Haye Defeats Maccarinelli
Date: 2008-07-08 14:43:04
Source: http://www.sportinglife.com/boxing/news/story_get....
Submitted By: Fight Videos
David Haye will dump his world cruiserweight titles and move up in pursuit of heavyweight greatness after battering Enzo Maccarinelli to a dramatic second-round defeat at the O2 Arena in London. Haye took just five minutes and four seconds to smash Maccarinelli into submission with two dynamite right hands which left the stunned Welshman reeling around the ring with no hope of continuing last night. Haye added Maccarinelli's WBO title to the WBC and WBA straps he already owned - but his first act as the unified champion will be to tell the sanctioning bodies he is deserting the division in search of greater things. Haye said: "I'm ready to go up there and start taking on the heavyweights now. I've achieved all I can in the cruiserweight division, and it's time to go up and fight the best possible opponents and knock them out. "I've always aspired to be the best at everything I do. I said from day one I'd become undisputed number one at cruiserweight. Now it's time for me to move up to heavyweight and do the same thing. "The Americans have a craving for an exciting heavyweight - someone who can really fight and is willing to put it on the line. I hope they'll realise that's me, and I'll set the world alight." Haye's twisting career has taken him everywhere from Bracknell and Rotherham to the Playboy Mansion, but this was the night he finally turned into a major Arena star in front of 18,000 fans in the early hours. Crucially for his long-term aim of heavyweight domination, the fight was beamed live across the United States - and the Americans must have been impressed with the way he turned the so-called 'Battle of Britain' into a cakewalk. Having felt the force of a Maccarinelli left hand in the first round, Haye shrugged it off and shaded the first round despite picking up a cut around his left eye - which simply added to his sense of urgency. The Bermondsey man poured forward in round two, a right hook softening up his opponent who was pushed backwards into a neutral corner and left in serious trouble by another big right hand. Maccarinelli appeared to touch down - but instead of taking a count, he sagged into the ropes and shipped another booming shot. Its force left him reeling around the ring on wobbly legs, before referee John Keane intervened. "I made a mistake and put my chin out," said a distraught Maccarinelli afterwards. "I had a plan but I didn't stick to it. It was such a stupid thing to do, and a massive lesson to learn." An early finish was always expected one way or the other, and there would have been few in the capacity crowd who left feeling short-changed by the mere five minutes and four seconds of action at gone 2.30am. Haye's fans were always convinced that his concussive power would win the day - while those who favoured Maccarinelli felt the Londoner's questionable chin and stamina might let him down. There is a real sense now that Haye has silenced those doubters and is about to set out on a thrilling journey to cut through the swathe of average heavyweight champions and emulate the likes of Lennox Lewis. While the chin which saw him stopped by Carl Thompson and dumped on to the canvas by Jean-Marc Mormeck was not tested, there is no doubt his power ranks alongside any of the best big men in the world. Haye added: "I'd fight Wladimir Klitschko in his next fight. I watched his pitiful effort in his last fight against Sultan Ibragimov, which was embarrassing. He won't be looking forward to fighting someone like me. "I've probably got two-and-a-half years to get the job done. I don't plan on fighting into my 31st year. I believe that by then I will have achieved everything I want to achieve. "Too many fighters out there have gone on too long. For instance, one of my idols Roy Jones went on too late - and it ruined his legacy. I'd like to build a legacy and retire with it intact. That's my ultimate goal." Maccarinelli will fight on and probably get the chance to win back a version of the world cruiserweight title once Haye leaves three of the major belts vacant. The IBF champion Steve Cunningham would be the obvious opponent once Maccarinelli's bruises have healed - and he shrugged: "I take my hat off to David Haye. He was the best man on the night, but I'm not finished yet." West Ham super-featherweight Kevin Mitchell also stopped Carl Johanneson last night in the ninth round of a mini-classic to add the British title to the Commonwealth belt he already owned. In what was by far the biggest test of the unbeaten Mitchell's career, he started well but was dragged into all sorts of trouble by the fearless Leeds man - who at one stage looked likely to snatch a stunning win. Mitchell hit back as Johanneson tired dramatically, sent his man to the canvas with a short left hand and then poured in the punches after the restart - forcing referee Ian John-Lewis to wave the contest off. Mitchell said: "You never know you've got it until you've been hurt and come back from it, and that's what I did tonight. I learned more from that fight than I did in my last five or six put together. "I learned to dig deep, I learned I've got a lot of heart and I learned that I can't afford to switch off. You haven't seen the best of me, nowhere near it. There is loads more to come."
