Amin Asikainen is a tough fighter, says Jim Watt, but Matthew Macklin will more than hold his own.
Matt ready to make most of big opportunity, says Jim
The wait is finally over - his time has come.
Matthew Macklin gets his big chance on Friday when he fights Amin Asikainen for the vacant European championship - a genuine breakthrough bout.
I've been saying on commentary for quite some time that Matthew needs a big fight; he's faced tough opponents in the last couple of years, winning seven on the trot, but only in fights that haven't meant a lot.
Take for instance Matthew's display against Yory Boy Campas: it was a tough, hard night's work but he found it difficult to raise a decent performance before he came through on points.
He's been boxing well but I've just had the feeling he hasn't been firing on all cylinders. So long as he kept winning that was fine - especially when the British middleweight title was at stake, as it was against Wayne Elcock in March.
I fancied him pretty strongly to win that fight and the manner of his victory was very good. He badly needed that fight and it's led to another much bigger one in Manchester, which is a big plus, but now he needs to step it up.
Focused
Matthew has wasted a lot of time in his career and he hasn't always given the job his full attention. He must have had half-a-dozen trainers at least so far, which is incredible.
I think he will admit that he hasn't always behaved himself properly in between fights. He enjoys big nights out and likes a drink - I can say that because I'm quite friendly with him.
But he seems to have settled down now, which is good, because at this stage of his career he should be focused on doing what's right all of the time not just when there's a fight coming up.
Matthew shouldn't want to retire down the road regretting that he didn't do the job properly so now he is prepared to give it his 100 per cent attention - something that is essential once you get to European and world level. You can't let socialising distract you from your aims.
He's also learnt how to pace himself since that defeat to Jamie Moore in September 2006 when he got his tactics all wrong and ran out of steam. He knows how lonely a boxer is in the middle when he's got nothing left in the tank and I don't expect him to make that mistake again.
Detail
Trainer Joe Gallagher has played a big part changing his approach; what I really like about him is that he lives, eats and breathes boxing.
He is a man who leaves nothing to chance; every little aspect of the preparation will have been carefully thought out. I don't think anyone else pays as much attention to detail as he does.
That's why I was so amazed when John Murray, then under Gallagher's guidance, failed to make the weight for his British lightweight title defence in June.
He usually gets his fighters in such great shape so, despite that blip, I have no worries that Matthew won't be ready for this one - which is just as well because Asikainen will be no pushover.
Respect
At 33, the Finn has already been through some hard times; he's fought and won at a high level and can still punch. Just because there might be a bit of wear and tear does not mean Matthew should give him anything other than his full respect.
Asikainen is very precise boxer, who stands up in a typically-European style rather than bob and weave. He's a good puncher who is technically competent but I can't see him causing Macklin any great problems. He doesn't take a lot of working out, if you catch my drift.
Weighing all that up, I think it is going to be an exciting fight that will go the distance. I can't see Matthew stopping Asikainen but I think he will win on points.
