Darius Michalczewski (48-2, 38 KOs) is reportedly coming out of his two-year retirement to fight Graciano Rocchigiani in May 2008. Michalczewski previously defeated Rocchigiani twice in his career, but felt that a rubber match was needed to settle things, because the first fight resulted in a 7th round disqualification. caused when Machalczewski was hit on the break and subsequently knocked out.
The outcome was highly disputed, but it stuck. Michalczewski would later stop Rocchigiani in the 10th round in 2000. During his prime, Rocchigiani was noted as a tough fighter, having defeated Michael Nunn for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title in 1998. However, he would immediately lose the title in his next bout with Michalczewski. Aside from that, Rocchigiani did little, mostly fighting the vast majority of his fights in Germany. Towards the end of his career, he faded badly, losing five of his last nine bouts. He eventually retired in 2003. It’s unclear what would be gained in about with Michalczewski – aside from money – as Rocchigiani will be 45 years-old by the time the fighters mix it up, while Michaczewski will be 40.
For his part, Michalczewski was a good light heavyweight fighter in his prime, winning the in 1994 and holding the title for eight years until losing it to Julio Gonzalez in October 2003. By then, Michalczewski was clearly past him prime and not as fast and as powerful as he had been in earlier years. He would later lose his next and final fight of his career to Fabrice Tiozzo in February 2005 before retiring. During much of his career, Michalczewski was noted for his reluctance to fight Roy Jones Jr. in the United States, as he preferred that Jones come and fight in Germany. Jones, however, wasn’t in the least interested in fighting in Germany, thus the two never fought.