Boxing Thread

[bcarrier]

Where does todays result leave Kenny Egan ?

Ward must now be in prime position for London2012.

[Capt Pat]

I think Ward will qualify for the olympics by doing well in the world championships. That would Egan might have to go up or down a weight division to qualify if he is allowed and providing another Irish boxer hasn't qualified already at that weight. It is bad news for Egan I think which is a pity.

[Rav67]

SO does Macklin have much of a chance against Sturn tomorrow night?

Macklin's around 3/1 in tge bookies but on Ringside this week they (McGuigan, Jim Watt, Ricky Hatton) were all tipping him strangely enough.  Sturm has a decent record and I would be shocked if he doesn't win.  Macklin is the challenger and fighting away from home so he's going to have to stop him or dominate the fight to win the belt.

[Hoof Hearted]

Time of Our Lives on Sky Sports now  - Steve Collins. Richie Woodhall and Joe Calzaghe

[Atticus_Finch]

SO does Macklin have much of a chance against Sturn tomorrow night?

Can't wait for this fight, a lot more excited about this fight than Haye vs Klitschko.

I genuinely believe macklin is in with a good chance here.  I believe he has a better chance than Haye does next weekend and definitely has a better chance than barker does in his upcoming bout with Martinez.

Some people when giving predicitions on upcoming bouts put too much emphasis on the last fight the fighter has had rather than look at the bigger picture. I encountered this a lot with people giving their opinions on McCloskey prior to his fight with Khan, just because McCloskey didn't exactly sparkle in his performances against Morrison and particularly against Lauri - they felt Khan would spark Dudey out in the first couple of rounds.

If you feel a fighter is only as good as his last fight then you should write Macklin off before this fight has even started.  If any of you watched his last fight against Ruben Varon you will know that Macklin was far from impressive despite winning a unanimous decison.  But the funny thing is that it was this performance that got him this fight.  And the reason for this is the second most common factor for people to base a prediction on, the common opponent ...  Sturm also fought Varon a number of years back and unlike Macklin's victory, Sturm's was pretty comfortable.  So it looks like Sturm's people watched Macklin struggle against Varon and felt they had nothing to fear against Macklin and so they gave him a shot.

So what are the mitigating factors for Macklin's bad performance ? Macklin says he had a chest infection and i believe him. With the benefit of hindsight i don't think he would have pulled out of the fight as not only do i believe it inadvertently landed him a world title shot but he also had to dig pretty deep to get through the fight and i think that'll stand to him this time round.  I'd say he felt under pressure to stay in the fight as his fight with Barker had collapsed before that and as a fighter you don't want to get a reputation for signing up for fights that never materialise (unless you're at the top and there's not going to be any major repercussions to pulling out e.g. Klitschko when he pulled out of his fight with Chisora TWICE).

By getting through that fight he showed a lot of heart and if you're still in any doubt about his heart you tube his fight with Jamie Moore.  Great fight where Macklin gave it his all but he put so much effort into making weight that he was drained and couldn't sustain the barrage of shots he was hitting Moore with, he hit a wall and was knocked out in the tenth round.

Since then he's moved up in weight and looks a lot more comfortable (obviously not including his last fight) at middleweight and he hasn't lost since.

Don't get me wrong he is justifiably the underdog here. The fight is in germany and it's pretty notorious for being difficult to get an 'away' decision in,  Haye just about got the benefit of the doubt when he got a majority decision over Valuev.

And Sturm is a still a great fighter, i'm sure he might be showing signs of slowing but he's far from past it.  If Macklin stands off him at all and allows him to establish his rhythm, Sturm's jab will see him get a comfortable enough points decision.

Macklin has talked it up in the media that his plan is to stop Sturm in the late rounds ... well i very much doubt it

I've got a hunch that Felix Sturm doesn't read the gaaboard  so i don't think i'm blowing Macklin's fight plan here by saying ..... that Macklin will go at him from the word go, he doesn't have much choice in this because he's not going to get a decision as for me he doesn't throw enough punches in his fights, you need to be a volume puncher if you want to be in the reckoning should it go the distance.  He also doesn't have much of a choice as already mentioned - the fight is in Germany.

It's a long shot  - if you attach alot of weight to the last fight and common opponents then macklin is not looking good, Sturm won comfortably against Varon whilst Macklin struggled and the fight is in Germany - that i think might just come in.

Generally speaking - macklin is 5/2 to win.  You are only going to get close to 3/1 if you have a bet365 or sportingbet account.  I'd imagine most people on here punt with paddy power, ladbrokes or will hill.

For me the far better value is Macklin to win by KO, i really can't see him winnng by decision, and most places go 4/1 that Macklin will win by KO. 

I tried to find a market for Sturm to be knocked down as i feel that he will definitely hit the canvas at some point in the fight even if he does goes on to win it. Only place i can find doing it is Skybet and they go 11/4 on that.

Think we're in for a good fight here.

[Dinny Breen]

very good fight so far..

[magpie seanie]

very good fight so far..

Yeah, great stuff

[armagho9]

any live streams

[ExiledGael]

Starting to take a lot of clean hits here.
Certainly has a good chin

[omagh_gael]

finally found one bit late tho

http://www.justin.tv/revolutiontoolbar#/w/1385902400

[ExiledGael]

jesus saved by the bell, Macklin about to go.
fear he'll lose this now on points

[omagh_gael]

He wouldn't have lasted 10 more seconds there

[omagh_gael]

Beat on split decision

[barelegs]

Richie Woodhall and Johnny Nelson far from impressed in the studio with the decision. Jim Watt gave it a draw.

Never going to get a close decision in Germany though.

[magpie seanie]

Macklin unlucky in my eyes. Decisions giving it to Strum by 4 rounds were just ridiculous.