By Troy Ondrizek
It’s nice to see that the current generation of boxing’s big brother division is starting to grow up and try to pound each other in a meaningful way. This weekend we are treated (hopefully) to a great fight between two young faces of the heavyweight picture. Both Cristobal Arreola and Travis Walker are looking to paint their contender masterpiece using the other’s career as their medium. As a collective fanbase lets out an exasperated “finally!” - the division’s little but more talented sibling (cruiserweight) is doing the same thing.
Just a week after we get a legitimate young contender in the heavyweight ranks, the cruiserweights will deliver the same to the boxing masses. Enzo Maccarinelli (28-2, 21KOs) takes on up and coming Jonathon Banks (20-0, 14KOs) in London on Saturday the 6th of December. In many ways the two fights are a mirror of one another. Arreola is the big hitter who has faced slightly stiffer opposition and hasn’t always looked great, but he has always won.
Travis Walker has beaten some respectable guys (Jason Estrada, George Garcia, and TJ Wilson); those guys aren’t the same caliber as Damian Wills, Thomas Hayes, and Chazz Witherspoon (men who Arreola has beaten). The big difference here is that Walker was stopped by Wilson, and yes being stunned with your arms dangling at your side does warrant a stoppage even if most of us think it was still a bit premature.
Maccarinelli has faced much stiffer opposition than Banks……..wait, not necessarily. While Enzo has faced one good fighter in Wayne Braithwaite, whom he soundly beat, and one great fighter, David Haye, who stomped Maccarinelli inside of two rounds. Banks struggled to get off the canvas twice against the talented but heartless Eliseo Castillo, and then stopped him with a stiff jab in the fourth round. After conquering some indistinct opponents, Jonathon struggled in his last outing versus Vincenzo Rossitto. So while Arreola and Maccarinelli have been in with tougher competition, the gap isn’t as great as one would be led to believe.
Trained by the world renowned Enzo Calzaghe, Enzo Maccarinelli usually has the corner advantage in every fight, but this go round the tables are tilted towards Banks. Led by Emanuel Steward, Banks has been groomed to be a boxer-puncher who could use his distance to control a fight and set up his power shots. He is basically a less experienced Wladimir Klitschko with a bigger fighting heart. Maccarinelli and Banks find themselves in a deep division struggling to climb to the top. That is why both men need this fight. A chance to stand out will help them significantly in landing a title shot whenever the winner of next month’s world title fight between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham makes their first defense.
Enzo fights a lot like Jonathon, except he touches the body more; this could be the difference in this affair. Banks will be ready for it physically, but will he emotionally, we’ll see. We know Enzo wasn’t ready when his big shot came, David Haye put to rest the hype surrounding Maccarinelli as he put him to sleep. The hype is now gone; hopefully all that is left is substance.
There is skill there in Enzo, just as we’ve seen shades of the same skill in Arreola and Walker. Cristobal needs to shed some pounds and show the required dedication to be a champion, as Walker is an Adonis, but needs to show the mental focus to stay in the fight for three minutes a round twelve rounds an outing.
The priceless attribute of these fights is that no matter who wins them, all four men will be better pugilists because they were involved. The winners will be better suited for landing big fights, but all will do better in those future fights because of this test.
Already top 10 cruiserweights, Jonathon and Enzo will be frontrunners for a title shot. Though the heavyweight situation is a lot murkier than at cruiserweight, the winner of Arreola/Walker will rise out of the muck and establish a foothold on solid ground to build their championship dreams upon. The cruiserweights have been fighting better fights of late and are used to this practice, it’s nice that little brother was finally able to teach the big boy in the family how to grow up and move on.
