Matthew “Mack the Knife” Macklin opened up his training camp to the media in lower Manhattan yesterday ahead of his St. Patrick’s Day showdown with Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez at Madison Square Garden. Macklin and trainer Buddy McGirt, a former two weight World Champion during his own career performed an open workout before a packed house at the Trinity Boxing Club in New York City with those in attendance including Tipperary hurling stars Lar Corbett and Eoin Kelly.
Macklin’s upcoming middleweight championship bout with Martinez is live on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” in the US and on Sky Sports 1 in Ireland and the UK on Saturday, March 17 and with a little over two weeks to go until the fight, Macklin looked to already be in phenomenal shape.
Corbett and Kelly made the trip over from Ireland earlier this week to support Macklin, himself a former underage hurling star in Tipperary and both men were clearly impressed with Macklin’s preparations and the buzz surrounding the upcoming bout.
Please find below quotes from Macklin, McGirt, Corbett and Kelly:
MATTHEW MACKLIN: I’ve had a great camp, sparring has been terrific and most of the hard work has been done at this point. The next few weeks now are just about fine tuning and peaking for fight night. It’s been great working with Buddy again. He’s a very knowledgeable boxing guy so it’s great to soak that up. I’m ready for war and whatever happens in that ring. No matter if it goes one round or twelve, I don’t believe Martinez is going to be able to cope with the intensity and burning desire that I will bring into that ring with me at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick’s Day.
BUDDY MCGIRT: Matthew is in great shape for this fight. I’ve worked with him for the Yori Boy Campas fight a few years back so I’ve been aware for a long time just how good he is. We’re not going to shout or boast about doing this or that. Matthew’s just going to go in there and let his fists do the talking. I must say though that I am very confident that he is going to shock an awful lot of people in this fight.
LAR CORBETT: It’s been a great experience to spend a few days with Matthew and see his preparations up close and personal. Myself and Eoin are very grateful to Brian Peters (Macklin co-promoter) and Martin Donnelly (Macklin Sponsor) for the opportunity to come over. Matthew is training like a demon for this fight and the level of effort and dedication he puts into his boxing has to be seen to be believed. Matthew has always been a great supporter of Tipperary Hurling over the years, through thick and thin, so we felt it was only fair that we return that support. There is huge interest in this fight back in Tipperary. I know there are loads of people traveling over to New York for the fight but for the people not traveling over, they will be glued to the television and the whole country of Ireland is behind him.
EOIN KELLY: I’ve known Matthew since we played hurling together as kids and it’s great to see him living his dream now on the big stage. The hype in the US for the fight is phenomenal. There are big billboards in Times Square and huge media interest in the fight, but Matthew seems to take it all in stride. We came over to show our support to him because it’s an absolutely massive night, not just for Matthew but for all of Ireland to have someone competing at that level, fighting a guy considered to be up there with the likes of Mayweather and Pacquiao on St. Patrick’s Day at Madison Square Garden.
Tickets for the event are priced at $505, $355, $205, $125 and $65, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased through the Madison Square Garden Box Office or through Ticketmaster, at Ticketmaster.com, or by calling (866) 858-0008. Call DiBella Entertainment at (212) 947-2577, or visit www.dbe1.com and @loudibella on Twitter for more information.
The card which will be aired live on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing and on Sky Sports 1 in Ireland and the UK is entitled, “THE REAL Middleweight Championship – Get Your Irish Up”, features Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (48-2-2, 27KO’s) defending his middleweight crown against Ireland’s Matthew “Mack the Knife” Macklin (28-3, 19KO’s). The card is promoted by DiBella Entertainment.
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