Matthew Macklin continued his rise up the rankings in the world middleweight division when he defeated a tough Mexican opponent, 36-year-old Yori Boy Campos, in a very competitive ten-round contest before a partisan crowd at the National Stadium, Dublin on Saturday night. The 25-year-old who has strong connections in Four Roads (his father Seamus is from the area) won the contest on a score of 98 to 95 according to the referee, Emile Tiedt. Macklin’s best weapon was his left jab which scored repeatedly but the Mexican soaked up quite an amount of punches and Macklin was marked after the fight. Speaking after the fight, Macklin said: ‘I beat him well, he took plenty of punches. It was a tough test but I won’t be getting carried away. This was my first fight under (new trainer) Buddy (McGirt), we’re trying new things. Now we’ve got this one fight under our belts, I’m sure myself and Buddy will click even more. He’ll get the best out of me.’ A large crowd travelled from Roscommon and Tipperary (where his mother comes from) to support him on the night and World champion Ricky Hatton was in Macklin’s corner to offer him support. Macklin’s win will now ensure that he will get another high profile fight shortly that should be able to propel him into the top ten in the world. The win against Campos was a hard-earned victory and Macklin’s record is now 22 wins, no defeats, and two losses (suffered when he moved up to light heavyweight a few years ago). Macklin’s ultimate aim is to fight for a world title. If his rate of progress is maintained at his current level he will get his wish sooner rather than later and he seems now to have taken his place at the top of the Irish middleweight division ahead of Andy Lee and John Duddy.
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