27.02.06 – Dynamite-punching Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli plans to take it out on Mark Hobson when the Yorkshireman steps in to replace Johnny Nelson on the big M.E.N card at the weekend. Maccarinelli will now defend his WBU World Cruiserweight title against Hobson on Saturday night following the withdrawal of WBO king Nelson due to a knee injury suffered in training..
” When I got the news about Nelson I was just about to begin sparring, so the guys I was working with that day got a bit of pasting,” said Maccarinelli.
“I was gutted when I heard about Johnny, but as soon as I heard Hobson was in, I was up for the fight.
“I’ve been in this game long enough to get used to things changing in the build up to fights, and getting another one of my British rivals was great news. Now I get to bash him up instead.
“My preparation has gone really well and I’m fitter and stronger than ever before, so I can’t wait to fight in front of a massive crowd and live on ITV.”
Current British and Commonwealth Cruiserweight champion Hobson, 29, has an impressive record, and his team have boasted that he’ll have too much for 25-year-old Maccarinelli.
But Enzo shrugged off those suggestions.
” His trainer (Chris Aston) has been boasting on a couple of websites about how Hobson is going to win,” said Maccarinelli.
“But he won’t be in the ring with his man on Saturday – and he’ll wish he stayed at home with his keyboard.
“Hobson himself always talks about how he beat Lee Swaby, who I lost to, and Bruce Scott, who I got off the floor to beat.
“What he forgets is that I was 19 when I fought Swaby and was handling him easily until I got stupidly got caught. Hobson was given all he could handle by Swaby and then some more.
“And the Bruce Scott he fought was badly out of shape and even then he couldn’t knock him out like I did.”
Meanwhile British featherweight champion Andy Morris has been ruled out of a title defence against Rendall Munroe on the Manchester card because of a hand injury and cut he picked up in sparring.
Maccarinelli-Hobson will be chief support to Joe Calzaghe’s WBO/IBF match up with Jeff Lacy, which begins at 2am in the UK, 9pm Eastern time in the USA and will be shown live on ITV1 and Showtime.
ITV1 viewers can watch all the action from the M.E.N Arena from 11.10pm until 3.10am, with a re-run of the fight shown again on Sunday morning from 11.25am until 12.55pm.