Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin - St. Pat's day fight thread

[ono]

McGirt was saving him from getting knocked unconcious. It was blatantly obvious how badly he slowed down and tired and anyone that knows his history could see that.

Macklin said afterwards - "with hindsight Billy Graham (one of his previous trainers) should have stopped him going out for the 11th round against Jamie Moore" (he was sparked face first unconcious)

He knew he was finished and didn't protest in the slightest.

I understand that and I'm not saying McGirt should have let the fight go on, only that I don't understand why he wouldn't give him the full minute to see if he could recover.

Because Macklin had visibly slowed and had pretty much no chance of winning. He didn't have the power to hurt Martinez, and because he'd been badly hurt himself, he no longer had the ability to land anything of meaningful substance.

He might have 'gone out on his shield' or had the pleasure of 'seeing the final bell' but when you've been badly shaken twice in in quick succession then i don't think there's any point when you have zero chance of winning the fight - especially when you have a big chance of getting knocked out badly.

[JazzWolf]

I couldn't believe Sergio still had enough energy to dance circles around Macklin in round 11. He has godly stamina for his age.

Macklin's awkward, bobbing look was a smart move but I think they underestimated Sergio's intelligence and adaptability. The fight was over the moment Sergio made adjustments and landed his "left straight from hell" in round 9. No one has ever come back after taking that punch.

[ruthless rocco]

I couldn't believe Sergio still had enough energy to dance circles around Macklin in round 11. He has godly stamina for his age.

Macklin's awkward, bobbing look was a smart move but I think they underestimated Sergio's intelligence and adaptability. The fight was over the moment Sergio made adjustments and landed his "left straight from hell" in round 9. No one has ever come back after taking that punch.

i disagree. it wasn't that martinez had made adjustments due to his intelligence and adaptability. its that macklin has endurance issues and tired down the stretch. he became easier to hit while throwing fewer punches... which granted martinez(who does have great endurance), the opportunities to capitalize on. which of course he did.

i posit that if martinez had been fighting a more skilled and better rounded fighter that his poor performance may have resulted in a points loss.

[JazzWolf]

I couldn't believe Sergio still had enough energy to dance circles around Macklin in round 11. He has godly stamina for his age.

Macklin's awkward, bobbing look was a smart move but I think they underestimated Sergio's intelligence and adaptability. The fight was over the moment Sergio made adjustments and landed his "left straight from hell" in round 9. No one has ever come back after taking that punch.

i disagree. it wasn't that martinez had made adjustments due to his intelligence and adaptability. its that macklin has endurance issues and tired down the stretch. he became easier to hit while throwing fewer punches... which granted martinez(who does have great endurance), the opportunities to capitalize on. which of course he did.

i posit that if martinez had been fighting a more skilled and better rounded fighter that his poor performance may have resulted in a points loss.

No argument there. He's still got the power, speed, and the durability but his disadvantage in technical skill has been exposed in his past couple fights; his "hands down" style is costing him at times, allowing his opponents to score counter shots in between his punches. Macklin nearly landed some decent counter punches but narrowly missed because of slow execution or lack of leverage. If it were someone like Chavez Jr or Bute, there would be serious issues.

[Rantcatrat]

I couldn't believe Sergio still had enough energy to dance circles around Macklin in round 11. He has godly stamina for his age.

Macklin's awkward, bobbing look was a smart move but I think they underestimated Sergio's intelligence and adaptability. The fight was over the moment Sergio made adjustments and landed his "left straight from hell" in round 9. No one has ever come back after taking that punch.

i disagree. it wasn't that martinez had made adjustments due to his intelligence and adaptability. its that macklin has endurance issues and tired down the stretch. he became easier to hit while throwing fewer punches... which granted martinez(who does have great endurance), the opportunities to capitalize on. which of course he did.

i posit that if martinez had been fighting a more skilled and better rounded fighter that his poor performance may have resulted in a points loss.

Well, that's the thing, Sergio leaves a lot, perhaps too much, to chance. Actually, I agree that he leaves a little too much room for error in the time it takes him to figure his opponent out. However, I've also noticed that he tends to fight well in the final rounds. Like you said, his stamina is excellent and he is a great athlete. He also, like other champions, can make adjustments. I disagree with you on that. For example, it took him 12 rounds to figure out Paul Williams, and although I thought he beat Paul Williams in their first fight, the next time around, he had already figured him out, and made the adjustment, which led to the knockout.
Who is a fighter in your estimation that would have taken advantage of Martinez's imperfect performance?

[Mars_ax]

I couldn't believe Sergio still had enough energy to dance circles around Macklin in round 11. He has godly stamina for his age.

Macklin's awkward, bobbing look was a smart move but I think they underestimated Sergio's intelligence and adaptability. The fight was over the moment Sergio made adjustments and landed his "left straight from hell" in round 9. No one has ever come back after taking that punch.

I believe it was Steward (it might have been Merchant) who said that Martinez looked as fresh in the 11th round as he did the 1st.