Matthew Macklin may have shared the Madison Square Garden spotlight with such luminaries as Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin, but last weekend when he took to the ring it was the less notable, if similarly glamourous, function room of the H10 Andalucian Plaza Hotel in Puerto Banús.

Topping the ‘Lights Out at the Plaza’ bill, the 33 year old took just two minutes to finish outmatched German Chirs Herrmann and continue his ascent towards a fourth world title shot.

After the bout, Macklin joked with Kevin Byrne of Sun Sports that “I was due a handy one!”

The Birmingham-born man was the star of MGM’s first professional show in Spain, and headliner Macklin admitted that “I wanted to do it [win] in style — to take him out with a proper shot.”

While ‘The Tipperary Tornado’ was under no illusions about the quality of his German opponent, he also felt that the keep-busy bout served an important purpose. Macklin acknowledged that “this was a fight I was meant to win comfortably. Headlining the first show here, it ticked a lot of boxes.”

On his preparations for the scrap, Macklin noted that “It gave me a reason to get in the gym and I’m not shredded to the bone, but I didn’t want to come in with a spare tire hanging over the protector either – I have a bit more pride than that.”

“The fight gave me something to aim for and get the head down, get on a diet, get into a routine.”