Retun of the Mac? Macklin offered Sturm repeat

JUNE 7 Jonny Stapleton

WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm remained true to his word and offered Matthew Macklin a November rematch.

Sturm scored a points victory over the Irish middleweight late last month, that was so controversial it prompted scorn and ridicule from promoters, fighters, fans and pundits across the globe.

Macklin claimed the German himself was so embarrassed by the reverse that he offered a repeat within seconds of the contentious score cards being read out.

And it seems the champion wasn’t just trying to temporality appease the Birmingham born fighter, as he claimed a contract for Sturm Macklin II was sent to Brian Peters at noon on Tuesday.

‘King Leonidas’ is adamant he won the June 25 bout and deserved to prolong his long middleweight reign, but wants to silence the critics who now question his world champion creditability.

Sturm is eager to settle the debate ‘like men’ and has offered Macklin a second title tilt on the weekend of November 25 in the same Lanxess Arena, Cologne Germany.

“We have had discussions regarding a rematch in November, but no agreement has been reached yet,” Sturm revealed.

“It really was a close fight on Saturday at the Lanxess Arena on June 25. Matthew Macklin and I put on a fight surely ranks among the best in the middleweight division. Again it was very close, but I’m still firmly convinced that I won clearly. Of course there is still much debate, but I plan to stop all the negative talk. At noon today my manager sent Team Macklin a contract offering a rematch. We have a set aside the 25th-26th November and want the fight to be in the Lanxess Arena,” Sturm added before sending a message directly to Macklin.

“Let’s clear this whole issue up like men of the world. I’m ready and I’m sure we’ll see an even bigger fight in November.”

Brian Peters confirmed to Mirror Sport that contact had been made, but stressed a deal has yet to be agreed.

Macklin’s stock has risen after a performance that impressed everyone bar two boxing judges and as a result has become a viable opponent for a number of middleweight boxing’s biggest names, including Sergio Martinez.

“We have had discussions regarding a rematch in November but no agreement has been reached yet,” Peters confirmed.