New opponent for Macklin and chance for Hall as Warren reshuffles Magnificent Seven
Matthew Macklin will now take on Georgia’s Shalva Jomardashvili on Frank Warren’s Magnificent Seven bill at Birmingham’s LG Arena on 18 September after his eagerly awaited clash with Darren Barker was aborted this week. Barker, who has been sidelined with a longstanding hip problem, has subsequently relinquished his European middleweight crown which Macklin and Jomardashvili will now contest.
Similarly a back injury to Ryan Rhodes, first revealed by BoxRec News on Thursday, has forced the Sheffield man to pull out of his scheduled European light-middleweight title defence against Lukas Konecky. Rhodes’ decision to subsequently vacate his crown has seen Manchester’s Matthew Hall drafted in to contest the vacant belt with Konecky.
Jomardashvili will enter the ring with an impressive 27 wins from his 30 contests (against two defeats and a draw). Interestingly, the attack-minded Georgian was deservedly outpointed over six rounds (58-56) by current Commonwealth champion Martin Murray in Stoke in February. Jomardashvili’s uncompromising style should blend well with that of the similarly aggressive Macklin. Last time out, the Georgian drew with the unbeaten Yvez Studer for something called the EBU-External title in May.
Former Commonwealth champion Matthew Hall was preparing to contest the EU light-middleweight title against Cedric Vitu in London on 24 September so should be in good shape. The Manchester slugger will start an underdog against Konecky (44-3) though who some insiders expected to provide Ryan Rhodes with a very difficult night.
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