Can Maccarinelli Become King of the Mountain?

WBU cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli is nearing the stage of his career that will in all probability see him take his dynamite fisted style into true world-class circles. Before that can happen however, the lanky twenty four year old must first turn back the challenge of dangerous American spoiler

Rich “The Mountain” LaMontagne. The two clash tomorrow night on Sports Network’s superb fight card in Bridgend, Wales along with an impressive cast of top Welsh fighters. Hardcore fans on both sides of the Atlantic have been following the progress of this highly anticipated pairing to see if Maccarinelli can compete outside of the European level of competition. Enzo Maccarinelli’s ascent to prominence began in June of 2003 when he acquired the WBU belt in spectacular fashion, getting off the canvas to dust off former British and Commonwealth champion Bruce Scott within four torrid rounds. Since then, six-foot-four “Big Mac” has impressively defended his title on five occasions, with only one opponent, Ismail Abdoul, going the distance. This time the native of Swansea, Wales will have, at least on paper, a more difficult assignment.

Don’t miss this exclusive interview with Enzo Maccarinelli and his trainer Charlie Pearson.

“I’m really looking forward to this fight on Friday,” remarked Maccarinelli. “I’ve watched some videos of LaMontagne and he looks to be a very tough guy, a very aggressive fighter. He has been stopped once but he’s also been in with some very good fighters like Vassiliy Jirov, Dale Brown and Kenny Keene and gone the distance so I know he’s got a good chin.”

Although LaMontagne, 29-6-1 (24) did suffer the only stoppage loss in his career at the hands of Chris Thomas last year, the thirty-five year old from Everett, Massachusetts has indeed proved his ability to take a punch. One factor that could play a deciding role in this contest however, is an aspect of the game that many in the division don’t take full advantage of and something Maccarinelli has proved quite adept at. “I’ve studied a lot of videos of LaMontagne’s fights and I’ve seen him make a lot of mistakes, but you can’t really tell what will go on until the bell rings and we see what he does,” he said. “I do like throwing body punches and a lot of cruiserweights aren’t very protective against that, mainly because not a lot of them actually throw body-shots. But I can mix it up to the head and body, so whenever I see him hurt I’m sure I’ll punish him.”

While the American has been in with world level fighters such as Jirov and Brown, he’ll likely have to raise his game to new levels if he is to have a chance of defeating the unusually strong Welshman. “Enzo has been sparring with eighteen-stone (254-pounds) heavyweights in the gym,” said Maccarinelli’s longtime trainer Charlie Pearson. “He’s been working with Darren Edwards and Scott Gammer, who’ll be fighting for a British title eliminator soon. For speed, we’ve also been working with Nathan King, a light heavyweight. Once Enzo gets settled down, no one really bothers him. He’s so big and powerful that he can push these heavyweights around and he just hits so hard. If they do begin to press him, once he dips down and hits them with a left hook around the short ribs, they soon back off. I know Enzo is really looking forward to this fight, as LaMontagne is quite strong and has a good chin too. Of the tapes I’ve seen of him, he seems to sit back on his back foot and unloads that right hand on you. Basically you can see it coming, but he throws a long right hand that seems to be very powerful when it hits. But Enzo and I have had a chat and gone all over that. We’ve got our plan, same as the opponent does and my personal opinion is that LaMontagne will come out right quick to see what he can do. Enzo would like to see that because he loves somebody coming towards him. I think once LaMontagne is in the ring he’ll realizes that this guy Thomas who beat him last year has nothing close to Enzo’s power. But obviously, you’ve got to respect all fighters, as it’s a hard game. We’re looking forward to it and hopefully we’ll get the job done quick.”

In his most recent outing Maccarinelli destroyed a very useful Danish cruiser named Jesper Kristiansen, who in 2003 had competitively battled European champion Pietro Aurino in a losing title bid effort. “I put him down in the second round and then I knocked him out in the third with a body shot,” said the WBU titlist. “That body-shot seemed to dissolve him. I knew that Kristiansen liked to counterpunch and cause people to make mistakes, so I just cut off his room and I applied, as Evander Holyfield used to call it, “educated pressure.” I just kept the pressure on until I wore him down and when I saw the opportunity I took it.”

The Swansea man hopes to do the same to longtime WBO champion Johnny Nelson, as the two have been rumored to be sharing a ring together for some time now. Frank Warren, who manages both Nelson and Maccarinelli, does have plans for the two to meet as soon as it can be put together, but there are some things that cloud the picture somewhat. Nelson is thirty-eight years old and has been boxing professionally since 1986. He’s already working actively as a color commentator on Britain’s Sky TV between fights and there has been much speculation that he may well retire after his upcoming title defense against Vincenzo Cantatore.

Despite the obstacles, Nelson remains the target just over the horizon for Team Maccarinelli. “I’ve always said I want to fight Johnny because he’s a great guy and he’s been a great champion,” said Enzo. “To be honest, I get on quite well with him, but at the end of the day he’s got something I want and I do regard him as he best cruiserweight in the world. It would be nice for me to fight him for the belt, rather than wait for him to give it up and then fight for the vacant belt. But obviously if I don’t take care of LaMontagne on Friday, that plan goes out the window, so I can’t look too far ahead.”

Like most cruiserweights, the WBU kingpin has benefited from the recent divisional increase from 190-pounds to a full 200-pounds. As Maccarinelli is only twenty-four years old and stands six-foot-four, he doesn’t rule out the idea that he may grow out of the weight class. “The raising of the cruiserweight limit has been great,” he chuckled. “To be honest, I always used to go around at fourteen-stone (196-pounds), and I made the thirteen-stone eight limit (190-pounds) quite comfortably. But obviously as I’m getting older, my body’s maturing to a heavier weight so the fourteen-stone-four limit (200-pounds) has been a great advantage to me and I’m probably about 198-pounds right now so that’s really my natural weight.”

“Eventually I may have to step up a class but it’s other fighters at this weight that are stepping up to heavyweight already. In my eyes, you’ve got to achieve something at this weight first. That is my aim, to achieve the number one status as a cruiser, so I’m not thinking about making that step up to heavyweight yet. I’m very happy with my career for the last two years but obviously I’ve got a passion for bigger things at the moment and at this time next year I hope to have another belt. That would be an ideal world for me.”

Curtis McCormick can be reached at thomaspointrd@aol.com