Matthew Macklin (born 14 May 1982) is a British-Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2016, and has since worked as a boxing manager and commentator. He challenged three times for middleweight world titles between 2011 and 2013, and held multiple regional championships at that weight: the Irish title from 2005 to 2006, the British title in 2009, and the European title from 2009 to 2011.
Macklin was born in Birmingham, England, to Irish parents, his father being from County Roscommon and his mother from County Tipperary. He is a dual citizen and travels on an Irish passport.
Macklin and his brother Seamus, also a boxer, spent entire summers and much of their youth in their mother's native county. It was there that he learned how to play one of Ireland's national sports, hurling, and he is still an avid supporter of Tipperary today. He became a talented player in his own right, and is a close friend of now retired hurler Eoin Kelly. Macklin attends the Poc fada and other GAA events when Tipperary are playing.
Following his education at the independent Solihull School, at the age of 18 and whilst studying law at Coventry University as an amateur boxer, Macklin won the 2001 national senior ABA welterweight title for the Small Heath Boxing Club by beating Justin Turley in the final.
Macklin left the amateur ranks and turned professional in September 2001, winning his first fight at the Bellahouston Sports Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, against previously undefeated Ram Singh in a first-round knockout.
In September 2006, Macklin was defeated by Jamie Moore for the British light middleweight title in a fight which took place at the George Carnell Leisure Centre, Davyhulme, Manchester, England.
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.
Macklin beat Finnish Super-fighter Amin Asikainen by first round knockout at the Manchester Velodrome, England on 25 September 2009 for the vacant European middleweight title.
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 18 September 2010, on Frank Warren's Magnificent Seven bill on Sky Box Office. Barker was forced to pull out of the contest through injury and was replaced by Georgian boxer Shalva Jomardashvili. Macklin won the fight via a technical knock out in the sixth round.
Mathew fought WBA Middleweight champion Felix Sturm on 25 June 2011. The fight ended in a split decision win for Sturm.
On 17 March 2012, otherwise known as St. Patrick's Day, Macklin met WBC Diamond Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Macklin would go on to lose after his corner retired him on his stool after round 11, a round in which Macklin was dropped twice by straight lefts from the southpaw Martinez. See Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin
Macklin came back on 15 September 2012, and fought on HBO World Championship Boxing PPV on the undercard of the WBC World Middleweight Title fight between Julio César Chávez, Jr. and Sergio MartÃÂnez in the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Macklin fought former light-middleweight world champion Joachim Alcine of Canada and won with a technical knockout in the first round. On 30 June 2013, he suffered another setback with a loss to Gennady Golovkin by knockout in the third round when Golovkin landed a left hook to the liver.
Follow a knockout loss to Argentine boxer Jorge Sebastian Heiland, Macklin took some time off from the sport. He set up the Macklin's Gym Marbella gym in Marbella, Spain, with Daniel Kinahan. Macklin returned the following year and took part in a couple of warm up fights, before dropping down a weight division to defeat Jason Welborn. He won by unanimous decision over 10 rounds in his home town of Birmingham. Macklin then defeated former world title challenger Brian Rose by a 12 round majority decision on the Anthony Joshua-Charles Martin undercard. Shortly after the Rose fight, Macklin announced his retirement in May 2016.
In 2017 Macklin announced that his partner Kinahan would be stepping back from boxing promotion due to bad publicity. The gym rebranded as MTK - Mack the Knife, as MGM Resorts International filed a trademark lawsuit over its use of the 'MGM' initials. MTK was bought out by external investors, with Matthew Macklin remaining on the board in an advisory capacity.
He became a pundit for Sky Sports.
In April 2022, Macklin was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States at a London airport because of links to Daniel Kinahan. He was travelling to Las Vegas to cover a fight between Shakur Stevenson and ÃÂscar Valdez on 30 April.