Weighty Issue for Macklin
By Aidan Begley

Being in New York City for St. Patrick’s Day would be a memorable time for most people wishing to experience the American slant on the March 17th celebrations.
Irish-middleweight champion Matt Macklin made sure that he enjoyed his stay in the Big Apple for St. Patrick’s Day, especially after his scheduled fight against Chris Troupe at Madison Square Gardens was cancelled after his opponent was deemed to have been to heavy to fight.
Due to a contract mix-up at weigh-in the day before the fight, it was agreed that Troupe would be weighed on the night of the fight. Troupe reneged on this agreement and one of his team admitted that he would have been almost twenty pounds heavier than Macklin when they stepped into the ring.
As ever, Macklin was keen to go toe-to-toe with his opponent, but his trainer, Billy Graham, decided that it wasn’t a risk worth taking.
“Obviously Matthew wanted to go through with the fight but my first priority is to look after my fighter and the weight difference on the night would’ve been ridiculous. It could easily been over twenty pounds,” said Graham.
Macklin was due to fight on the same card as Irish-American boxer John Duddy on the night, but it wasn’t to be, and the sizeable amount of family and friends who made the journey across the Atlantic would go home having not seen him fight.
“I’m gutted that the fight fell through. I really wanted to make an impression in front of the New York fans and my family and friends who travelled from England and Ireland,” said a dejected Macklin.
“I don’t blame Chris Troupe because he did what he was contracted to do. So did I but someone has obviously messed up with regard to arranging the weights and it’s cost me a dream fight at Madison Square Garden.”
However, after this disappointment, Macklin can look forward to his first fight of the year when he takes on Jamie Moore for the British light middleweight belt in May at Altrincham Leisure Centre.
This will be his first fight after joining up with his new manager Brian Peters whom Macklin signed with earlier this year and he explained the reasons behind taking on board the newest member of ‘Team Macklin’
“I signed with Brian because I feel he’s a very genuine guy with a lot of contacts, not just in Ireland and England, but in the US and Europe. He knows his stuff and works very hard for his fighters.”
The British Boxing Board of Control made Macklin the mandatory challenger for Jamie Moore and he is confident that whether or not he can secure a British title to go with his Irish one, he is still focused on the chance to become a world champion.
“I think that’s a fight an awful lot of people want to see. Some people might think I’m the underdog for that fight but that suits me fine because when I win it will make people sit up and take notice.
“I really want to win the British title but I firmly believe that’s not the be all and end all for. I want to go all the way to a world title and I believe that I can do it,” adds Macklin.
Under the new management of Brian Peters, one of the main points of agenda is fulfilling Macklin’s ambitions by fighting in Birmingham in front of his home crowd.
Peters said: “Matthew will fight in the UK under Barry Hearn’s Matchroom promotions so we’ll certainly be looking at promoting fights in Birmingham. I think with Matthew’s ability he is capable of re-igniting the scene there.
“He is one of the best prospects in Europe. He has so much going for him in terms of ability and power and I really think he can make a big name for himself.”