talk. Miguel Cotto and Peter Quillin would likely have something to say about that. With the way Macklin looked in his last two fights, I think he would have problems against Cotto and Quillin, and likely against Daniel Jacobs and Jermain Taylor as well.
