Matthew Macklin known as "The Tipperary Tornado", is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

-Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 professional boxer

Professional Boxing

Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...

 who fights at middleweight

Middleweight

Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

 or the divisions either side.

He is the former Irish, British and European middleweight champion.

Background

Macklin was born in Birmingham, England, his father being from County Roscommon

County Roscommon

County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...

 and his mother from Tipperary

Tipperary

Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....

. Macklin and his brother Seamus, also a boxer, spent much of his youth in his mothers native County Tipperary and it was there that he learnt to play one of Ireland's national sport

National sport

A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...

s, hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

.

Macklin became a talented hurling player in his own right, and is a close friend of leading hurler Eoin Kelly

Eoin Kelly (Tipperary hurler)

Eoin Kelly is an Irish hurler who plays as a forward for inter-county side Tipperary. He is the current captain and is his county's top championship scorer of all-time....

 and attends hurling events such as the Poc fada

All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship

The All-Ireland Poc Fada Hurling & Camogie Championships is an annual tournament testing the skills of Ireland's best hurlers and camogie players. Poc Fada is Irish for "long puck". The championships are sponspored by M Donnelly & Co. since 1996....

 and GAA events when Tipperary

Tipperary GAA

The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

 are playing.

Following his education at the independent Solihull School

Solihull School

Solihull School is a British Independent school situated near the centre of Solihull, West Midlands, England.2010 saw Solihull School celebrate its 450th anniversary since its foundation in 1560....

, at the age of 18 and whilst studying law at Coventry University

Coventry University

Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...

, Macklin won the 2001 national senior ABA welterweight title for the Small Heath Boxing Club

Small Heath, Birmingham

Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated on and around the A45 ....

 by beating Justin Turley in the final.

Debut fight

Macklin left the amateur ranks and turned professional in September 2001, winning his first fight at the Bellahouston

Bellahouston

Bellahouston is a district in the southwest of the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is bordered by Ibrox, Dumbreck and Pollokshields.-History:...

 Sports Centre, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, in which Macklin beat previously undefeated Ram Singh from Wisbech

Wisbech

Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...

 in a first round knockout on a card which included Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 fighters Scott Harrison, Alex Arthur

Alex Arthur

Alex Arthur, nicknamed "Amazing" Alex Arthur, is a professional boxer from Edinburgh in Scotland.Arthur is a former British, Commonwealth, European Boxing Union and WBO super featherweight champion...

 and Willie Limond

Willie Limond

Willie Limond is a Glasgow-born professional boxer. He is the current WBU lightweight champion, former IBO Inter-Continental champion, and the former Commonwealth lightweight Champion.-Early career:...

.

The Jamie Moore barnstormer

In September 2006, Macklin was involved in his highest profile fight when he was defeated in a fight of the year contender bout against Manchester's Jamie Moore

Jamie Moore (boxer)

Jamie Moore is a retired professional boxer from Walkden, Salford and is the former European light middleweight champion....

 for the British light middleweight title which took place at the George Carnell Leisure Centre, Davyhulme

Davyhulme

Davyhulme is a locality within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is contiguous with the town of Urmston....

, Manchester, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Macklin later confessed to having major problems trying to make the weight for the fight.

Potential Duddy fight

There has been speculation of a potential Irish title fight against New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 based Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

 native John Duddy

John Duddy

John Francis Duddy is a retired middleweight professional boxer, from Derry, Northern Ireland. Duddy fought under the moniker of "Ireland's John Duddy" or "The Derry Destroyer"....

. In the summer of 2006 Macklin made a guest appearance in Dublin to hand over the Irish middleweight title to fellow stablemate Dubliner Jim Rock

Jim Rock

Jim Rock, nicknamed the Pink Panther, is an Irish professional boxer and current IBC middleweight and Irish super middleweight champion....

.

At post fight press conference John Duddy's then matchmaker Jim Borzell stated that if Macklin won "the European title then maybe you'll have something John wants." Macklin replied, "maybe I have something for him he doesn't want!".

In December 2009, Macklin moved closer to a world title shot with a points victory over Rafa Sosa Pintos at the National Stadium in Dublin.

European middleweight title

Macklin beat Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 Super-fighter Amin Asikainen

Amin Asikainen

"Idi" Amin Asikainen is a Finnish former boxer. He was European Boxing Union Middleweight Champion between in 2006–2007.His nickname comes from the similarity with Idi Amin.-Early life:...

 by brutal 1st round KO at the Manchester Velodrome

Manchester Velodrome

Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 on 25 September 2009 for the vacant European middleweight title.

Relinquishing and Retaining The European middleweight title

Matthew Macklin was later forced to vacate his European title. However he would get in first for the fight for the vacant title. A fight against Englishman Darren Barker was arranged for the 18th of September 2010 on Frank Warren's Magnificent seven bill on Sky box office. The fight would be a big step closer to a world title fight for both men however Barker was forced to pull out of the contest through injury only weeks before the fight. He was replaced with Georgian slugger Shalva Jomardashvili and won the fight via a technical knock out two seconds into the sixth round after shoma pulled out. Macklin regained his EBU title and stated after the fight he wanted to go on to fight for a world title next.

World title shot

Mathew fought WBA Middleweight champion Felix Sturm on the 25th of June 2011. The fight ended in a controversial split decision win for Sturm. Many pundits have slated the result as many had Macklin winning the fight. Even the German television network covering the fight had Macklin winning by four rounds.

Professional boxing record

|align="center" colspan=8|28 Wins (19 knockouts, 9 decisions), 3 Losses 0 Draws
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss || align=left|  Felix Sturm

Felix Sturm

Felix Sturm is a German boxer and current WBA middleweight Super champion of Bosniak descent. Sturm was born and raised in Leverkusen, Germany, but both of his parents were immigrants from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Professional career :On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a...

|SD ||12||
|align=left| 
|align=left|WBA Super World middleweight title
|-align=center

External links