By Matthew Hurley: During the pre-fight buildup for their cruiserweight unification match WBA and WBC champion David ‘Haymaker’ Haye, 20-1 with 19 KOs has not only been derisive in his comments regarding his counterpart WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli, 28-1 with 21 KOs but downright dismissive. Haye consistently brushes talk of Maccarinelli aside in favor of pontificating about how he is the future of the heavyweight division and that this Saturdays fight against the Welshman will be a simple punch of the time clock before he moves on to bigger and better things. For his part Enzo is enjoying what he sees as an opponent dangerously overlooking him..
“I know he has underestimated me,” he said at an open media work out. “He thinks he is all that. Don’t get me wrong, he’s good but he’s not as good as he thinks he is.”
And David Haye thinks he’s very good. So good in fact that after he finishes with Maccarinelli he plans on targeting heavyweight belt holder Wladimir Klitschko. His preoccupation with the heavyweight division is not one that Maccarinelli shares.
“It’s going to be a long time before I start thinking about that,” he said during a recent conference call. “I have had nothing on my mind over the last twelve weeks except this fight. I’m just looking forward to this fight. I have no intention of moving up to heavyweight.”
Where Haye has a tendency to ramble on when discussing both his worth as a fighter and his immediate future Enzo remains more even keeled and certainly less talkative. Much of this has to do with his personality but also because of an apprenticeship he has served under junior middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. Enzo, who is trained by Calzaghe’s father, readily admits that fighting in Joe’s shadow over the years has been somewhat frustrating but the knowledge he has gained from countless sparring sessions with Joe has prepared him fully for his big moment on center stage.
“I’ve been in the shadow of Joe but I always knew that the day would come when I would be able to step out of it. Joe has been an inspiration for me over the years. We are always sparring in the gym and working on ways to adapt (in the ring). It’s been great to have Joe with me to help me along and give me any advice I need. It’s nice to have a world champion to train with every day.”
As for all the snide remarks that Haye has been making about him Maccarinelli takes it all in stride. He sees this opportunity as a springboard to greater exposure, particularly in the United States where he hopes to develop a strong fan base. He also predicts an explosive fight on Saturday night one in which he will be the last man standing.
“We are both going to come and try to knock each other out. We’re the two best workers in the gym and we’re the two best cruiserweights on the planet. We both want to knock the other one out. It should be a good night.”
The Maccarinelli – Haye cruiserweight unification bout will be broadcast live on Showtime Championship Boxing at 9 pm ET in the United States. The bout will begin at 2 am local time in London and be broadcast on the Setanta Sport Network.