Skip to main content

Comeback king aims to once again prove doubters wrong

JOHN WIGHT looks at the respect Maccarinelli deserves

By now the word comeback has come to be associated with Enzo Maccarinelli far more than it ever was with Frank Sinatra.

When the former cruiserweight world champion climbs through the ropes at the Stadthalle in Rostock, Germany, to challenge WBA light heavyweight champion Juergen Braemher for his world title, the 33-year-old Swansea native will be entitled to draw strength from a career in which he's probably been written off more than any other British boxer in living memory while constantly proving the doubters wrong.

The Welshman's decision to come down to light heavy from cruiserweight in 2012 has seen him emerge victorious in three of his previous four contests, each victory by way of stoppage. This suggests the power for which he has been known for throughout his career remains a potent weapon at the lighter weight.

This is crucial to any chance Maccarinelli has of overcoming the German world champion, who brings to the table an impressive knockout ratio that has seen him KO 31 opponents in the 42 victories he's claimed from 44 fights.

Not many of the names on Braehmer's record will be known to most British boxing fans, but it is unlikely that Maccarinelli or his team will be taking the German southpaw lightly in this, the first defence of the WBA title he won against Marcus Oliveira of the US at the end of 2013.

Enzo brings that rare excitement to the ring conversant with a fighter who is capable of knocking out an opponent and being knocked out himself.

Long known for having a chin that shatters as soon as leather makes contact with it, most fighters would have walked away from the sport by now if they'd ended up as rubber legged as he has over the past few years. But yet most fighters also would not have managed to comeback as emphatically from each of the devastating KOs the affable Welshman has suffered either.

It is remarkable to think that in 2008 Maccarinelli squared off against David Haye in the most anticipated domestic clash in many a year for the cruiserweight world title and bragging rights between two men whose bad blood leading up to the fight guaranteed a gunfight.

Haye dispatched Enzo in the second round before moving onto bigger and better things in the heavyweight division, building a celebrity profile in the process of securing himself major pay days headlining stadium fights at home and abroad.

Maccarinelli, meanwhile, had to endure the disappointment of witnessing his own stock plummeting, reduced to fighting on the undercards of other fighter's shows up and down the country as he set about trying to recover and rebuild.

Further defeats and setbacks followed, yet here he is again, refusing to accept a fate that most who have followed his career believe he should have way before now.

If he manages to defeat Jurgen Braemher and claim the light heavyweight world title on Saturday night, Enzo Maccarinelli deserves not only the financial rewards such an achievement should bring, but also the right to demand the respect that many in and around boxing have denied him up to now.

 

Khan is not so golden after Mayweather snub

The recent announcement that Amir Khan will face Luis Collazo on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's May 3 outing against Marcus Maidana in Las Vegas did not set the pulse racing.

Even though his next contest will be his first at welterweight, you can't escape the feeling that Khan and his team have chosen the safe option in facing an opponent whom Ricky Hatton defeated in his own debut at welterweight back in 2006, with Collazo not exactly setting the world alight in the years since.

Khan clearly has a keen eye on a future clash against Mayweather and so it makes sense to minimise the size of the potential banana skin he could come a cropper on before he does.

The talk prior to the fight against Collazo being made was of Khan facing Mayweather doppledanger Adrien Broner next.

While undoubtedly whetting the appetite, it no doubt came to nought on the rocks of reality when it comes to the business side of a game which Joe Frazier once described as the only sport you can get your brain shook, your money took, and your name in the undertaker book.

A Khan v Broner fight does not belong on an undercard, even a Mayweather undercard, something which Golden Boy's astute CEO Richard Schaeffer will have been well aware of when it came to considering the options available to both fighters at this point in their respective careers.

If a contest between those two was going to happen, it carries the stamp of a major event on pay per view in its own right. Perhaps it may happen somewhere down the line, just not yet.

Khan needs a convincing performance under his belt after being out of action since last April, when he overcame Mexico's Julio Diaz with a less than impressive unanimous decision.

His decision to sidestep a mooted contest against Devon Alexander in December, based on verbal assurances Khan claims he received from Mayweather's camp that he was going to be the pound-for-pound champion's next opponent instead of Maidana, is one the Bolton star has since revealed he regrets.

The disappointment he suffered, not to mention humiliation at being left hanging by Floyd Mayweather, should provide more than enough motivation for him to want to make a convincing statement against the ageing Collazo.

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 13,288
We need:£ 4,712
3 Days remaining
Donate today