Profile - the City of London School

18
Sport
Macklin receives
second chance
By JAVAD SIKDER J6HRSJ
I am apparently in the minority, in that
I think that Matthew Macklin’s fight
against Felix Sturm last year wasn’t a
robbery. It was a close and entertaining
fight that I scored as a draw and I had no
problems with the end result, a splitdecision
win for the German-based
Sturm. Despite having an official loss on
his record, Macklin’s stock has risen and
off the back of that defeat, he has given
himself an opportunity against the lineal
middleweight champion, the Argentine
Sergio Martínez.
Martínez’s last outing was in October
against Darren Barker and he encountered
some problems, mainly with getting
through the tight guard of the British
fighter. After suffering a broken nose,
the champion finally broke his opponent
down with a right hook and a knockout.
Macklin couldn’t have fought any more
differently against Sturm. Throwing
caution to the wind, he attacked
relentlessly throughout the first half of
the fight before fading down the stretch.
As the counter-puncher, Martínez may
embrace such an approach this time,
where he will be able to exploit the
holes in Macklin’s defence. Macklin must
not overcommit as he needs to be able
to fight for the whole twelve rounds.
Nonetheless, he needs to pressure
effectively and cut off the ring, as he will
not have a chance against Martínez’s speed
and athleticism in the centre of the ring.
A final point to note is that this fight is
taking place at Madison Square Garden
on St. Patrick’s Day and many Irish
supporters are expected to be present
to support the challenger. With a good
crowd expected, it is imperative that
Martínez impresses. At 37, he does not
have many fights remaining and if he
wants to get close to being a star in the
USA, he needs to start by dominating and
stopping Macklin. He has been calling out
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in
an attempt to secure a career-high payday,
but has rightfully been ignored. It would
be better for Martínez to focus on boxing
against adversaries from his own division,
as, were he able to secure a win in a fight
against either one of the two, he would
receive little credit in beating someone
based two divisions south.
Live on Sky Sports 1 from 0000, Sunday
morning.
thecitizen 16 March 2012
citizensport
Wenger’s Arsenal proving
critics wrong
By ZAC KUGEL 4B
Just two weeks ago, everyone was talking
about the end of an empire, how Arsene
Wenger’s Arsenal were finished and in
need of a total clear-out, starting with
the manager. The Gunners had just been
thrashed by AC Milan in the Champions
League and had limped out of the FA Cup
to Sunderland. This, added to their more
than unconvincing
Premier League
form, had led to the
press speculating
that Wenger might
remarkably be out
of a job sooner
rather than later.
Key players were
underperforming.
There was a severe
lack of confidence
in the dressing
room and an already
thin squad was
being ravaged by
injuries. The alarm
bells were ringing.
The jury was out.
How times have
changed. In just two
weeks, the Gunners
have seemingly
transformed
themselves into
a devastating and
effective unit. At
long last, after almost eight months of
inconsistency and struggle, Arsenal appear
to have hit form just when they needed to
do so most. Arsene Wenger continued to
back his squad through all their struggles
this season, claiming they would realize
their potential, that they were a very
capable group of players and that they
would prove their doubters wrong. He
always believed there was light at the end
of the tunnel. And he was right.
It appeared that all of Arsenal’s struggles
this season would be compounded by
a heavy defeat to arch-rivals Tottenham
Hotspur in the League which would pave
the way for a shift in power in North
London. Having taken a 2-0 lead against
the Gunners despite not even entering
second gear, Tottenham seemingly had the
North London derby all wrapped up. That
was the moment it appeared that Arsenal’s
underachieving squad finally understood
that what they had been doing was not
at all good enough, that a club that was
fighting for the title at this stage last year
should not be losing a battle to get into
the Champions League this year. Arsenal’s
underperforming players finally came
good, the likes of Rosicky and Benayoun
producing by far their best performances
in an Arsenal shirt. Confidence seemed to
return to Arsenal’s game; the free-flowing
football suddenly on display comparable
to the Arsenal sides of years gone by.
These factors, coupled
with some quality up
front with the likes of
Van Persie and Walcott,
resulted in Arsenal
ripping a high-flying
Spurs apart and running
out 5-2 winners in an
extraordinary match.
Just one week later,
Arsenal travelled to a
Liverpool side packed
with attacking quality that
had just won the Carling
Cup. The odds were
stacked against Arsenal
for this one but a brilliant
defensive showing and
two lovely Robin van
Persie goals saw the
Gunners claim a stunning
2-1 win.
In these two matches,
Arsenal have displayed
two essential yet very
different qualities. Against
Tottenham, they showed they could pick
apart even the best sides in the country as
well as showing character to come back
from 2-0 down. The Tottenham match
showed Arsenal at their attacking best. The
Liverpool match, however, showed a side
of Arsenal that not many knew they had.
This Arsenal side showed that it had the
ability and mindset required to dig deep
and defend resolutely for almost an entire
match before hitting Liverpool on the
break late on with one of few chances they
created during the match. It was the kind
of performance that is vital for achieving
success, be it qualifying for the Champions
League or winning the Premier League.
With Liverpool now surely dead and buried
as far as Champions League places are
concerned, Newcastle beginning to fall off
just a bit and Chelsea in complete disarray,
fourth spot is surely Arsenal’s to lose. If
Arsenal can find it in themselves to carry
this form through to the end of the season
and into the following campaign, silverware
might return to the Emirates much faster
than people might think.