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Looks Like Sturm Lowballing Macklin…Wants 40% Of Macklin's Future Earnings…WTH??

Published

13 years ago

August 17, 2011

The Sweet Science

STURM LOWBALLS MACKLIN OFFER TO RETURN TO SCENE OF THE CRIME

Demands 40% of Macklin’s Future Earnings if Macklin Wins

Matthew Macklin emerged on the wrong side of a highly controversial split decision when he challenged for Felix Sturm's WBA world middleweight title in Cologne on June 25. Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who was covering the fight for EPIX, a U.S. television channel, said that the decision was a “highway robbery” and one of the worst decisions he had ever seen while a viewers poll on the website of German TV network SAT.1 spoke volumes with 76% of Germans polled believing that Macklin had won the fight as opposed to just 24% for Sturm.

Since the fight, Sturm has repeatedly claimed that a contract for the rematch has been sent to Macklin and he has accused his Irish rival of ducking out of a possible return bout. Sturm's own promotional company even went so far as to design a poster for a proposed rematch in Cologne in November. However, Macklin has yet to see any contract for the rematch and believes that the whole exercise is a publicity stunt designed to make it look like Sturm is pursuing the rematch when in reality the German wants no part of it.

“After the fight I felt it was important to stay dignified and not whine or moan about the decision. It was a blatant robbery and everyone saw that so I let other people have their say on the decision and some of the world’s most respected boxing people all registered their disgust. The decision spoke for itself so I didn’t really need to say anything.

“I don't believe in negotiating in public either, I think it's unprofessional but obviously Felix has made certain statements that I feel have to be corrected. For example, time and time again he has claimed in the media that we were sent a contract for the rematch within a couple of days of the fight. It's now been over seven weeks since the fight and we have yet to see any contract for a rematch. My manager Brian Peters has had talks with them and there has been some emails back and forth but no sign of any contract.

“The terms they spoke about were a joke, they were only willing to pay me a marginally bigger purse then for the first fight but the options they wanted on my future fights were ridiculous. When I beat Felix in the rematch they wanted 40% of my earnings over the next two years. It was crazy stuff and to me it just looked like Felix only wanted the rematch if he could use it as a “cash out” fight to see him into retirement and then use me as his pension fund for the next couple of years.”

Macklin recently signed a lucrative promotional contract with New York-based promoter Lou DiBella, of DiBella Entertainment, who also promotes Sergio Martinez, the man universally recognized as the best middleweight in the world and a clash with the Argentinean is now very much on his radar.

“For Sturm to name call and diminish a fighter who kicked his ass on home soil is disgraceful,” said DiBella. “He lost and he knows that he as champion needs the rematch for his legacy. A real champion would fight the fight on neutral ground under fair terms. Felix has spent many years conducting himself as a true champion; act like it now.”

“As it stands the plan is to pursue a fight with Martinez for St. Patrick's weekend in Madison Square Garden next year, but if Sturm's people were to actually come back with a realistic offer then I would definitely want the Sturm rematch,” said Macklin. “Why wouldn't I? It would mean me getting my hands on the WBA title before the end of the year and make a clash with Martinez next year even bigger because it would be a unification fight.

“The Sturm rematch would be massive in Germany. I've been told from sources close to Felix that the first fight generated just under five million euros in revenue. That's serious money and the rematch would be even bigger. I'm not even looking for a 50/50 split to go back to his hometown and face the same obstacles all over again in terms of getting a fair decision, but the terms they are talking about are comical and insulting.

“I know what I'm going to be up against going out there again, I saw the scorecards afterwards and one judge gave Felix five of the first six rounds! I don't think even the most biased Sturm fan could have given him more than a single round in the first half of the fight.

“If he really wants the fight then why doesn't he put in a serious offer in a contract instead of spending his time moaning in the media, calling me a dirty fighter and a coward. The bottom line is Felix promotes himself so if he genuinely wants to make the fight as badly as he says he does then he can make it very, very easily.

“Alternatively, now that I'm promoted by Lou, if Sturm is really serious about setting the record straight why doesn't he leave the scene of the crime and fight me in New York with neutral officials and prove that he is a true champion.”

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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