By Mark Vester
Promoter Frank Warren is disappointed with WBA/WBC cruiserweight champ David Haye's decision to move up to the heavyweight division. Warren feels that for the good of British boxing and the cruiserweight division, Haye should stay at the weight and try to unify the division by facing Enzo Maccarinelli, the WBO titleholder.
Warren, in his column for The Sun, praised Haye's title win over Jean Marc Moremck, but says that Macca would beat him all day, every day.
"David Haye kept up British boxing’s fantastic success story by stopping Jean Marc Mormeck in Paris last week to win the WBA and WBC cruiserweight titles. It was an excellent win by the Londoner — who climbed off the floor in the fourth — and he is now being talked about as a potential heavyweight world champion," Warren said. "But I’m still not convinced by the Hayemaker and I believe my man, Enzo Maccarinelli, would beat him all day long at cruiserweight."
Haye said that he nearly starved himself for 17-weeks in order to make the cruiserweight limit, losing 14-pounds in the final ten days before the fight, and has to move up to heavyweight for his own health. He's willing to face Macca at heavyweight, but Warren is not buying his story or willing to send his fighter to a higher weight.
"It would be interesting to hear from the WBC and BBBC if this concurs with their check weights that are medically required before the fight," Warren said. "And for that reason he said he would take on Maccarinelli — but only at heavyweight. That’s never going to happen, because Enzo, who walks around at the cruiserweight limit of 200lb, would be giving away two stone. It’s like asking Ricky Hatton to step up to fight Joe Calzaghe."
Warren said that he offered Haye a fight with Macca on the undercard of Calzaghe-Kessler, which Haye turned down in order to face Mormeck.
"Haye knows in his heart of hearts that Maccarinelli has the beating of him at or around cruiserweight. I offered him a no-strings attached deal to fight the Welshman on the undercard of Joe Calzaghe’s super-middleweight unification title fight in Cardiff. It was more money than he got for Mormeck, but he said he wanted the bigger fight. What could have been bigger than a Battle of Britain with Maccarinelli? The fight would have been held in front of 50,000 people and screened live on HBO in the States, brilliant exposure for both boxers," Warren said. "His fight was held in Paris’ equivalent of York Hall, and went on KingVision in America, beamed into bars rather than people’s homes."
Warren then touched on Haye lacking a good chin at the heavyweight level, stating that Haye can bulk up his body but he can't bulk up his chin.
So what of Haye as a heavyweight? He’s got the talk, looks and the punching-power and will bulk up to be a heavyweight. But as the old saying goes you can’t put muscles on chins. Haye was knocked out as an amateur at heavyweight and has been stopped as a professional by ancient Carl Thompson and found himself on the floor against a super-middleweight, Lolenga Mock," Warren said. "So do British boxing a favor — vacate the titles so Enzo Maccarinelli can try and do what you couldn’t: Unify the belts.
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com
