Matthew Macklin certainly didn’t have any “Lucky Charms” in his corner this past weekend. The Irish middleweight lost a grueling bout against Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden Saturday night (on St. Patrick’s Day no less!). Macklin certainly gave the fight a good shot, but wound up getting KO’d in the eleventh round.
Argentine bruiser Martinez is on a solid roll at the moment. Saturday’s fight became his fourth straight knockout, leading many to speculate that he could be facing the fearsome Floyd Mayweather next.
But as far as the St. Paddy’s rumble went, Sergio seemed to have it in the bag right from the beginning. Entering in a sparkling crimson robe, Martinez didn’t necessarily have the crowd on his side. Many “green” revelers were yelling Irish chants in support of Matthew. But they were quickly silenced once the bell rung.
Sergio dodged nearly all of Macklin’s blows and countered with fierce attacks to the face and chest. Martinez also drew the judges’ respect for his speed and energy, dancing around the ring without even breaking a sweat!
Matthew did connect a devastating punch in the seventh, causing Sergio to lose his footing (and possibly his confidence) for the remainder of the round. But in true “Martinez style,” he came back strong, wearing Macklin down and sending him to the floor with a solid left hook!
Sergio seemed to be all smiles when it was all over and buzz about his skills began sweeping the web. Other than Mayweather, several sports writers believe Martinez could score a lot of attention (and a lot of cash) by challenging Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Who Sergio battles next remains to be seen, but he’s already got another high-profile “fight” that he’s hoping to bring to the public. Martinez wants all of his fans to stand up against domestic violence and conveyed a powerful message to the L.A. Times before his Saturday bout.
“I came from a bad place,” he explained. “This was an area where there was already a culture of violence, so you can imagine what I was subjected to by the older boys. I’d be hit by whatever they could get in their hand. What I went through must’ve influenced me, the experiences [of violence] shaped my personality and taught me just because you might have to deal with this [violence, bullying] it’s not a be-all, end-all.”
By Michael Lopez
