:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1473789/GYI0062552796.jpg)
The March 17 fight between Sergio Martinez and Matthew Macklin will be held at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and tickets are available to the general public on January 10 at Noon EST via Ticketmaster.
The tickets are also available online right now through that link as an internet presale. The password is PREDBE.
It's still unknown where the fight will be available on TV, as Martinez has made some heavy anti-HBO statements recently, which gives many the impression the fight will wind up on Showtime. That's possible if Showtime has the room on its schedule and the budget, but if they don't, Lou DiBella may have to take this thing to independent pay-per-view, and that could be a virtual death sentence for a fight like this. Martinez is a fantastic fighter and well-respected, but he's not a big star and doesn't have a sizable following.
That said, this is a good fight, and hopefully we won't have to pay a PPV fee to see it, because it doesn't belong there and deserves to be seen. Macklin (28-3, 19 KO) is as legitimate a contender as there is to Martinez's throne at 160 pounds, and if Macklin had gotten the scores against Felix Sturm last June, we'd be talking about pretty much a universally accepted No. 1 vs No. 2 fight in the division, and to make it even more appealing, Macklin is a pretty damn entertaining fighter and won't be there to stink out the joint and try to survive or nick a boring win.