LONDON (AP)—David Haye stopped Enzo
Maccarinelli in the second round to add the WBO cruiserweight title to his WBA
and WBC crowns Sunday in his final fight before he tests his power as a
heavyweight.
Haye caught the Welshman with a
right hand in the corner and Maccarinelli wound up with his head through the
ropes at the 02 Arena. He got to his feet, but referee John Keane stopped it at
2:04 of the round with Maccarinelli stumbling around the ring.
A fight the two British
cruiserweights had been waiting for was never intended to last the full 12
rounds because of their punching power.
It lasted a little over 5 minutes
before a capacity crowd at the 20,000-seat Arena where Haye had the majority of
the support.
Haye, who took the WBA and WBC
titles from Jean-Marc Mormeck in Paris in November, plans to move up to
heavyweight. He is 21-1.
Maccarinelli, who had been unbeaten
in 25 fights, dropped to 28-2.
Haye stumbled after taking a left
less than 30 seconds into the fight but also landed a left of his own. He had
blood seeping from the side of his left eye early in the second round but
Maccarinelli had no time to take advantage.
Haye trapped him in a neutral corner
and clubbed him with a short right hand. Maccarinelli went down and, although
he got to his feet, he was clearly in no condition to carry on.
