Tornado to hurl himself into eye of the Sturm

BIRMINGHAM-Irish boxer Matthew Macklin is one fight away from becoming the WBA middleweight champion of the world.

The ‘Tipperary Tornado’, whose parents hail from Ballingarry in Tipp and Four Roads in Roscommon, faces Germany’s Felix Sturm at a sold-out Lanxess Arena in Cologne on Saturday (Sky Sports 1, 10pm).

German star Sturm has been the WBA champion for the last four years and is the odds-on favourite to overcome the threat posed by the 29-year-old two-time European champion.

However, Macklin said the highly rated German will not have it all his own way, despite fighting at home.

“I think it has all the makings of a thrilling fight,” said Macklin, who played inter-county hurling for Tipperary as a 14-year old, alongside All-Ireland winners Eoin Kelly and John O’Brien.

“Sport is littered with underdogs upsetting the odds and the time is right for me to fight for a world title. He is the world champ. He’s proven. But my record is credible.

“I’ve been European champion twice and have been rated in the top five in the world the last two years. I believe I’m capable of winning it. I have to beat the world champ to become the world champ and I’m in the best shape to do that.”

Macklin, who carries an Irish passport, expects to be greeted by a partisan crowd, but said he is not fazed by fighting on foreign soil.

This week, the former Ballingarry minor hurler charmed local media by speaking German at the pre-fight press conference.

“Felix is the favourite and he’s fighting in front of his home crowd — it’s an old cliché, but it’s only going to be me and him in the ring,” he said.

Macklin turned professional in 2001 after an outstanding career in the amateur vest of England. However, recognition of his skills didn’t arrive until 2006, when fighting Jamie Moore for the British title. The bout shot him into the mainstream and is still rated as one of the greatest of recent times.

Macklin was beaten, just, but he has promised to bring that warrior spirit to bear in the Lanxess Arena. “I fought every round of that fight like it was my last that night,” he said. “It was all punches in bunches, desire and determination. There was no quit in me and I’m going into this world title fight with the same mentality.”

Macklin’s obvious relish for a battle remains, but he has developed technically since the Moore fight while retaining a knockout punch. His brutal first-round dispatch of Finland’s Amim Asikainen in 2009, earned him the European middleweight title and paved the way for a WBA title shot. He said. “I’ve shown I can box. I haven’t been involved in a war since Jamie Moore but I know it is there if I need it.”