‘Boxing here is like a world title fight’

Matthew Macklin may have been born in England but is very much a proud Irishman

Q: Your opponent, Jorge Sebastian Heiland, is a 15/2 underdog with the bookies, and he seems insulted that you’re a 1/20 favourite. How do you rate it?

A: “It’s a two-horse race and he’s a proper fighter. He went the distance against Sebastian Zbik, a former world-title challenger, when he was at his peak. I’d say Heiland is a better fighter than he was then (in 2010). Of course, I’m favourite – I’ve fought at a higher level and been European champion twice. I’ve beaten better guys than he’s fought, but 1/20 is ridiculous because if I box to my best, I beat him, but if I don’t, then maybe I don’t beat him. I’ve prepared for it as a proper fight.”

Q: Like your former world-champion opponent Sergio Martinez, Heiland is an Argentinian southpaw but that’s probably where the similarities end?

A: “Martinez is very awkward and had very quick feet. Heiland is square, likes to plant his feet and go to work at mid-range and overwhelm fighters. He’s not a one-punch knockout fighter, but he’s definitely got respectful power.”

Q: You’ve been a nomad, competing in big fights abroad. You now have a deal with Matchroom on Sky TV. Is there a motivation to make your name known among the wider public in Ireland?

A: “I boxed on RTÉ when Bernard Dunne was flying and headlined against “Yori Boy” Campas. I’ve boxed on Sky Sports since then but I wanted to come back here and get a home base. When I spoke with Eddie (Hearn, Matchroom) he was more favourable of doing it in the UK and in Birmingham, but I said ‘I want it to be in Ireland’.”

Q: A win here is seen as your route to a fourth world-title fight: will headlining at the 3 Arena match your career highlights?

A: “Headlining at the 3 Arena was important to me. Boxing here is like a world title fight. It’s the main arena in Ireland and especially with the fact I was born in England to Irish parents, it probably makes me that extra bit proud to bring big-time boxing back here.”

Q: You travel on an Irish passport and fight under the Tricolour as a pro. What was it like growing up in an Irish community in England? Did you feel a dual identity growing up?

A: “No, I was completely Irish. When I boxed as an amateur for England that was probably the first time I felt any sense of dual identity, if that’s the right phrase. As a kid, football to me was Gaelic football. I was very much my dad’s son and I went to a Catholic school where most of the kids were of Irish descent. At the weekend, I’d be with my dad at what’s now Páirc na hÉireann and then we’d go to the Irish Club. It was no different from being in Ireland... Anytime there was a break from school we were back in Ireland in Roscommon or Tipperary. In many ways I’d have said we were more Irish because my dad drummed it into us even more.”

Q: What about boxing for England as an amateur?

A: “When I started boxing for the England team it felt like I was doing something wrong, nearly. But I wanted to box as an international – it wasn’t like I went off to become the British Bulldog! I wanted to get further in my sport. My dad thought it was the right thing, although he’d love if I boxed for Ireland, but I boxed in the English championships and I never boxed in the Irish championships.”

Q: After you were knocked out by Jamie Moore in Manchester in 2006, you ‘came to’ in the ambulance claiming you had been fighting in the Gaelic grounds in Páirc na hÉireann in Birmingham. True?

A: “That’s right. I was with my brother, Séamus, and an old girlfriend, Leanne. Obviously I wasn’t quite with it!”

Q: You’re a big hurling fan, though, and played underage for Tipperary?

A: “I played every summer when I came back (to Ireland), but in ’96 I was 14 and back in Ballingarry for eight weeks and I really did not want to go back to England. I had an interview to go to St Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, but come Christmas time my boxing was going well and I said I’d wait until the whole family moved back. My mam and dad bought a plot in Borrisoleigh, but the move never happened.”

Q: Noel Gallagher said he’d trade being a rock star for playing up front for Man City – ever felt that way to be an All-Ireland winner with Tipp?

A: “The boxing got more serious when I left school. By that time I stopped playing other sports and by 17 I decided to focus on the boxing. But in ’99 when Tipperary got to the minor final with a great side, it was all my mates playing and I would have been on that team. I remember thinking I wished I played one more summer to get to a minor final. I’d be in touch regularly with John O’Brien and Lar Corbett, I played with Johnno and Eoin Kelly. I wouldn’t trade it because I’m happy with how the boxing’s panned out and I believe the best is yet to come. Maybe I’ll go back and play in the All-Ireland Masters!”

Q: Does it piss you off that your Irish middleweight rival Andy Lee is always linked with you in terms of your sporting profiles in Ireland?

A: “Not really. He was born in London and lived there until he was 14 so it was nearly the same (as me), but I’d say he was nowhere near as stepped in Irish culture like the GAA like I was. His brother Ned had boxed for England, but Andy boxed for Ireland when they moved back. He got to the Olympics so sometimes I feel he hasn’t had to achieve as much... I won the European title twice, but that’s the way it is.”

Q: But in a sporting sense, what about the fact he’s mentioned in nearly every interview you do?

A: “It’s like Mayweather-Pacquiao, your rival will always be thrown into the conversation. You should be grateful to have rivals because they make big fights. Joe Calzaghe suffered for years because he didn’t have a great rival. Andy’s not a bad lad, I wish him well genuinely against (Matt) Korobov (in his December title fight). Aside from me and him fighting, I hope he wins a world title for Irish boxing.”

Q: Do you think you will ever fight – yes or no?

A: “Yeah!”

Q: Your former opponent Jamie Moore was training you until he was shot in the legs in Marbella last August. You had only had one fight with him – is that relationship over and how is he?

A: “He’s recovering but still not right yet because he has some nerve damage. I’m back training in Manchester now and I’ve had a really good camp with (former trainer) Joe Gallagher and had success with him (Gallagher) in the past. If all goes well on Saturday night I probably won’t change it again. But Jamie’s a friend of mine above and beyond boxing, we had a ding-dong of a fight against each other, and he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

Q: The shooting led to coverage of the Marbella’s reputation as a ‘crime capital’, did you ever feel in danger?

A: “I never felt in danger. Obviously Marbella has a reputation, not just in an Irish context but internationally. It’s an underworld, it’s there but you don’t see it. You know there’s people there that are (involved in crime or) whatever, but that’s everywhere – Dublin, London, Limerick, New York – that’s life.”

Q: Is it a concern about the coverage of the shooting in relation to your gym (Macklin’s Gym Marbella)?

A: “It’s annoying, the gym is doing so much good stuff. If you seen the amount of kids in there, not getting charged, money is raised for charity. Some (newspaper) stories are like a comic book.

I’m not the first person that’s got friends with someone that’s got a reputation; I take people as I find them. Whatever anyone else does is their business. The gym is a boxing gym and anyone who’s in there is training or they’re boxing fans or they want to be involved in boxing. The amount of work that’s gone on with kids that are benefitting from it... we’ve had a few white-collar events and raised like €150,000 for a charity for kids with developmental issues.”

Q: Describe what’s in store tonight...

A: “When you’re getting gloved up is when you get a blast of the nerves. You can feel it and smell it in the dressing-room. It’s horrible but it’s great! I believe I’m going to put on a good performance. It could become a gruelling fight, an attrition, but I think I’ll always have the upper hand. I believe I’m a much better fighter. Heiland’s never been stopped so I’m expecting 12 rounds, but if I catch him clean early he’ll probably go but mentally I’m prepared for 12 hard rounds.”