SportingLife:

Maccarinelli ready to return

Former world champion Enzo Maccarinelli will return to the ring next month in a bid to reclaim his crown.

The Welshman lost his WBO crusierweight title to David Haye in March 2008 and two further defeats this year mean he has now lost three of his last four fights.

However, Maccarinelli has confirmed he will fight on with his latest comeback taking place on December 5 on the undercard of Amir Khan's world title defence at Newcastle's Metro Arena.

Maccarinelli said: "After my last fight against Denis Lebedev there was talk of me retiring.

"I had a long think about where my career was going, but I've got my hunger back now.

"Being a world champion meant a lot to me and it hurt so much losing my world title.

"There's no way that I'll quit before I win it back, and the plan is to have a couple of warm-up fights before stepping up to championship level in 2010."

He added: "There were a few things that weren't right in the ring against Lebedev and it wasn't a question of me not being good enough, I just didn't fight the right fight.

"But I know that I've still got a lot left to offer and I've been really buzzing in the gym these last few months."

Maccarinelli, 29, still has a formidable 29-4 (22) record and believes he'll be back to his old self in the north east.

"I've had a nightmare 18 months or so, but it's time for a fresh start," he said.

"My mind was getting too cluttered but people are going to be seeing an old-school Enzo up in Newcastle and I'll be back to my knockout best."

I like Enzo he's a nice big fella so would like to see him call it a day but it sounds like we're going to see him get knocked out a couple of more times before he's ready to give it up, he was always a bit vulnerable but think the Haye fight ruined him mentally.

I wasnt a believer in Enzo to start with.

He had knockout power but I was just never sold on him.

He changed my mind when he pulled off that win against Braithwaite. The Haye fight was always wrong for him and really it would have helped his career ten fold if he had got Cunningham, Mormeck or Banks in the ring. Banks especially was made for Enzo in my opinion.

The thing is that for all the promise he was beginning to show, Haye took one almighty chunk out of him and hes never been the same again.

Hes only 29 so hes fine to carry on but I think we all know that the Haye fight will be looked on as the one that broke Enzo. He will most likely never be the same again.

The thing was in his recent fights he didn't seem to know how to pull the trigger, and for such a big man he didn't use his height to his advantage against Afolabe - smothered his work.

--------- He was sharp as a tack, it was his stamina that was dire. That left his chin open to the limited Afolabe who had laid back to soak up Macca's best.

I'm not going to pretend to know what's best for him at this point, but physically he could carry on well at a domestic level and possibly upset an applecart in another big fight if he sorts his lack of stamina and confidence issues.

Yeah you're right about Enzo, he does lack the all round ability at world level. He can bang hard with both hands but as you say, his stamina does not improve, no matter how hard he trains or whoever trains him. He is a great bloke outside the ring, I have met him a few times, he does loads of appearances on the amateur boxing shows in South Wales. I hope he can get a few wins together and maybe fight at British title level to earn a decent living for his family. I wish him the best but truthfully, he has had his day, David Haye broke his will and I doubt very much he will be the same ever again.