Judgement Night – The Verdict

Amir Khan made his comeback on Saturday night by knocking out Oisin Fagan in the second round at London’s Excel Arena.

The Bolton fighter dominated the bout from the start by knocking down his Irish opponent twice in the opening round – and the punishment continued for Fagan soon after.

Just one minute and 27 seconds into the second round, the fight was stopped by the referee who deemed Fagan unable to defend himself against Khan’s powerful combinations. Fagan even required oxygen treatment afterwards.

Khan last fought against Breidis Prescott back in September, where he was embarrassingly knocked out in the opening round.

Enzo Maccarinelli also made his comeback on the Judgement Night bill, where he fought Matthew Ellis in a heavyweight clash.

The Welshman was due to fight for the WBO cruizerweight title that he lost to David Haye back in March, but had a string of opponents pull out of the fight, forcing the Swansea based fighter to step up a weight division.

The fight mirrored that of Khan’s by ending early inside the second round after Enzo’s power was too much for Ellis to handle. The Englishman was knocked to the canvas twice inside the first round after some brutal body punches from Maccarinelli. Referee Dave Parris stopped the fight in the second, ending a completely one sided affair.

The fight itself was hardly a test for Maccarinelli, but the Welsh bruiser was simply happy to get back inside the ropes: “Fair play to Matthew Ellis, he took a lot of heavy hits. I fought a much bigger guy, someone I didn't know too much about, but I controlled it and I did what I wanted."

The Welshman has now turned his attention to Herbie Hide, a fighter who declined to step into Saturdays showdown because he wanted more time to prepare. Maccarinelli was not only angered by his decision not to fight, but also angered by the way he ridiculed him in a recent interview:

“I will fight him, without a doubt — I hate the man. He said he would come to Swansea and I think everyone around there would like to see me shut his mouth.

“I would love to be the man who ended his career. He did say he would give me his house if I won – that sounds like a very interesting prospect to me. He is a first class idiot.”

Enzo seeks new challenger!

Enzo Maccarinelli’s long awaited comeback has been cast into doubt after Jonathon Banks pulled out of Saturdays fight with an ankle injury.

This is the third time the fight has been postponed, all due to the American picking up injuries. The fight looked set to be a huge crowd pleaser as both fighters are in the top two of the World Boxing Organisations (WBO) cruiserweight rankings

Maccarinelli had been looking to get his career back on track after his devastating second round defeat to David Haye by knockout last March. The ‘Hayemaker’ has since moved on to the heavyweight division in spectacular style by demolishing Monte Barrett in five rounds.

The Welshman however, is still keen to bounce back and is now relying on an un-named fighter stepping into Banks’ shoes on Saturday night. If an opponent is found, then the Swansea based boxer will challenge for the vacant WBO cruiserweight crown.

Prior to Banks pulling out, the Welshman was in confident mood and eager to put on a show for his fans:

“I have been training twice as hard since the David Haye fight. I don’t think I’ve ever hit this hard, and I’ve had to hold back a bit there’s so much in my punches.

“Losing to Haye made me realise how much I love this sport. The Monday after the fight I was back in the gym. I’ve done all my usual runs and fitness programmes with the boys from the gym, but have looked to improve my strength as well.

“I’ve been chopping logs and dragging tyres around to make me stronger and I’ve already seen the effects in sparring.”

My housemate Griffyth, who also happens to be the spit of Enzo, assures me that this type of training is extremely effective as he used to complete similar techniques whilst grafting at home. So calm yourself if you are worried about Enzo’s Rocky 4 style preparation.

Also, as I have mentioned Griff looking like Enzo a couple of times, I thought I’d make an image comparison. So now you can check out the resemblance for yourself.

Enzo To Return in December

I was pleased to hear today that Enzo Maccarinelli will make his long awaited return to the ring in December, when he will face the American Jonathon Banks at the Excel Arena in London for the WBO world cruiserweight title.

I have always been a fan of Maccarinelli, not just because my housemate is a dead-ringer for him, but because of the Welshman’s big punching, all-action style.

The fight was originally due to take place in July but was postponed until September due to an injury to Banks. The American was then unable to shake off that injury in time for September and the fight was cancelled leaving Maccarinelli well and truly in the dark over where his next opponent was coming from.

However, Enzo and British Boxing fans today got the news that we’d been waiting for with the announcement of the fight going ahead in December.

Maccarinelli has not fought since suffering a shock 2nd round knockout against David Haye in March.

The American Jonathon Banks is ranked number one in the World Boxing Organisations cruiserweight rankings, meaning he will earn 60% of the fight purse (£227,000).

I believe that Enzo has to be applauded in his selection of opponent for this fight and his choice to agree to a lesser fee.

After suffering such a heavy defeat, many boxers would look to ease their way back by fighting a weaker fighter (basically a bum!). Much like Amir Khan is doing against Oisin Fagan in December. But Maccarinelli is fighting the number one contender in his weight division, a brave decision to make with his career on the line. I personally think the Welshman will win via knockout as the fight goes the distance.

Good Luck Enzo!!!