By Mark Vester
In a recent interview with The People, WBA/WBC cruiserweight champion David Haye promises a brutal knockout when he meets hometown rival and WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli at the O2 Arena on March 8.
Haye promises that Macca is his last fight at cruiserweight. He plans to move back up to the heavyweight division, where he made his debut at the start of 2007. He wants to become the heavyweight champion and knows that his career is hanging on a win against Macca.
"My career hinges on this fight, but that's the sort of pressure I thrive on. Boxing fans don't care who weighs what as long as they get two guys fighting, but what makes this fight so appealing is that it's dangerous," Haye said. "It's like a car crash and people want to everyone knows we punch really hard and we've both been knocked down by lesser punchers.
"Someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get knocked out and it's not going to be me. But it's not going to go late, his chin's not good enough. He'll be so much heat early doors. He'll go down and stay down, or I'll lay him out. One of the two. It's going to be brutal."
Haye told the paper that his biggest battle will be against the scale. The move to heavyweight was more about weight than money. Haye has had a lot of trouble making the cruiserweight limit of 200-pounds. Should he lose, Haye says that his career will be over.
"If you want big things in life you have to make sacrifices. And mine is that I'm going to fight at a weight that, ideally, I wouldn't fight at," Haye said. "For Mormeck, a lot of people wrote me off, but the pressure was on and I rose to the occasion. I'll keep my weight down, and asked my manager to do everything to make this fight happen. Taking it wasn't a big thing, I always want the best fight."
"My career is over if this fight doesn't go my way, but if you believe in your ability you shouldn't have to duck and dive. The Board will be making sure I'm not losing weight too quickly. The only way weight may be a problem is if the fight is long and gruelling."
Interesting to hear David say his career will be over if he were to lose to Maccarinelli. I don't think this would be the case, although it would be a big blow to Haye, mentally more than anything else. Haye could still move to HW, make a lot of money & see where his campaign at HW takes him.
I like Haye, I've met a few times & he seems a nice, decent guy, not the flashy, arrogant person who a lot of people think he is. Whether you like him or not, you cannot but respect the man for taking the best fights out there. I personally thought Haye was all set for a move to HW after Mormeck, but he's decided to take on Maccarinelli first. That's bottle if you ask me!
From the interview, it's would appear David is banking on an early win. I know it's likely the fight will end sooner rather than later, but it is a concern to hear David say the weight could be a factor if the fight goes into the latter stages & you never know what's going to happen in boxing!
For what it's worth, I think Haye KO's Maccarinelli within five rounds however, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended in the first!
