Sergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin

Sergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin, billed as Get Your Irish Up, is a boxing middleweight bout for The Ring world title and universally recognized middleweight championship of the world.^[2] The bout was held on March 17, 2012, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, United States.^[3]

Get Your Irish Up

Date	March 17, 2012
Venue	Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York US
Title(s) on the line	The Ring middleweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Sergio Martínez / Matthew Macklin Nickname "Maravilla" "Mack The Knife" Hometown Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina Birmingham, West Midlands, UK Purse $1,500,000[1] Pre-fight record 48–2–2 (27 KO) 28–3 (19 KO) Age 37 years 29 years, 10 months Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) Weight 157+1⁄2 lb (71 kg) 158 lb (72 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition The Ring Middleweight Champion IBF No. 4 Ranked Middleweight The Ring No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter 2-division world champion WBC No. 1 Ranked Middleweight The Ring No. 3 Ranked Middleweight WBA No. 7 Ranked Middleweight WBO No. 10 Ranked Middleweight
Result
Martínez defeated Macklin by 11th round RTD

The fight was televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing.^[4]

Background

Martínez

During a press conference in his native Argentina on December 29, Martínez renounced his WBC "Diamond" belt and indicated he might pursue a relationship with Showtime over HBO, as he felt HBO mistreated him.

Martínez was forced to give up his WBC belt for fighting Sergei Dzinziruk in March on HBO, a bout Martínez won by an eighth-round KO. The WBC then elevated Sebastian Zbik to the status of full champion and mandated that Zbik face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who dethroned Zbik in June.

Martínez was rated No. 3 in THE RING's pound for pound list and was coming off an 11th-round knockout of Darren Barker in October.^[5]

Macklin

In his last fight in June, Macklin lost a controversial split-decision to RING No. 2-rated middleweight and WBA belt holder Felix Sturm, of Germany.

Sturm recently held on to his crown, yet again, with a split-draw against rated middleweight Martin Murray on Dec. 2.^[6]

The fight

Martínez would struggle throughout the first half of the fight, with Macklin able which neutralized much of Sergio's offensive attack. Macklin would score a knockdown on Martínez in the seventh round. Martínez was able to turn the tide in the later rounds, finding his range with his left hand. After scoring two knockdowns in the 11th, Macklin's corner stopped the fight shortly before the 12th round.

Aftermath

Martínez would sign to face WBC titleholder Julio César Chávez Jr., despite Chávez's godfather Jose Sulaiman attempting to block the bout.^[7]

Main card

Confirmed bouts:^[8]

• Middleweight Championship Sergio Martínez vs. Matthew Macklin
• Super Middleweight bout Edwin Rodriguez vs. Don George

Preliminary card

• Heavyweight Bout Magomed Abdusalamov vs. Raphael Zumbano Love

Broadcasting

Country / Region	Broadcaster
Argentina	TyC Sports
Australia	Main Event
Canada	Canal Indigo
Hungary	Sport 1
Philippines	AKTV
Romania	Sport.ro
United Kingdom	Sky Sports
United States	HBO