They say that styles make fights, and with two bangers going toe to toe over 12 three-minute rounds, this one has all the ingredients of a classic.
 
Promoter Frank Warren has said that the bout between David Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli will be the best British world championship fight since Nigel Benn fought Chris Eubank at Old Trafford in 1993 in a fight dubbed Judgement Day. The two fighters may not be known to American audiences, but they have dominated the cruiserweight division.

The fight takes place on March 8 in London and promises to be a brutal classic. In 1993, Benn and Eubank had very different styles; Eubank was the elegant craftsman, whereas Benn, nicknamed the “Dark Destroyer,” was a brutal banger and had one of the hardest punches in the fight game at the time.

Conversely, Haye and Maccarinelli are two bangers who have both got themselves back off the canvas in previous fights to claim victory.

Haye is the prefight favorite and the holder of the WBA and WBC world cruiserweight belts. His record is very impressive, having won 20 of his 21 fights, 19 coming by way of knock out. However, Haye has admitted to struggling to make the cruiserweight limit and looked lackluster at times in his last fight, a win against Frenchman Jean Marc Mormeck in Paris in November. Haye looked off the pace, and his hands, especially the left, were low throughout the fight, leaving himself open. If Mormeck had turned his left shoulder into Haye, it would have allowed him to attack the Londoner’s chin with real power. Indeed, Mormeck did send Haye to the floor in the fourth round, but Haye showed real character to get back up from the canvas to knock out Mormeck in the seventh round with an array of impressive punch combinations culminating in a deadly right hook in front of a partisan Parisian  crowd.

After the Mormeck fight, Haye announced that he was struggling to make the weight at cruiserweight and would be moving up to the heavyweight division. It was widely thought his next fight would be against Hasim Rahman, who so memorably beat Lennox Lewis in Carnival City in 2001. It seems the opportunity to fight Maccarinelli, and the big payday that comes with it was too good for Haye to turn down.

Fighting Haye is the ideal opportunity for Maccarinelli to make a name for himself. The 27-year-old Welshman is the holder of the WBO cruiserweight belt. His record is no less impressive, having has won 28 of his 29 fights with 19 by way of knockout. Maccarinelli has a good team around him; he is trained by Joe Calzaghe’s dad, Enzo, and managed by Warren. Maccarinelli and his team are confident he can win, otherwise they would not have taken the fight, and Maccarinelli looked far more convincing in his last fight against Mohamed Azzaoui in Cardiff than Haye did against Mormeck.

Regardless of who wins, both fighters have a big future ahead of them. If Haye wins, he will step up to heavyweight and is expected to fight Rahman. He has the potential to challenge for belts thanks to the current poor standard in the division.

If Maccarinelli wins it, it is expected he will face a unification fight against Steve Cunningham to become undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world. The rest of the world may not have heard of these two young fighters yet, but they will very soon.

This fight is being promoted in Britain as the most exciting in 15 years. However, in terms of style, it will be closer to Benn vs. Gerald McClennan, although hopefully without the tragic consequences of that fight. One thing is for certain: on March 8th, this fight will not be decided on the judges’ scorecards.