HBO Sports unleashes an explosive middleweight twin bill on St. Patrick’s Day when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: SERGIO MARTINEZ VS. MATTHEW MACKLIN AND EDWIN RODRIGUEZ VS. DONOVAN GEORGE is seen live SATURDAY, MARCH 17 (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT) from the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, exclusively on HBO. The telecast will be presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
The consensus 2010 Fighter of the Year, Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KOs), originally from Buenos Aires and now living in Oxnard, Cal., comes into this 12-round, 160-pound showdown as one the sport’s top performers, having displayed a willingness to fight any challenger and the ability to dominate the competition. The 37-year-old slugger will face talented 29-year-old Birmingham, England native Matthew Macklin (28-3, 19 KOs), who is fighting on American soil for the first time since 2005.
Martinez’s profile has soared significantly since his stunning KO victory over Paul Williams in round two of their 2010 rematch. Outside the ring, Martinez has advocated civic responsibility in the community and spoken out against bullying among children and teens.
In the ten-round, 168-pound opening bout, Edwin Rodriguez of Worcester, Mass. (20-0, 14 KOs) seeks to extend his undefeated streak against Chicago’s Donovan George (22-1-1 19 KOs). The engaging Rodriguez, 26, has scored victories over James McGirt, Aaron Pryor Jr. and Will Rosinsky. George, 27, is a crowd-pleasing knockout artist who has had tremendous success in the division.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Marc Payton.
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