By Matthew Hurley: Enzo Maccarinelli, 28-1 with 21 KOs finally got the fight he wanted. On March 8th the WBO cruiserweight titleholder will take on WBA/WBC champion David Haye. Haye, 20-1 with 19 KOs, coming off an impressive seventh round stoppage of Jean Marc Mormeck, had stated that he was having such difficulty making the cruiserweight limit that he was moving to heavyweight..
Although speculation about the possible unification bout continued to run through the rumor mill the fight seemed to be dead in the water when Haye tried to negotiate a deal with former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. When that bout fell through over money issues Haye decided that he could still make weight.
“This will be a modern day Nigel Benn – Chris Eubank,” Haye, out of London, told Setanta Sports of the all-British unification showdown. “I’m glad that politics have been put to one side and that Frank Warren and my manager Adam Booth have made the fight happen. I feel that it is my duty as world champion to fight the very best and I guarantee that I will knock out Maccarinelli to convince the few doubters that I am the best cruiserweight that Britain has ever produced.”
Maccarinelli, who last defeated Mohamed Azzaoui by fourth round technical knockout, is thrilled that the morass that was the negotiation process for the fight has been cleared away. The Welsh fighter feared that the bout would never come off when Haye proclaimed himself more a heavyweight than a cruiserweight, but now his moment on center stage has arrived.
“I spent years begging Frank Warren for this,” he told PA Sport. “Even before he beat Mormeck this was the biggest domestic fight around and that’s exactly what I want to be involved in.”
Enzo then went on to boast that he would stop his rival.
“It’s going to be explosive. There will be a lot of big punches because that is the style we both go for. We both come to fight. I can’t make a prediction on how long the fight will last, but I know when I land the big one on him the fight will be over.”
The March 8th bout does not yet have a venue set but will be broadcast on Setanta Sports.