Will the last man standing
please turn out the lights?

By Andy "TKO" Houghton

The chances are that someone's will be turned out when Haye and Maccarinelli clash in the early hours of Sunday morning. British correspondent Andy "TKO" Houghton reports on the bout which has disunited a kingdom.

When near enough 30 stone of pure dynamite gets let loose in a ring, the natural reaction is to run for cover. Not that there is much chance of that David Haye around.

It is easy to forget that the Bermondsey man, who somehow achieves the mean feat of coming across as cocky and likeable all at once, has just 21 pro bouts to his name. In November, Haye travelled to the Paris stomping ground of division leader Jean-Marc Mormeck to rip away the WBA and WBC cruiserweight belts via 7th round TKO. Now, after deciding to delay a planned jump to heavyweight by one bout, he makes a first defense against possibly the biggest threat available in heavy fisted WBO titlist Enzo Maccarinelli of Wales.

Add in a victim list which includes former IBF holder Arthur Williams, as well as decent European level fighters such as Alexander Gurov, Giacobbe Fragomeni and Vincenzo Rossito, with a 95% KO rate for good measure and you've got a fighter who runs from no man.

Maccarinelli's progress has been a steady upward curve since his one loss, a third round TKO to journeyman Lee Swaby, which allegedly owed a lot to some less than recommended pre-fight relaxation. Having re-established himself off the radar, the Cardiff fighter came to the fore again when surviving a first round knockdown to hammer the heavy handed Bruce Scott to defeat in four. A string of bouts with fair-to-middling opposition ensued until former WBC holder Marcelo Dominguez was hammered to defeat in 9 to net the interim WBO belt (Enzo was later upgraded to full champ status following the retirement of Johnny Nelson).

There is genuine rivalry in the air here, stemming from comments made by Haye in the build-up when he claimed that he could win the fight inside a minute of round one. Those comments provoked an old-fashioned pub brawler's response from the Welshman who claimed that Haye was "delusional" and that he would "punch a hole in his head". Haye, meanwhile, stirred the hornet's nest further by failing to appear for a rescheduled 12.30pm press conference on Thursday, stating that it would interfere with the altered sleep pattern he is following to adjust to the 2am local start time.

It is not unthinkable that Haye's prediction could be somewhere near the mark. Not that the winner will necessarily be him. The bout evokes memories of the mid-90s junior welterweight dust-up between Andy Holligan and Paul "Scrap Iron" Ryan. In that bout, it was acknowledged that either man had the power to end the contest. Ryan reached the trigger first and out went Holligan in that round!

The thinking on this one is that an early finish probably does favour Haye. The 6'2" home fighter (the bout will be staged at London's O2 Arena) is renowned as a fast starter, with 16 of his 19 stoppage victims in a 20-1 record being blasted out inside four rounds. Haye traditional early fireworks, it has to be said, were also partly responsible for his only defeat, when he was stopped in five by heavy hitting Carl Thompson after rocking the Manchester veteran early.

These days, we are tending to see a more thoughtful Haye, who looks to pick his punches and bide his time before unleashing a finishing barrage. Mid-to-late round stoppages of Fragomeni, Lasse Johannesson and Mormeck bear testament to his improved stamina and ability to carry his power into the later rounds. Nonetheless, Haye's punch output could never be described as prodigious. This is in stark contrast to his rival, who showed against Wayne Braithwaite that he could go 12 rounds at a high pace. The Welshman has also traveled the full championship distance on two other occasions, whilst Haye's one distance fight come in a one-sided glorified sparring session against Ishmail Abdoul (the Belgian also extended Maccarinelli the full 12).

Of their other common opponents, disgraced Garry Delaney lasted 8 with Maccarinelli, 27-1(20), but was finished in 3 by Haye, whilst Rossito went down in 3 and 2 rounds respectively. This seems to point towards Haye being the heavier hitter. Certainly, he seems to have the more explosive, out-of-the blue KO power. Nonetheless, neither man has ever been mistaken for Wayne McCullough in the chin department. One decent shot could decide the bout and Haye's weight troubles (he admits to walking around at 225lbs, whilst the 6'4" Maccarinelli walks around at 205) could come into play the longer the bout goes.

Haye is the more explosive athlete, superbly fast with agility and knockout power in either fist. He does, however, hold the left hard extremely low, which could be a factor even allowing for the fact that Enzo's own left hook is his best shot. The WBO champ, meanwhile, is probably the better technician and holds an advantage in the engine department.

This has the potential to be a classic with either man able to do significant amounts of damage and plenty of good two-way betting (Haye was a 4/6 favourite at the time of writing with Enzo available at 11/10). Make no mistake about it, this is almost an even-money bout. I do think, however, that the styles dictate that it will not be a long night's boxing, with the best man left standing around the halfway mark. That man, I believe, is likely to be David Haye.

On the undercard, one of British boxing's longest-running soap operas comes to an end when a Mitchell brother from the East End finally gets his domestic title shot.

Kevin "Mighty" Mitchell has long been touted as a hot prospect in the super featherweight (130lbs) division. Like the main event, his challenge to Leeds man Carl Johanneson has been fuelled by some tasty pre-fight banter, with Mitchell suggesting that the champion's pull-out of a previously scheduled date owed more to his own lax training than the officially cited back injury. Whilst the Leeds man is a model pro and such a slight is likely to be unfounded, box will be hyped up to prove superiority.

In his last bout, Johanneson turned back the challenge of the dangerous but erratic Mancunian Michael Gomez in 6 rounds. The champ has seen confident challengers before, having managed to turn back the challenge of Femi Fehintola in his first defence, followed by a decision over Ricky Burns. Whilst his limitations at a higher level were shown in the fight prior to Gomez (L TKO4 Leva Kirakosyan), the champ has mixed with better opposition and combines a good work rate with crisp and hurtful punching.

Mitchell, meanwhile, makes a significant step up in class here. The 25-0(18) Londoner has been a prospect for a long time, though still only 23, and concerns have been raised that he was starting to stagnate. In his last bout, the challenger blew through late sub Edison Torres in 3 rounds. A spiteful, hard-hitting aggressor, he never takes a backward step and will ensure good two-way action.

Though Johanneson, 27-3(19) is a model pro and worthy of the utmost respect, he is sort of test that Mitchell has to pass, and pass impressively, if he is to amount to anything on the world stage. It says here that he can. Expect a new champion in about 8 rounds.


Questions or Comments? Please Email Andy "TKO" Houghton