Whatever happens after March 10, the affable and popular Enzo needs to stay clear of Superman and the Krusher?
?I need fights that scare me. That?s when I?m at my best. I shit myself against Wayne Braithwaite and people tell me that?s the best I?ve boxed.??Enzo Maccarinelli
?A great boxer has the ability to sacrifice everything, which is what you?ve got to do.??Maccarinelli
Fan-friendly Enzo ?Big Mac? Maccarinelli (39-7), the ex-WBO cruiserweight champion, will be fighting Frenchman Mehdi Amar (31-4-2) on October 10 with Amar?s EU light heavyweight title at risk. The fight will be in Newport, Wales, and Enzo has a solid chance for a victory. And should the oft-concussed Enzo beats the Frenchman, he?s hoping for another world title shot before he retires. Now trained by Gary Lockett, the 35-year-old Enzo reckons he?s ?probably fitter and stronger now than he?s ever been? but admits: ?I haven?t got long left in boxing.?
His loss to Juergen Braehmer in April 2014 resulted from his right eye being hideously swollen. Enzo said, ?He hit me flush several times and he didn?t hurt me once. Nothing bothered me power-wise, but I couldn?t see him?I don?t think that was settled properly. I don?t think that fight showed who the better man is.?
Now he also has Adonis Stevenson and/or Sergey Kovalev in his sight if he is successful in Wales next month, but if so, that?s not a good idea. The candid Big Mac has no illusions and asserts, ?I?m not kidding myself. I?m not saying I?m going to go in there and smash them, but would I go into my shell? No. I would go after them. I would give it them and if I get caught, I get caught. That?s the way I fight. I?m not going to hide on the ropes?Kovalev and Stevenson are beasts?If I make a mistake against them, they are going to put me to sleep, but I reckon I can put them to sleep as well.?
However, anyone who witnessed Enzo?s KO losses to Denis Lebedev, David Haye, Ola Afolabi, and particularly Alexander Frankel knows that this is a bad?even a dangerous idea. See: http://www.boxing.com/when_boxing_became_something_else.html
Like many who are ?chinny,? Enzo can punch and has an impressive KO percentage of over 67%. In fact, Frank Warren once described Maccarinelli as the hardest pound-for-pound puncher in boxing. But that ability to excite?to chill-or-be-chilled?may be his biggest downfall.
Whatever happens after March 10, the affable and popular Enzo needs to stay clear of Superman and the Krusher.
Ted Sares is one of the world?s oldest active power lifters and holds several world and state records. He enjoys writing about boxing.
