Cruiserweight Enzo Maccarinelli (29-2, 22 KOs) will be facing number #1 ranked World Boxing Organization cruiserweight contender Johnathon Banks (20-0, 14 KOs) in February for the vacant WBO title. Banks, 26, severely sprained his ankle while training for his previously scheduled bout with Maccarinelli in December. The injury prevented Banks from taking the bout, making it necessary for Maccarinelli to find a replacement opponent. Maccarinelli then moved up to heavyweight and took out British journeyman Mathew Ellis, stopping him in the 2nd round on December 6th in London.
The winner of Maccarinelli-Banks will be facing WBO number #2 ranked cruiserweight Alexander Alekseev sometime in 2009.
Maccarinelli, a former WBO cruiserweight champion, lost his title to David Haye in a March 2008. Maccarinelli chose to try and match the powerful Haye with shots in the 1st round. Initially, Maccarinelli did well in the opening round, landing some hard body shots and fighting Haye pretty much even.
In the 2nd round, Haye hurt Maccarinelli with a hard right hand, causing Enzo to drop slightly and hang on the ropes for a moment. This was all Haye needed, taking advantage of Maccarinelli’s helplessness by tagging him with an avalanche of punches sending a hurt Maccarinelli to the canvas. Maccarinelli got up but was too unsteady on his feet for the fight to continue and it was promptly stopped by the referee.
Banks, trained by Emanuel Steward, fought badly in his last fight, beating Vincenzo Rossitto (36-6-2, 22 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision in July 2008. Banks, a three time National Amateur Champion at 178 lbs and who regularly spars with IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, fought well in the first half of the fight, appearing to win all six rounds. In the 2nd half of the fight, however, Banks tired badly, throwing few punches and looking totally gassed. He did enough to win, but it was far from impressive considering his talent advantage over Rossitto.
MIRANDA GETS 2008 KO OF THE YEAR; LOOKING TO MAKE HIS 2009 CONTRIBUTION ON JANUARY 14TH
On January 11, 2008, Edison Miranda blasted David Banks out of the ring in the third round, a knockout recently named 2008 Knockout of the Year by ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael. On January 14th, 2009, “Pantera” hopes to make spectacular January knockouts an annual tradition when he takes on Manuel Esparza on the latest edition of “Hard Knocks at the Hard Rock” at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida.
“I’m happy to accept the award for Knockout of the Year from ESPN, and I promise that I will be in the running for the 2009 award every time I step into the ring in the New Year,” said Miranda. “They may have to name the award after me after they see all the spectacular knockout wins I have in 2009.”
Tickets for this event, which is headlined by the return of junior middleweight contender Sechew Powell and the debut of 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian Jonathan Gonzalez, are priced at $152, $102, $52, and $22, and are available now at the Hard Rock Live Box Office or TicketMaster.com.
Also in action on January 14th will be highly touted Cuban defector Stalinn Lopez in his pro debut and Star Boxing standout Yathomas Riley. Former undisputed cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell, who was scheduled to make his heavyweight debut, has pulled out of the fight for personal reasons.
For more information regarding this and other events, log on to: www.warriorsboxing.com
Big Time – Bernard Dunne’s Fight for Glory now online
Big Time – Bernard Dunne’s fight for Glory is the acclaimed documentary which goes behind the scenes and features Dunne and his promoter Brian Peters as they travel the road to European title glory is noe available to watch online from the RTÉ website – http://www.rte.ie/sport/other/2008/1230/dunneb_av.html
The documentary covers Dunne’s return home to Ireland following a three year apprenticeship in the U.S. under boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and renowned trainer Freddie Roach.
The Dubliner quickly became a household name in Ireland reeling off a string of impressive victories before challenging for the European title at a sold out Point Theatre in his native city. An emotion charged night saw Dunne become champion of Europe with a career best performance and two successful defences followed.
However Dunne’s world fell apart at the hands of Kiko “La Sensación” Martinez with the Spanish wrecking ball ripping Dunne’s title away in just 86 seconds.
Since then Dunne has picked up the pieces and rebuilt his career with three straight wins as he build toward the ultimate prize – a world title fight in 2009.
“Big Time” tells that story with incredible highs, wounding lows and fearless ambition, all set against the tough and at times cruel backdrop of professional boxing.
Big Time: Bernard Dunne’s Fight for Glory is produced for RTÉ by Liberty Films with funding support from Sound & Vision, a Broadcasting Commission of Ireland initiative.
For more information see: http://www.rte.ie/tv/christmas/bernarddunne.html
Wishing you and yours all the best for 2009!
Brian Peters Promotions
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