David Haye unified three of the world cruiserweight titles in spectacular style by knocking out Enzo Maccarinelli in the second round at the O2 Arena in London early yesterday morning.
Haye defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC) titles for the fist time and captured Maccarinelli's World Boxing Organization (WBO) for winning the explosive encounter after two minutes and four seconds of the second round.
Haye improved to 21-1 (21 KOs) while Maccarinelli's record moved to 28-2 (21 Kos) after losing his world title in the fifth defense.
PHOTO: AP
Englishman Haye and Welshman Maccarinelli, both 27, entered the ring with a staggering knock-out ratio between them for a fight highly-anticipated in Britain.
Londoner Haye admitted he had struggled to make the weight limit after winning the WBC and WBA belts by knocking out Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in November. But he delayed his move up to heavyweight to face Maccarinelli and he was not left regretting his decision in front of 18,000 fans.
Both boxers have proven to be brutal and brittle in their careers, knocking out most of their opponents while being prone to be staggered, floored or stopped.
So it was understandable that both adopted a cautious approach in the first round, with Haye landing the best shot, a left hook.
But Haye opened up in the second session and landed another big shot at the start of the second, a right that landed on Maccarinelli's temple.
It was a forewarning of what was to come as Haye dropped another concussive blow with his right fist onto his opponent's head which shook Maccarinelli.
Haye seized on Maccarinelli, raining blows down on his head and bringing up a left uppercut before the Welshman sunk to his knees.
The effect of Haye's blows were obvious when Maccarinelli stumbled about the ring on legs of jelly looking to continue. But as referee Keane looked to give Maccarinelli a count, he decided the Welshman's senses were scrambled and waved the fight off.
PETER WINS WORLD TITLE
AP, CANCUN, MEXICO
Nigeria's Samuel Peter stopped Kazakhstan-born, US-based Oleg Maskaev in the final seconds of the sixth round on Saturday, claiming the Russian's WBC heavyweight title with a flurry of powerful punches.
Peter, (30-1, 23 KOs), nicknamed the Nigerian nightmare, was more potent and more poised than the 39-year-old champion at Plaza de Toros, Cancun's bullfighting ring and the unlikely site of Mexico's first heavyweight title fight.
After two slow opening rounds, Peter staggered Maskaev with a prolonged burst of power punches, chasing him from one post to the next. Maskaev's knees buckled, but he stayed up.
In the sixth round, Peter landed a devastating right hand. Maskaev came up woozy, and Peter pursued him relentlessly, landing more than a dozen shots before the referee stepped in to end the fight with 4 seconds left in the round.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
RSS