:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48876113/GettyImages-456314404.0.jpg)
Matchroom Boxing has already finalized one fight for their April 9 undercard at the O2 Arena in London, where Charles Martin will face Anthony Joshua in an IBF heavyweight title main event. The promotional firm announced via Twitter this morning that Matthew Macklin will face Brian Rose in a battle of veteran junior middleweights.
Macklin (34-6, 22 KO) returned to the 154-pound division last October, his first fight at that weight since his 2006 war with Jamie Moore. Macklin defeated Jason Welborn over 10 rounds in his last bout, but had some struggles. He's won three straight against middling opponents since a 2014 loss to Jorge Heiland. Macklin, 33, is a former British and European middleweight champion, who has gone 0-3 in world title efforts against Felix Sturm (a very controversial decision), Sergio Martinez, and Gennady Golovkin. He was stopped in the latter two fights. Overall, he is 6-4 in his last 10 fights.
Rose (28-3-1, 8 KO) is a former British junior middleweight champion, beating Prince Arron for the belt in 2011 and defending it successfully against Max Maxwell, Kris Carslaw, and Sam Webb. He got a shot at Demetrius Andrade and the WBO world title in 2014, but was stopped in seven rounds, and thoroughly outclassed in the fight.
More recently, the 31-year-old Rose has had a pair of fights with Carson Jones, losing a TKO-1 in February 2015, but getting a measure of revenge with a 12-round decision win in their August rematch. He last fought in November, beating a club fighter over eight rounds in a fight where he weighed in north of 165 pounds.