Matthew Macklin hopes that the uproar surrounding his controversial points defeat to WBA world middleweight champion Felix Sturm in Germany at the weekend will decrease the chances of David Haye suffering a similar fate against Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg this Saturday.
Macklin appeared to have done more than enough to rip Sturm's title away in front of a sell-out crowd of almost 20,000 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, only for two of the three judges to deny him his world title dream.
The decision baffled many of those in attendance and the millions
watching worldwide.
A viewers poll on the SAT.1 website spoke volumes with 76% of German's polled believing that Macklin had won the fight as opposed to just 24% for Sturm.
The German media were equally outraged with headlines since the fight such as, ‘A Sturm of Indignation’, ‘German Boxing Disgrace’, ‘Miscarriage of Justice’ and ‘Fluke Victory’.
Macklin hopes that the uproar will benefit David Haye should his
clash with Klitschko be decided on the scorecards.
‘I think David has the power and speed to knock Klitschko out anyway and take it out of the judges hands, but if it goes to the scorecards then I think the spotlight will really be on the judges after my fight and hopefully David will get a fair shake,’ said Macklin.
‘I got back from Germany yesterday but the fan's over there were
coming up to me and apologising for the decision.
‘I think they have been very embarrassed by it and the German media reports on the fight have reflected that.
‘After the fight I asked him for a rematch and he told me 'I'm a man, I will give you a rematch'.
‘He knows I beat him and he's embarrassed by that decision, so if he's the fighter I think he is I'm sure he will want to put it right, but if not then I won't lose any sleep over it and I will move on.
‘In our hearts we both know that I won that fight hands down. I proved that I belong at the highest level and this has only made me more determined than ever to succeed.’
