British Boxing: Analyzing The Future Of The Top Four Cruiserweights

Haye, Hobson, Maccarinelli and Nelson

With such a blank landscape in the heavyweight division above these individuals, the cruisers seem to be livening up with rivalries and points to prove to the world and domestic stage. These four men, David Haye, Mark Hobson, Enzo Maccarinelli and Johnny Nelson have paths that have intertwined and paths that have not; what is ahead for the top four in the country?

David Haye: European Champion

This dazzling star came from great amateur boxing roots, taking a Silver Medal at the Commonwealth Games, and has projected himself into the limelight of the pros with an impressive record that consists of 17 wins, 1 loss, with 16 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

As well as being a very talented individual in the ring, Haye is renowned for being a pretty boy and does not look as though he has even been near the ring. David has always impressed as a boxer with his silky skills and phenomenal power that has left 16 foes unable to continue after their encounter with him.

With his career taking perfect form after ten pro fights, Haye decided to go a step too far in fighting veteran Carl Thompson, the IBO Champion at the time. The Londoner paid a heavy price in one of the most entertaining fights of 2004, trying for the KO far too early and ending up on the wrong end of a shock fifth round stoppage at the hands of Thompson.

With this sole blip on his record, Haye has remained on a path to a title fight with the recognised number one cruiserweight in the world, WBC Champion O’Neill Bell. With this goal in his sights, Haye has a lot of critics to prove wrong after his recent very poor European title defence against Ismail Abdoul, which left many people in doubt over the Hayemaker’s desire in truly wanting a title shot.

With that said and maybe ignoring a very flat showing against Abdoul, Haye has been an inspiring fighter with bags of genuine talent and a real force in this tough division; he certainly has all the makings of a champion.

To actually become a champion, Haye has to believe that what he is doing is real and take it seriously. He has been known to be involved with the party life and this would be the main factor for him not to make it to the top, as he realistically beats anyone in the division with the right camp and the correct mental focus.

Enzo Maccarinelli: Interim WBO Champion

Enzo has had a blistering career in the pro ranks so far with a record of 24 wins against 1 loss with 18 victories coming by way of knockout. The man from Swansea, Wales went about gaining a fearsome reputation for being an extremely hard hitter in his division, but even with this good form at the moment, Enzo has still had his slips.

This happened back in 2000, not long after turning pro, at the hands of Lee Swaby, a cruiserweight that Maccarinelli would now be tipped to steam roll through. The third round KO loss to Swaby changed Enzo into the hardened fighter that he is today, knocking out most of his foes or stopping them with truly frightening power.

Maccarinelli has adopted a come forward, get in your face, never let off style which has become his entertaining persona in the ring. With this style of fighting, he has one contest in mind that he feels will stamp his mark on the division.

Enzo has remained adamant about receiving a title shot against his friend and current WBO Cruiserweight Champion, Johnny Nelson. This could be quite an interesting fight; as the saying goes “styles make fights” and this possibly has “bout of the year” written all over it.

Johnny’s laid back approach, wealth of experience, slick punching and awkward Brendan Ingle style of fighting could combine with the young, aggressive Maccarinelli’s come forward ingredient to produce quite literally, an awe inspiring blood bath.

This truly great fight, that both fighters have admitted to the press of wanting, has proved awkward to make due to various discrepancies but it is now only round the corner for the fans and will make for an exciting match up in October.

Although this is a fight that will make Enzo’s name just that bit greater than it already is in Britain, it will show that he has class of a champion to dethrone longtime WBO title holder Nelson.

Johnny Nelson: WBO Champion

Johnny is the most experienced boxer out of the foursome, with a record of 45 wins, 12 losses, 2 draws and 29 knockouts. With a modest career spanning all the way back to 1986, Johnny won the WBO title in 1999 but has always remained the quietest champion, an unsung hero who does not grasp the imagination of fans, unlike such charismatic champions as Naseem Hamed or Mike Tyson.

Instead, Nelson has gone about his work in a more efficient manner, preserving his career as fighter and remains one of the most respected boxers in today’s game.

Now that Johnny is rapidly approaching 40 years of age, the question remains; how much does he have left as fighter in a hungry division, full of individuals hot on his heels and looking to snatch the title from the champion?

One of those hungry individuals is friend Enzo Maccarinelli, who has been demanding a shot against Nelson for a good while now in the press. Both fighters have agreed to take the challenge recently, but more importantly, Johnny has taken the risk of fighting young Enzo after suffering a knee injury that threatened to end a 20 year career.

This contest will be taking place in October at the MEN Arena in Manchester and the styles that both fighters bring to the bout will make for a very interesting matchup that will please many fans. It should also allow critics to decide whether or not Enzo is just another nearly man or has the class of a true champion.

Johnny really does have his hands full in this one, as Enzo will bring the fight to him but in any case, it’s certainly a fight to catch as a classic example of youth vs. experience.

Mark Hobson: WBU Champion

Hobson has been in the cruiserweight mix since 1997 and has shown that he is every bit as gritty as the top boys in the division. With a respectable record of 25 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw and 13 knockouts, Mark is now the new holder of the lightly regarded WBU Cruiserweight Title.

He obtained the title from a fight with Pavol Polakovic of Poland on a charity show last Friday, broadcasted to the UK via ITV4’s The Fight Live. Before this, Mark has never really been in the spotlight until he was given a chance to box fellow cruiserweight and at that time, WBU Champion Enzo Maccarinelli this past March.

Mark fought a tough fight with Enzo, being floored along the way to lose a split decision, again on an ITV broadcast. This contest brought Mark into the public eye for the first time and proved himself to be a tough contender in the cruiserweight division.

In his latest matchup, Mark struggled with the slippery Polakovic and at many times became frustrated from not being able to land a clean shot all night. But Hobson persisted to achieve a win by unanimous decision and took the vacant WBU title.

Out of the four boxers reviewed in this article, Mark Hobson is the weakest out of the bunch skillwise, but when put to the test, has the heart of a lion and will give most boxers in the division a tough fight.

What does the future hold?

For David Haye, in many people’s opinion, the sky is truly the limit if the focus is there. Certainly a jump up in weight would prove to be successful as he is so vastly talented in every department, he really is a class act when fighting at his full potential and is generally regarded as the best in the division.

Enzo Maccarinelli is certainly the sternest test for anyone in the cruiserweight division as he has a huge heart and just does not stop working to give exciting shows with plenty of action/ Enzo truly showed his grit when unanimously outpointing tough rugged fellow Brit Mark Hobson in a non stop, back and forth encounter.

Johnny Nelson has admitted that his time is nearly up. With 25 years in the game, his head still intact, he has proved to be a worthy champion for such a long time. Looking at Johnny’s form with injuries and a split decision win over Vincenzo Cantatore in Italy, which few fans knew about, shows that the Sheffield native could finally be at the end of the road. When Nelson finally walks through the ropes to take on the young fiery Maccarinelli, we could see the curtains go down on a truly respectable career.

Mark Hobson is now the new holder of the WBU title and has finally made his name to be taken seriously by the other fighters. He certainly did not make Maccarinelli’s night easy whatsoever and would do the same to the rest if given half a chance. The future does look positive for Mark as he can now use his new title to get himself closer to furthering his career and possibly a European title shot.

The one thing for certain with these four fighters is that they still have goals to achieve and points to prove to the boxing world.