BoxRec

"Maccarinelli's promoters have written with a date of 2 September and that's fine by me," Nelson told BBC Sport.

This obviously being the Bolton card.

"If I was Enzo, though, I'd be asking for October or November. He's had two hard fights this year against Marcelo Dominguez and Mark Hobson and he won't be too fresh at the moment."

Anyway, looking forward to this. Pleasantly surprised that the fight seems to be getting straightened out already.

http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/5181710.stm

A bit of gamesmanship there from Nelson, I'm sure its him who needs the extra month or two with his dodgy knee. ;)

Maccarinelli will be fine for September.

I think Nelson makes a fair point. Enzo will have been in almost non-stop training and took a lot of shots against Hobson and Dominguez.

I still fancy the Welshman to outpoint Nelson but the earlier this fight happens, the better, for Johnny.

Anyone know if he is back in training yet after his knee injury?

Looking forward to this one. Johnny was very unbeat about getting back in the ring this year to fight Enzo when I spoke to him a few months ago, and he looked fit as a fiddle, as always.

Ben Carey wrote:I think Nelson makes a fair point. Enzo will have been in almost non-stop training and took a lot of shots against Hobson and Dominguez.

I still fancy the Welshman to outpoint Nelson but the earlier this fight happens, the better, for Johnny.

I think he's yanking his chain, Nelson's been very inactive of late, and probably wants time for sparring and preparation, Enzo has plenty of time to recover and will be battle sharpened if they meet sooner rather than later.

Battle sharpened? He'll be bollocksed, James.

Fighters regularly admit they can be flat in fights through being in constant training. Enzo runs the risk.

Nelson's dealt well with inactivity throughout his career but whether his knee holds up is open to debate.

Agree with that last line Ben, Johnny style I believe leaves him less vulnerable to being ring rusty. Look how long it was between the May and Cantatore fights. I thought he looked okay vs Cantatore (if a bit hurt at one stage, but that was late in the fight)

Ben Carey wrote:Battle sharpened? He'll be bollocksed, James.

Fighters regularly admit they can be flat in fights through being in constant training. Enzo runs the risk.

Nelson's dealt well with inactivity throughout his career but whether his knee holds up is open to debate.

Nelson is old now though, and he relies on movement and reflexes, the whole ball of wax could come undone very dramatically at his age, and he has been chinned and hurt a few times of late.

I know what you mean about training, but then look at the careers of guys like Barrera and Morales, in their early careers they were constantly fighting, and a lot of the old timers fought twice a month or even more. There's something to be said for not being out of the gym for long. Yes, he's had two hard fights, but it's not like he's had them a week apart and then next week got in there with Nelson. I think Enzo is keen to get in and get the job done, the longer Johnny has to spar and prepare, the more likely he is to get sharp, the sooner the fight comes, then in my opinion anyway, the more it suits Enzo.

James

Though I've gone out about Macca being potentially weary I'm tipping him to beat Nelson. He'll have learned so much in his last two battles with Hobson and Dominguez and Enzo looks a seasoned fighter now.

He still looks vulnerable, and worryingly easy to hit, but will Nelson be positive enough to exploit this?

Maccarinelli has shown he now possesses the stamina to emerge from a gruelling battle and that he's capable of knocking even the most durable of fighters late on.

This is my thinking too. Prior to the bouts with Hobson and Dominguez, I fancied Nelson to pick, peck, poke and then torture Enzo down the stretch possibly stopping a desparate Enzo late on as he tried to close Nelson down looking for the desperately needed KO shot.

Now I think it may well be Nelson who finds the pace and confidence of Enzo's attacks too much to cope with getting beaten up late on, but surviving to lose a pretty convincing decision.

Nelson is an experienced feller, but when was the last time we saw him stop a fighter in their tracks with some serious hitting?

jamesmcdonnell wrote:
Nelson is an experienced feller, but when was the last time we saw him stop a fighter in their tracks with some serious hitting?

Rudiger May - his penultimate fight. His best performance since the Thompson fight IMO.

billy bessey wrote:i dunno what the prices will be but it looks a pretty even match up im willing to back nelson for a fair bit if any one fancies it?????

I agree Mr Bessey,

until someone actually beats Nelson for his title, then his always favoured to win in my book.

"T.M.K"

I don't know about 'a fair bit', but I think Enzo can pull it off. Is Maccarinelli top of the tree? No, far from it. And only 12 months ago, I'd have backed Nelson to pick Enzo apart. But now.....? I think Maccarinelli can pull it off.

Not totally confident about that, of course, but I've been a fan of Enzo's, even when he was knocking over complete corpses. His last 2 fights have made me think that maybe I wasn't too wrong. Enzo beats Nelson on points, I think. Close, but his aggression wins it. 115-113 maybe?

I think Enzo could force a stoppage, Nelson was really hurt against Cantatore I think Enzo hits a lot harder than him. Should be a good contest I hope it happens.

I doubt the fight will happen in September Woods-Johnston has taken that date,I can t see their being enough money in the pot to cover two big fights.
Officially Nelson has until November to defend against Macca which I am sure he will take full advantage of.Adding to the fact that Macca is away on Holiday for 2 weeks I doubt even he would be ready for the 2nd sept.

Unless Nelson's inactivity has made him past it then I think he outpoints Macca.