Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig
Three time world title challenger Matthew Macklin (30-5) will top the bill against Argentinian southpaw Jorge Sebastien Heiland (23-4-2) when Matchroom Sport run their first Dublin show on August 30th at The National Stadium.
The bout, which will be televised by Sky Sports, will be an official eliminator for the WBC middleweight title currently held by Miguel Cotto.
Macklin, who is still on the comeback trail following a rough loss to Gennady Golovkin in his last step up to world level, would pop right back into contention with a win, and would be well placed to target some big fights in the division.
A Cotto/Macklin match up could make sense for a March TV date, with Macklin having fought much of his recent career on HBO, being a recognizable name for the audience, and having drawn well on Patrick’s weekend in the past for a bout with Sergio Martinez. Alternatively, should the middleweight strap prove too heavy for Cotto, and he instead chooses to chase the money fight with Canelo down to junior middle, that would leave Macklin in position to fight for the vacant belt, so it’s essentially a no-lose situation for the Irishman.
Of course the other big fight out there for Macklin would be the much speculated on all-Irish match up with Andy Lee. Eddie Hearn has made no secret of his interest in promoting that bout in the past and has showed increased intent on putting together those big domestic rivalry type fights since the success of the Froch/Groves Wembley show. That’s another one that could potentially be made late this year or early next year, so a win on August 30th will give Macklin plenty of options.
Other matches so far confirmed for the August card include 2012 Olympic Super Heavyweight gold medalist Anthony Joshua facing recent David Price opponent Yaroslav Zavorotnyi, while Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan takes on Anthony Fitzgerald in an all Irish middleweight clash, and Khalid Yafai and Luke Wilton square off with the super flyweight title of the Commonwealth on the line.
This will be the first major televised pro bill in Dublin since 2011 when national broadcaster RTE pulled out of the boxing business, and as such, the event will likely have major implications on how the sport moves forward in the market.
Tickets are on sale from 1pm Local time on July 22nd priced €40, €60, €80 and €150 VIP and are all available exclusively from www.matchroomboxing.com or by calling 01277 359900. With the event expecting to sell out immediately, a limited number of tickets will be reserved for Matchroom Fight Pass members following its launch on August 1.
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