Matthew Macklin v Gennady Golovkin

MGM’s Matthew Macklin has just announced his third world title challenge on June 29 in the main event of an HBO-televised tripleheader at the MGM Grand Theater at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Matthew Macklin will fight the unbeaten and much hyped Gennady Golovkin for the WBA and IBO world middleweight titles.

This will be the biggest test for Gennady Golovkin as Matthew Macklin is more highly regarded than anyone Golovkin has faced. It promises to be an exciting contest as it brings together two of the best and most exciting middleweights in the world. Gennady Golovkin has  a perfect record of 26-0-0 with 23 knockouts, and his 88% knockout ratio ranks highest among current world champions. Promotor Lou DiBella says “It figures to be a barnburner and we are thrilled that Matthew is getting another deserved opportunity at a world title. It’s a great style matchup on paper. If somebody whacks somebody, it won’t be a surprise because they are both brawling middleweights.”

Golovkin 31, who is originally from Kazakhstan but is based in Germany and trains in California under Abel Sanchez, will bring a healthy level of respect for his opponent to Foxwoods, saying: “Matthew Macklin is a skilled, strong fighter and I look forward to the challenge of defending my titles on 29 June.” “I have seen a few of his fights and am very conscious of how tough of a battle this is.”  Golovkin was present at the Sergio Martinez v Matthew Macklin fight.

Known for his heavy hands and brutal knockouts, Golovkin has quickly become one of the the most talked-about fighters in the sport. This will be his third fight in 2013. He had a seventh-round stoppage of Gabriel Rosado in January at Madison Square Garden and on 30th March Golovkin recorded a third-round knockout of former world title challenger Nobuhiro Ishida on 30 March in Monte Carlo.

MGM’s Matthew Macklin is looking forward to the fight and says “Golovkin hasn’t put a foot wrong yet as a pro. He’s destroyed pretty much everyone and, as a consequence, he’s probably the most hyped fighter in the sport right now.

“People have made him out to be this monster, but he bleeds red just like everyone else and, for the first time in his career, he’s going to be stepping into the ring against a big, strong, proper world-class middleweight.

“When you compare my last three opponents to Golovkin’s last three opponents, it’s clear who the proven entity is going into this fight. I got robbed against Felix Sturm in Germany, it was nip-and-tuck between me and Sergio Martinez until I got caught in the eleventh, and last time out, I blew away Joachim Alcine inside a round, a former world champ who was coming off a career-best win.”

Come on Matthew !!