Stephen “Breadman” Edwards: Sergio Martinez defeats Matthew Macklin 116-112 in a rough fight.
John McCormick: Sergio Martinez by late stoppage. Matthew Macklin is a great fighter and deserves a crack at the middleweight crown but Martinez is too much for him. I expect the early rounds to be high speed-chess and somewhat competitive with Martinez gaining momentum in the middle rounds. By the tenth, Macklin will be taking a lot of punishment via clean, flush shots and Martinez will close the show.
Greg Leon: Sergio Martinez by stoppage. It’s been a while since anybody has been able to deal with Maravilla for 36 minutes. Macklin can punch but not enough defense to avoid the power or Martinez.
Scott Shaffer: Martinez wins by technical knockout around the ninth round. Martinez has to get old some time, but I don’t think Macklin has the style to dethrone the middleweight king. Macklin will probably look good early and hang tough in the middle rounds, but I think as he gets tired he will start walking right to Martinez and will get picked apart. It wouldn’t surprise me if a Macklin cut hastens the end of the fight.
Doveed Linder: How can you not go with Sergio Martinez? He?s got the big wins over Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams and when he fights less recognizable opponents like Serhiy Dzinziruk and Darren Barker, he still brings his A-game and does what a champion should do. Matthew Macklin is a deserving challenger. Most people feel that he beat Felix Sturm last year (he lost via split decision), which says to me that he is a good fighter. But Macklin has never faced anyone like Martinez before. He was knocked out by Jamie Moore back in 2006, and against Martinez, he?s going to be out of his league. Martinez has some flaws, but only an elite level fighter could expose them. He?s on a hot streak right now and I see him stopping Macklin in the later half of the fight.
Rob Soucy: I think Mathew Macklin is a live underdog and will build on momentum stemming from his controversial loss to Felix Sturm. Despite having fought in the states numerous times, Sergio Martinez does not figure to have any kind of advantage if the fight goes the distance. However, Martinez has more big fight experience and figures to be less affected by the limelight of NYC. Look for the champ to be just a little bit quicker as his awkward style confuses Macklin. The challenger will have his moments and make Maravilla pay if he chooses to fight the majority of the contest with his hands down. Neither fighter is a devastating puncher while both are fairly small middleweights so I don’t expect many fireworks. The fight will be more of a chess match with Martinez winning by majority decision!
