By William Mackay: Former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli might decide to continue his boxing career after being stopped in the 7th round last Saturday night against Alexander Frenkel in the Magnificent Seven card in Birmingham. Maccarinelli, who was ahead on the cards in the 7th, got sloppy and tried to trade shots with the hard hitting Frenkel.

In hindsight, it might not have been the wisest thing to do, as Frenkel connected with a big left hook just at the same moment that Maccarinelli was attempting a left hook of his own. Frenkel’s punch got there first and knocked Maccarinelli down on the canvas. The referee or Maccarinelli’s corner should have stopped the fight at that point, because Maccarinelli clearly was in no shape to continue fighting. However, the fight was allowed to continue. Frenkel then finished Maccarinelli off with a sickening left hook to the head that had Maccarinelli out cold for a short period of time on the canvas. Since that loss occurred, a great number of boxing fans have advised Maccarinelli to retire from the sport. Their concerns are based on the fact that this is the 4th vicious knockout loss for Maccarinelli in the past two years, and they feel that he’s suffered enough punishment and shouldn’t risk fighting anymore. In an article at the BBC, Maccarinelli says “Maybe I’ll have another crack. But I’ll speak to my wife.”

I agree with Maccarinelli. I think he should keep fighting. The guy isn’t a quitter and he just needs to fight smart. He could have won the fight last Saturday night hand he refrained from throwing hooks and not tried to mix it up so much. If you look at heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko in his loss to Corriie Sanders in 2003, Wladimir went out trying to throw left hooks and was taken out quickly. After that loss, Wladimir threw far fewer left hooks in his fights knowing that it put him at risk. This is what Maccarinelli needs to do. He needs to throw fewer hooks and less body shots. He gets in close and is vulnerable when he’s throwing the hooks to the body and head.

With his huge 6’4” height, there’s no reason why he should be putting himself at risk when he has such a big reach and height advantage over his opponents. Like Wladimir, Maccarinelli can win his fights by bombing away on the outside without ever suffering a scratch. It may be boring to watch, but at least he’ll be winning his fights and making money. It’s better that then retiring. But he needs to get a trainer like Emanuel Steward who can teach him how to fight like a big man instead of fighting in close so much.