WBA may refer to:

• Warner Bros. Animation
• West Bromwich Albion F.C., an English professional football team
• Western Band Association, a circuit for high school marching bands in California
• World Basketball Association, a professional basketball league based in the southeastern United States
• World Boxing Association, an international organization of professional boxing
• Why-Because analysis, a method of accident analysis
• WWBA, an American radio station serving the Tampa Bay, Florida, area
• WBA, a Women's Professional basketball league (1992-1995)
• the ICAO airline code for Finnish Commuter Airlines

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku pictured in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Romelu Menama Lukaku[1]
Date of birth	(1993-05-13) 13 May 1993 (age 19)[1]
Place of birth	Antwerp, Belgium
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	18
Youth career
1999–2003	Rupel Boom
2003–2006	Lierse
2006–2009	Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2008–2011	Anderlecht	73	(33)
2011–	Chelsea	8	(0)
National team‡
2008	Belgium U15	4	(1)
2011	Belgium U18	1	(0)
2009	Belgium U21	5	(1)
2010–	Belgium	14	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:08, 13 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:29, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

Romelu Menama Lukaku (born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian footballer of Congolese descent who plays as a forward for Premier League club Chelsea and the Belgium national team. He started his career with local side Rupel Boom, before being scouted and joining Lierse. He played well and attracted many clubs to his talents. He alerted Anderlecht and signed for the Belgian Pro League side in 2006.

Lukaku continued his development with Anderlecht and made his professional debut while still at school at the age of 16. During his time at Anderlecht, he was dubbed as 'the new Drogba', the player whom he idolized growing up. Whilst playing for Anderlecht, he became the 2009–10 top scorer in Belgium as Anderlecht won the Belgian championship, and won the Belgian Ebony Shoe in 2011. In the 2011 summer transfer window, Lukaku signed for English Premier League club Chelsea for an undisclosed fee and penning a 5-year contract.

Club career[link]

Youth years[link]

Lukaku joined his local team Rupel Boom at the age of five.^[2] After four seasons at Rupel Boom, Lukaku was discovered by scouts of Lierse SK, a Belgian Pro League team with an established youth academy. He played for Lierse from 2004 until 2006,^[2] scoring 121 goals in 68 games.^[3] After Lierse were relegated from the Belgian Pro League, Anderlecht bought no less than 13 youth players from Lierse in the 2006 mid-season, one of which was Lukaku. He played three more years as a youth player with Anderlecht, scoring 131 goals in 93 games.^[3]

Anderlecht[link]

When he turned 16 on 13 May 2009, Lukaku signed a professional contract with Anderlecht until 2012.^[4] and 11 days later he made his Belgian First Division debut on 24 May 2009 in the championship play off match against Standard Liège as a 69th minute substitute for defender Víctor Bernárdez.^[5] Anderlecht lost the match 1-0. He scored his first goal at senior level against Zulte Waregem in the 89th minute, after coming on as substitute for Kanu after 69 minutes.

Chelsea[link]

In June 2011 Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck said that they were in talks with Premier League club Chelsea regarding a possible transfer.^{[citation needed]} On 6 August 2011, an agreement was reached with Anderlecht for the transfer to the club for a fee reported to be around £13 million, rising to £18 million in add-ons. Lukaku was given the number 18 shirt (formerly worn by Yuri Zhirkov) and signed a five-year contract.^[6] He made his home debut in a 3-1 victory over Norwich City in the 83rd minute, coming on as a substitute for Fernando Torres.^[7] Lukaku made his second Chelsea appearance coming on as a substitute in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Lukaku made his first start for the club in the Carling Cup against Fulham. Chelsea went on to win the match on penalties. He made another appearance on the 21st of January 2012, against Norwich City, coming on as a substitute for Fernando Torres in the 76th minute.^[8] The rest of Lukaku's season was plagued by a lack of opportunities, and spent the rest of the majority of the season playing for the Reserve side. He netted twice in a 4-2 victory for the Chelsea Reserves on 20 March 2012 against the Newcastle United Reserves.^[9] He ended his Reserve league campaign at Chelsea, scoring 7 goals in his 9 appearances.^[10]

On 13th May 2012 , he started his first league match against Blackburn Rovers and turned in a man of the match performance providing an assist for John Terry's opener.^[11]

International career[link]

Lukaku was a member of the Belgium under-21 team and scored a goal on his debut against Slovenia.^[12]

On 24 February 2010, Lukaku was named for the first time in the Belgium squad for the friendly against Croatia.^[13] On 17 November 2010, he scored his first two international goals in the friendly match against Russia.^[14]

International goals[link]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 November 2010	Tsentralnyi Profsoyuz Stadion, Voronezh, Russia	Russia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2.	17 November 2010	Tsentralnyi Profsoyuz Stadion, Voronezh, Russia	Russia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
Correct as of 17 November 2010

Personal life[link]

Lukaku was born in Antwerp,^[15] a city in northern Belgium. His father, Roger Lukaku,^[16] played professional football and was capped at international level by Zaire.^[17] He has a younger brother named Jordan, who has progressed through the youth academy at Anderlecht.^[16] Lukaku was the subject of an acclaimed television documentary series called De School Van Lukaku (Lukaku's School) shown on the Dutch-speaking Eén network. The reality show followed the teenage Lukaku and his classmates during the course of a year at the Saint-Guidon Institute, a multi-cultural school in Brussels, where the footballer was based while with the Anderlecht youth team.^[18] In 2009, the series followed the school as it made a field trip to London visiting Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground. Lukaku said at the time: “What a stadium. If one day in my life I will cry, it will be the day I play here. I love Chelsea.”^[19]

Career statistics[link]

As of 13 May 2012.^{[1][15][20][21]}

¹Also includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Cup and Carling Cup.

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Anderlecht

• Belgian Pro League: 2009–10
• Belgian Pro League: 2011–12
• Belgian Supercup: 2010

Chelsea FC

• FA Cup: 2011-12
• UEFA Champions League: 2011-12

Individual[link]

• Belgian First Division top scorer: 2009–10
• Belgian Ebony Shoe: 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Romelu Lukaku at National-Football-Teams.com
• Romelu Lukaku at Anderlecht (Dutch)
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA

David Haye
Statistics
Real name	David Haye
Nickname(s)	The Hayemaker
Rated at	Heavyweight Cruiserweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Reach	198 cm (78 in)
Nationality	British
Born	(1980-10-13) 13 October 1980 (age 31) Bermondsey, London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	27
Wins	25
Wins by KO	23
Losses	2

Medal record
Competitor for  England
Men's boxing
World Amateur Championships
Silver	Belfast 2001	Heavyweight

David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British professional boxer from England.^[1]

Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and the former European cruiserweight champion.

Amateur[link]

Haye started his ambition and passion for boxing at old-school boxing gym Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club in Lambeth, South London, where he quickly impressed and confidently won his first amateur bouts.

In 1999, 18-year-old Haye participated at the world amateur championships in Houston, Texas, USA at light-heavyweight but was eliminated by experienced American Michael Simms early in the contest.

At the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland he fought in the heavyweight 201 lb division where he beat world class Sebastian Köber to reach the final where he gave Odlanier Solís a standing eight count before being stopped by the Cuban in round three, and taking the silver medal.

Professional career[link]

Cruiserweight[link]

Based in Bermondsey, London, England, Haye turned professional in December 2002, aged 22, knocking out Tony Booth in two rounds.^[2]

In 2003 he won seven fights, two of which were the only fights Haye has fought in the United States. He won all by knockouts, the most notable being a fourth round KO of Denmark's Lolenga Mock, in which Haye had to come off the floor to win.

Haye's fights were regularly seen on the BBC and his popularity began to grow in 2004, when he dispatched the 39-year-old ex-world champion "King" Arthur Williams in three rounds.

Later that year, in his eleventh pro fight, he fought 40-year-old former WBO champion Carl Thompson in a 'youth vs experience' matchup. Haye started fast and alarmingly caught Thompson with constant barrages of power punches, coming close to forcing a stoppage at numerous points over the first few rounds.

Gradually, despite the early punishment he received, Thompson warmed up and worked his way into the fight whilst Haye seemed to tire and slow down. Thompson began to pressure Haye and knocked Haye down with a chopping right hand in round 5. With seven seconds left in the round, Thompson landed two jabs followed by a flush right hand which cleanly caught a fatigued Haye, and compelled Haye's corner to throw in the towel.

Haye returned against Estonian Valery Semishkur, winning by TKO in round 1, then defeated Garry Delaney by a third round TKO. Following two more fights against Glen Kelly and Vincenzo Rossitto, Haye faced Alexander Gurov for the EBU cruiserweight championship. Haye easily knocked out Gurov with a single right hand in just 45 seconds.

In January 2006, Haye signed a three-year contract with former Lennox Lewis promoter Frank Maloney to further his world title ambitions. He successfully defended his EBU title against Ismail Abdoul and future world champion Giacobbe Fragomeni, with the latter fight being a WBC eliminator.

Haye's cameo at heavyweight in April 2007 resulted in an impressive first-round KO win over Polish fighter Tomasz Bonin,^[3] who at the time was ranked No. 11 by the WBC and had only one loss, against Audley Harrison.

World cruiserweight champion[link]

Haye challenged Jean-Marc Mormeck on 10 November 2007 for the WBA, WBC, & The Ring cruiserweight titles. Haye defeated Mormeck by knockout in the seventh round, despite Haye needing to rally after being knocked down by Mormeck in the fourth. The victory confirmed Haye's arrival as a genuine world class fighter.

The Mormeck fight was expected to be Haye's last fight in the cruiserweight division. Haye himself admitted that he struggles to make weight and feels that he can only box at "70 or 80 per cent" of his potential as a cruiserweight. However Haye would be tempted into a unification cruiserweight bout for the most lucrative fight of Haye's career.

Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli met in an all-British world cruiserweight title fight in the early hours of 9 March 2008. Haye's WBA, WBC, & The Ring titles were at stake, while Maccarinelli's WBO title was on the line. British trade paper Boxing News produced a pullout special on the match. Widely billed as the biggest all-British bout since Chris Eubank met Nigel Benn. As both fighters are hard punchers with excellent KO records, a short fight was predicted.^[5] These predictions proved to be correct, as Haye knocked out Maccarinelli in the second round of the contest. Commenting on the fight and of the prospect of working again with Frank Warren, Maccarinelli's promoter, Haye said, "We thank Frank for sacrificing Maccarinelli, but we'd feel immense guilt if we took any more free money from Sports Network. I have a hard enough time sleeping at night as it is."^[4]

Heavyweight[link]

Haye described the victory over Maccarinelli as "the final piece" in his cruiserweight jigsaw. Haye then defeated heavyweight Monte Barrett at The O2 Arena in London on 15 November 2008, winning via TKO in the fifth round.^[6]

WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko confirmed he would defend his title in a fight with Haye to take place on 20 June 2009, at Stamford Bridge in London. Instead, his younger brother, WBO, IBO & IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko agreed to fight Haye the same date in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Haye pulled out of the fight claiming a back injury.^[7]

WBA heavyweight champion[link]

Haye then confirmed that he would meet the WBA champion Nikolay Valuev on 7 November 2009 in the Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany. Haye's trainer Adam Booth claimed it was a fight that Valuev wanted; it was billed as David and Goliath.^[8] Haye weighed in at 217 pounds, almost 100 lbs less than his opponent. Haye said about Valuev: "He is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I have watched Lord of the Rings and films with strange looking people, but for a human being to look like he does is pretty shocking."^[9]

Haye beat Valuev in a reserved display of accuracy and efficiency, countering Valuev's misses, jabbing and circling his much larger opponent.^[10] Haye came close to knocking down Valuev in the final round with a hard left hand, which made Valuev stumble. Haye won with scores of 114–114 (ITA), 116–112 (USA) and 116–112 (ESP).^[11] Haye is the first and currently only boxer in the history of the sport to be seven stone or more lighter than an opponent in a World title fight and still come out victorious.^{[citation needed]}

On 3 April 2010 Haye defeated John Ruiz in his first WBA title defence at the Manchester Arena by TKO in the ninth round after knocking him down four times during the fight excluding a point deduction for hitting Ruiz on the back of his head in round one. This was only the second time Ruiz has been stopped, after being knocked out in round one by David Tua fourteen years prior to facing David Haye. After the fight, Haye immediately called on both Klitschko brothers, after claiming their recent challengers Eddie Chambers and Chris Arreola were "a disgrace to boxing."

It was confirmed on 7 September 2010 that Haye would fight Audley Harrison on 13 November 2010 at the Manchester Arena. The press conference for the bout became heated, leading to the two fighters swearing at each other on live television.^[12] On 13 November 2010, Haye defeated Harrison with one minute, seven seconds remaining of the third round by TKO. Southpaw Harrison landed one jab during the entire fight. He staggered to his feet after being knocked down, only for Haye to immediately pounce right back on him, hitting him with another flurry of punches. The referee intervened and ended the bout.^[13]

Haye's plans to unify the heavyweight division took a major setback in January 2011 when it was revealed that Tomas Adamek would fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September 2011,^[14] before his planned retirement in October of that year. However, in April 2011, it was announced that Haye and Wladimir Klitschko had agreed to meet at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg on 2 July 2011.^[15]

Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye[link]

Wladimir Klitschko versus David Haye was a heavyweight unification fight for the WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring heavyweight titles, the fight taking place at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg, Germany on 2 July 2011^[16][17][18] This was the only heavyweight unification fight since Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov fought back in 2008. It was then when Wladimir Klitschko beat Ibragimov and added his WBO title to his IBF title. Klitschko defeated Haye by a unanimous decision to become the unified WBA Super, IBF, WBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion.^[19][20] The official scores were: 118–108, 117–109 and 116–110, which were all in favour of Klitschko.^[21]

Retirement[link]

BBC chief Charlie Smith told The Sun on 11 October 2011 that David Haye had informed him that he would not be not renewing his boxing licence, thus retiring from the sport.^[22] Haye has had a long-standing plan to retire early. After the Harrison fight Haye said his plans to retire before he is 31 had not altered: "I will have achieved what I wanted to achieve – undisputed cruiserweight champion, unify the heavyweight division and then call it a day." In December 2010, during the negotiations to fight Wladimir Klitschko, Haye said if the fight did not happen, "I'll just have to accept that becoming the WBA champion was enough and move on with my life. That'll be 20 years of getting punched in the face, which is a long enough time. I set my goals and achieved them so unifying the titles is the cherry on the cake but if it doesn't happen it wasn't meant to be and I've just got to get on with my life".^[23]

Vitali Klitschko vs David Haye negotiations[link]

Haye put retirement on hold and was in negotiations for a possible bout with WBC heavyweight title holder Vitali Klitschko on 3 March 2012.^[24][25] However, Klitschko went on to schedule a fight with Dereck Chisora on 18 February 2012, which he won by decision. Following the fight there was a fracas between Chisora and Haye, who had attended as a spectator, leading to speculation that Haye might come out of retirement to fight Chisora. However, on 21 February, Haye confirmed that he would only come out of retirement to fight Klitschko.^[26] On 8 May, Haye signed on to face Dereck Chisora on 14 July.

Haye Vs Dereck Chisora[link]

Press Conference Brawl[link]

After his loss to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, Dereck Chisora got into a brawl with compatriot David Haye at the post-fight press conference. Klitschko’s manager Bernd Boente said "with the bad experience we've had with British fighters we will now look for other countries". He then told Haye from the dais "You had an offer, you didn't accept it, now you are out. You are out. You cannot talk yourself back into the fight, you have no belts." Chisora then called out Haye, but Haye dismissed Chisora as "a loser". Chisora challenged Haye to tell him that to his face and approached Haye sparking a melee with Haye throwing the first punch with what appeared to be a glass bottle in his hand, as the brawl progressed Haye was seen swinging a camera tripod. After order was restored, a furious Chisora stated multiple times that he would "shoot" David Haye and claimed Haye "glassed" him. Haye's manager Adam Booth emerged from the fracas with a facial wound and Chisora suggested to Booth that Haye hit him with a bottle by mistake while Booth insisted it was one of Chisora's entourage that had hit him with a bottle . During a interview at the Chisora Vs Haye press confrence Booth was asked "how did you end up with a cut on your head?" to which he replied "David hit me with a tripod" but also added "he bought me a new S-class Mercedes as an apology".^[27][28]

Fight Negotiations[link]

On 8 May 2012, Haye and his promotion team announced that he would fight against Dereck Chisora at West Ham United FC, Upton Park, London on Saturday 14 July 2012. The announcement caused controversy as neither held a British Boxing Licence, and so had agreed a licence deal with the Luxembourg Boxing Association. Seen as a direct attempt to undermine the British Boxing Board of Control, it meant that fights could take place in Britain even if a boxer was facing disciplinary action.

Personal information[link]

David was born to a white English mother and black Jamaican father and grew up in Bermondey, London for most of his childhood. He has an older sister Louisa and a younger brother James. Haye attended Bacon's College in Rotherhithe, South East London. His training camp is based in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus and he has worn the Northern Cyprus flag on his shorts alongside the Flag of St. George and the Union Flag in the past. David Haye was awarded with the citizenship of North Cyprus due to his contributions to the North Cyprus.^[29] Haye lives in Bexleyheath;^[30] he is married and has a son called Cassius, named after Cassius Clay. He supports London football team Millwall.^[31] On 20 October 2010, he was awarded an honourary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University, at the graduation ceremony in the Cambridge Corn Exchange. Haye's successful defences of his title against Ruiz and Harrison saw Haye be selected for the final 10 shortlist for the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.^[32]

Professional boxing record[link]

25 Wins (23 knockouts, 2 decisions), 2 Losses, 0 Draws[33]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
N/A	N/A	Dereck Chisora	N/A	N/A	2012-07-14	Boleyn Ground, West Ham, London	For WBO&WBA International & Intercontinental titles, licensed by Luxembourg BBoC.
Loss	25–2	Wladimir Klitschko	UD	12	2011-07-02	Imtech Arena, Altona, Hamburg	Lost WBA, for IBF, WBO, IBO & The Ring Heavyweight titles.
Win	25–1	Audley Harrison	TKO	3 (12), 1:53	2010-11-13	Manchester Arena, Manchester, North West England	Retained WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	24–1	John Ruiz	TKO	9 (12), 2:01	2010-04-03	Manchester Arena, Manchester, North West England	Retained WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	23–1	Nikolai Valuev	MD	12	2009-11-07	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Bavaria	Won WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	22–1	Monte Barrett	TKO	5 (10), 1:28	2008-11-15	O2 Arena, Greenwich, London
Win	21–1	Enzo Maccarinelli	TKO	2 (12), 2:04	2008-03-08	O2 Arena, Greenwich, London	Retained WBA, WBC & The Ring, Won WBO Cruiserweight titles.
Win	20–1	Jean-Marc Mormeck	TKO	7 (12), ?	2007-11-10	Stade Marcel Cerdan, Paris, Île-de-France	Won WBA, WBC & The Ring Cruiserweight titles.
Win	19–1	Tomasz Bonin	TKO	1 (12), 1:45	2007-04-27	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London
Win	18–1	Giacobbe Fragomeni	TKO	9 (12), 1:29	2006-11-17	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Retained EBU Cruiserweight title, WBC Cruiserweight Title Eliminator.
Win	17–1	Ismail Abdoul	UD	12	2006-07-21	Leisure Centre, Altrincham, Greater Manchester	Retained EBU Cruiserweight title.
Win	16–1	Lasse Johansen	TKO	8 (12), 2:08	2006-03-24	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Retained EBU Cruiserweight title.
Win	15–1	Alexander Gurov	KO	1 (12), 0:45	2005-12-16	Leisure Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire	Won EBU Cruiserweight title.
Win	14–1	Vincenzo Rossitto	TKO	2 (10), 2:55	2005-10-14	Leisure Centre, Huddersfield, Yorkshire
Win	13–1	Glen Kelly	TKO	2 (10), 1:09	2005-03-04	Magna Centre, Rotherham, Yorkshire
Win	12–1	Garry Delaney	RTD	3 (6), 3:00	2005-01-21	Fountain Leisure Centre, Brentford, London
Win	11–1	Valeri Semiskur	KO	1 (6), 1:36	2004-12-10	Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, Yorkshire
Loss	10–1	Carl Thompson	TKO	5 (12), 2:53	2004-09-10	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London
Win	10–0	Arthur Williams	TKO	3 (8), 2:46	2004-05-12	Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire
Win	9–0	Hastings Rasani	TKO	1 (6)	2004-03-20	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London
Win	8–0	Tony Dowling	TKO	1 (10)	2003-11-14	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	7–0	Lolenga Mock	TKO	4 (6)	2003-09-26	Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire
Win	6–0	Greg Scott-Briggs	KO	1 (6)	2003-08-01	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Win	5–0	Vance Winn	TKO	1 (6), 0:54	2003-07-15	The Playboy Mansion, Beverly Hills, California
Win	4–0	Phil Day	TKO	2 (4), 2:09	2003-03-18	Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire
Win	3–0	Roger Bowden	TKO	1 (6), 2:42	2003-03-04	Seville Hotel, Miami, Florida
Win	2–0	Saber Zairi	TKO	4 (4), 0:54	2003-01-24	Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire
Win	1–0	Tony Booth	RTD	2 (4), 3:00	2002-12-08	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Professional debut.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for David Haye from BoxRec

Enzo Maccarinelli
Statistics
Real name	Enzo Abdone Maccarinelli
Nickname(s)	Big Mac
Rated at	Light Heavyweight/Cruiserweight
Nationality	Welsh
Born	(1980-08-20) 20 August 1980 (age 31) Swansea, Wales
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	40
Wins	35
Wins by KO	27
Losses	5
Draws	0
No contests	0

Enzo Maccarinelli (born 20 August 1980 in Swansea, Wales) is a Welsh professional boxer who has fought at Cruiserweight and light heavyweight. He is a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight title holder and also held the European title at that weight limit. He is promoted by Frank Warren.

Early career[link]

On 12 May 2000, Maccarinelli suffered his first defeat at the hands of southpaw Lee Swaby. Swaby, from Lincoln, England, sent Maccarinelli down with a crushing right hand, knocking Maccarinelli down in the third round. Maccarinelli never took the rematch against Swaby.

On 28 June 2003, Maccarinelli, known as "the Big Mac" won the vacant WBU cruiserweight title when he defeated Bruce Scott by fourth-round TKO.^[1] He made seven successful defences of his WBU title before vacating.

On 8 July 2006, Maccarinelli fought against former World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight champion Marcelo Fabian Domínguez for the WBO interim cruiserweight title. Maccarinelli won the title with a ninth-round TKO.^[1]The natural progression was a title fight against the then WBO title holder, Johnny Nelson. Due to several injuries to Nelson this matchup never transpired, and On 22 September 2006 he announced his retirement, automatically relinquishing the belt and allowing Maccarinelli to be promoted to full champion status.^[2]

On 14 October 2006 Maccarinelli made his first defence of the WBO title, stopping former opponent Mark Hobson in the first round in a fight that was widely expected to last the distance. This was followed by another first round win over Bobby Gunn on 7 April 2007 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. The Gunn fight was stopped with just :25 seconds remaining in the first round by referee Mark Nelson, even though Gunn was not down and only had a small cut. It was widely and erroneously reported that Maccarinelli had broken Bobby Gunn's nose, but it was a small cut to the bridge of the nose that caused the bleeding. Gunn's nose was not broken and most observers at ringside thought the fight was stopped prematurely.

On 21 July 2007 Maccarinelli defended his WBO cruiserweight championship against former WBC champ Wayne Braithwaite and won by unanimous decision, after dominating the match. On 3 November 2007 Maccarinelli successfully defended his WBO cruiserweight title against Mohamed Azzaoui winning by TKO in the 4th Round.

'Bombs Away' and loss of title[link]

Maccarinelli’s next fight was an all-British unification fight against the WBA/WBC champion David Haye. The fight took place on 8 March 2008 at the O2 Arena, London and was much hyped in the weeks running up to the event, being given the tagline “bombs away” (referring to the high KO percentages and punching power both men boasted). Maccarinelli lost the fight and his WBO belt when he was knocked out in the 2nd round. A right hand by Haye knocked Maccarinelli down towards the end of the round and although he was able to get back up it was on unsteady legs and the referee stepped in to stop the fight.^[3]

After the fight Haye announced that he would be moving up to the heavyweight division with immediate effect and would therefore be vacating his newly won belts. Because of this Maccarinelli received an immediate opportunity to reclaim his WBO belt in a matchup against undefeated American Jonathon Banks for the now vacant championship, but due to injury Banks was forced to pull out. After several replacements were unable to fight, Maccarinelli instead stepped up to heavyweight to face Matthew Ellis. Maccarinelli won after a 2nd round KO in what was his debut at the higher weight.^[4] After the fight Frank Warren announced that Maccarinelli would face Banks in a re-scheduled bout for the WBO belt during February 2009.

Once again the Banks fight proved to be a non starter (Banks opted to make an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to win the IBF cruiserweight title against Tomasz Adamek) and instead Maccarinelli’s next fight was against the American based Londoner Ola Afolabi for the “interim” WBO title. The fight took place on March 14 at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs Marco Antonio Barrera bout. Maccarinelli was favoured by most observers to win, however things did not go as expected as Maccarinelli struggled in the early rounds and was staggered in the 3rd round by a short chopping right hand from the slick Afolabi. Despite managing to recover and win the majority of the next few rounds he was knocked out by Afolabi in round 9 when a huge overhand right put him on the canvas and forced the referee to call off the fight.^[5]

Lebedev fight, "retirement" and return[link]

Maccarinelli’s next fight was against the unbeaten Russian Denis Lebedev on 18 July 2009. As with the Afolabi contest the fight took place at the M.E.N. Arena on the undercard of an Amir Khan fight, this time Khan’s WBA light-welterweight title challenge against Andreas Kotelnik. From the very beginning of the fight Maccarinelli struggled with the power of his opponent and by the end of the second round his right eye had swollen completely shut from the punches landed by Lebedev. In the third round Lebedev rocked Maccarinelli with an uppercut which landed cleanly through his guard and after a further barrage of unanswered punches the referee stepped in and called a stop to the fight.^[6]

Before the fight Maccarinelli had admitted that the contest represented “the last chance saloon” in terms of getting his career back on track, following 2 KO losses in his last 3 fights, and talking immediately after the defeat he hinted that this latest setback could signal the end of his boxing career. In an interview with his local paper a few days later Maccarinelli apparently confirmed his intention to retire from the sport,^[7] although he retracted this in a later interview with the same source.^[8]

Maccarinelli began his latest comeback attempt on another Amir Khan undercard, this time Khan's WBA Light-Welterweight title defence against on December 5 at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle. His opponent was the relatively unknown Hungarian journeyman Krisztian Jaksi.^[9] who provided little resistance and was knocked out in the 1st round.^[10] Maccarinelli managed a second consecutive 1st round KO victory against Hungarian opposition when he defeated Zoltan Czekus at the Echo Arena Liverpool on 13 March 2010.

EBU title shot[link]

Following his two quick comeback wins Maccarinelli's next fight took place on 27 April 2010 when he fought Russian prospect Alexander Kotlobay in St Petersburg for the vacant European cruiserweight title. Despite now being the fighter that had to travel and fight on someone else's patch, Maccarinelli scored his third consecutive quick victory when he knocked Kotlobay down with an overhand right before the referee stepped in to end the fight at 2:15 of the first round.^[11]

His first defence of his newly won title came as part of Frank Warren's "Magnificent Seven" fight card, which took place on 18 September 2010 at the LG Arena in Birmingham.^[12] His opponent for this defence was the undefeated Ukrainian prospect Alexander Frenkel. Despite a tentative opening round Maccarinelli improved and managed to rock his opponent in the fourth round with a right hand. A clash of heads in the sixth led to a cut developing over his right eye, however the fight still appeared to be going Maccarinelli’s way until he was knocked down heavily towards the end of round seven by a left hook from Frenkel. Despite managing to rise by the count of nine he was extremely unsteady and appeared to be in no position to defend himself. However the referee allowed the bout to continue, only for it to be stopped a few seconds later when a three punch combination from Frenkel led to a second knockdown. The final blows were struck with such ferocity that Maccarinelli was knocked unconscious and required oxygen and medical attention before being able to leave the ring. At the time of the fight there was heavy criticism from both journalists and fellow boxers at the decision by the referee to allow the fight to continue after the first knockdown, when it was clear that Maccarinelli was in no position to defend himself.^[13][14][15]

As with the aftermath of the Afolabi and Lebedev defeats there were also been calls for Maccarinelli to retire from the ring, something which the boxer himself admitted to the press was a distinct possibility following his fourth KO loss in eight fights.^[16]

Move to Light Heavyweight[link]

After a period of inactivity following the Frenkel defeat, in February 2011 Maccarinelli announced that rather than retiring he would instead be dropping down in weight to compete in the 175lb Light Heavyweight division, with a view to having his first fight at the weight limit later on in the year.^[17]

Several months later he made the further announcement that he would once again be working with former coach Enzo Calzaghe, who was part of Maccarinelli’s team during his successful run at cruiserweight.^[18] At the same time he also expressed a desire to fight for a world title at the new weight limit in the future, and in particular put forward the idea of an all Welsh title fight between himself and current WBO belt holder Nathan Cleverly.^[19]

Exactly 14 months after his last in-ring appearance Maccarinelli’s first fight at the new weight limit took place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on November 18th 2011. As with 2 of his previous 4 fights at cruiserweight the opponent was a Hungarian fighter, this time the undefeated (and relatively unknown) Gyorgy Marosi. Maccarinelli emerged victorious, scoring a 1st round TKO victory after just 91 seconds against an overmatched Marosi.^[20]

Following the successful debut at 175lbs Maccarinelli reiterated his desire to fight for a world title at 175lbs and again made reference to an all Welsh bout with Cleverly, although ruled out the prospect of such a matchup occurring straight away.^[21]

Professional boxing record[link]

35 Wins (27 knockouts, 8 decisions), 5 Losses (5 knockouts, 0 decisions), 0 Draws[22]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	35-5-0	Shane McPhilbin	UD	12	2012-03-23	Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands	Won BBBofC British Cruiserweight Title.
Win	34-5-0	Ciaran Healy	TKO	2 (8), 2:50	2012-02-25	Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff
Win	33-5-0	Gyorgy Marosi	TKO	1 (8), 1:39	2011-11-18	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Marosi Undefeated Going In.
Loss	32-5-0	Alexander Frenkel	KO	7 (12), 2:30	2010-09-18	LG Arena, Birmingham, West Midlands	Lost European (EBU) Cruiserweight Title.
Win	32-4-0	Alexander Kotlobay	TKO	1 (12), 2:15	2010-04-27	Yubileiny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg	Won European (EBU) Cruiserweight Title.
Win	31-4-0	Zoltan Czekus	TKO	1 (8), 2:04	2010-03-12	Echo Arena, Liverpool, Merseyside
Win	30-4-0	Krisztian Jaksi	KO	1 (6), 1:34	2009-12-05	Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear
Loss	29-4-0	Denis Lebedev	TKO	3 (12), 2:20	2009-07-18	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire	vacant WBO Inter-Continental Cruiserweight Title.
Loss	29-3-0	Ola Afolabi	KO	9 (12), 1:50	2009-03-14	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire	interim WBO Cruiserweight Title.
Win	29-2-0	Matthew Ellis	TKO	2 (10), 1:28	2008-12-06	ExCel Arena, Dockland, London
Loss	28-2-0	David Haye	TKO	2 (12), 2:04	2008-03-08	02 Arena, Greenwich, London	WBO, WBC, WBA Super World Cruiserweight Titles.
Win	28-1-0	Mohamed Azzaoui	TKO	4 (12), 0:58	2007-11-03	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	WBO Cruiserweight Title.
Win	27-1-0	Wayne Braithwaite	UD	12	2007-07-21	Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff	WBO Cruiserweight Title.
Win	26-1-0	Bobby Gunn	TKO	1 (12), 2:35	2007-04-07	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	WBO Cruiserweight Title.
Win	25-1-0	Mark Hobson	TKO	1 (12), 1:11	2006-10-14	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire	WBO Cruiserweight Title.
Win	24-1-0	Marcelo Fabian Dominguez	TKO	9 (12), 0:58	2006-07-08	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	interim WBO Cruiserweight Title.
Win	23-1-0	Mark Hobson	UD	12	2006-03-04	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	22-1-0	Marco Heinichen	KO	1 (10), 1:38	2005-11-26	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	21-1-0	Roman Bugaj	TKO	1 (8), 1:55	2005-06-04	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire
Win	20-1-0	Rich LaMontagne	TKO	4 (12), 1:04	2005-01-21	Bridgend Leisure Centre, Bridgend	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	19-1-0	Jesper Kristiansen	KO	3 (12), 2:05	2004-09-03	Newport Leisure Centre, Newport	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	18-1-0	Ismail Abdoul	UD	12	2004-07-03	Newport Leisure Centre, Newport	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	17-1-0	Gary Delaney	TKO	8 (12), 2:37	2004-02-21	Wales National Ice Rink, Cardiff	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	16-1-0	Earl Morais	KO	1 (12), 1:30	2003-12-06	Wales National Ice Rink, Cardiff	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	15-1-0	Andrei Karsten	KO	1 (12), 1:10	2003-09-13	Newport Leisure Centre, Newport	WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	14-1-0	Bruce Scott	TKO	4 (12), 2:49	2003-06-18	Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff	vacant WBU Cruiserweight Title.
Win	13-1-0	Valeri Semiskur	TKO	1 (12), ?	2003-03-29	Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, Hampshire
Win	12-1-0	Paul Bonson	PTS	4	2003-01-18	Guild Hall, Preston, Lancashire
Win	11-1-0	Dave Clarke	TKO	2 (4), 2:38	2002-10-12	York Hall, Bethnel Green, London
Win	10-1-0	Tony Booth	TKO	2 (4), 1:51	2002-08-17	Cardiff Castle, Cardiff
Win	9-1-0	Tony Booth	PTS	4	2002-04-20	Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
Win	8-1-0	James Gilbert	TKO	2 (6), 2:18	2002-02-12	York Hall, Bethnel Green, London
Win	7-1-0	Kevin Barrett	TKO	2 (6), 2:38	2001-12-15	Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley, London
Win	6-1-0	Eamon Glennon	TKO	2 (4), ?	2001-10-09	Wales National Ice Rink, Cardiff
Win	5-1-0	Darren Ashton	KO	1 (4), 1:15	2001-04-18	Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
Win	4-1-0	Chris Woollas	PTS	4	2000-12-11	Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, Cheshire
Loss	3-1-0	Lee Swaby	KO	3 (4), ?	2000-05-12	Swansea Leisure Centre, Swansea
Win	3-0-0	Nigel Rafferty	TKO	3 (4), ?	2000-02-26	Swansea Leisure Centre, Swansea
Win	2-0-0	Mark Williams	TKO	1 (4), ?	1999-12-11	Rhydycar Leisure Centre, Merthyr
Win	1-0-0	Paul Bonson	PTS	4	1999-10-02	Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff