Ireland’s Matthew Macklin, who struggled with illness in the build-up, dug deep to retain his European middleweight title with a laboured points win over Spaniard Ruben Varon as he seeks a world title shot next year.
The Birmingham-based fighter had badly swollen eyes by the end and joked: ‘This is just make-up, I'm auditioning for Rocky VI!
‘I had a chest infection in the week but it got better as the week went on and we left it to see how it played out. I thought I'd be okay with it and in the third or fourth he got caught with a few good shots and I felt I didn't have the gas in me to go and finish him.’
