Enzo Maccarinelli WBO Cruiserweight Champion
The wait for the Battle of Britain is nearly over and Enzo Maccarinelli is tired of all the talk and ready to silence David Haye's big mouth.
The pair meet in Britain's biggest showdown for nearly 20 years at the O2 Arena next Saturday, and the fight is turning personal.
Maccarinelli will be defending his WBO crusierweight belt and challenging for Haye's WBC and WBA versions, but he insists it is not about the costume jewellery.
"It's time to fight and wipe that stupid smile off his face," stormed Maccarinelli. "I've been called the boring family man and he's been dubbed the playboy. That suits me because we are fighting in the ring and not in the bedroom.
"In the ring I don't use pillows and Haye's in for the worst night of his life." The proud pair will come face to face this week, days before their multi-million-pound epic, and Maccarinelli is convinced that he has the mental edge.
"This is a massive fight for British boxing and for both of us," he said. "I know right now my head is in the right place and that is because I have prepared perfectly.
"I remember the look in his eyes when we first met two months ago. I could tell he was not comfortable being around me, but I can't let that to make me too confident.
"Haye can bang and it's my job to make sure that he doesn't get a chance to bang me."
The two boxers have prepared in two contrasting locations but Maccarinelli is sure that his low-key approach will lead to victory.
"I'm home every night and I have my routines but that's the way I am," he said. "In the ring a fighter knows what he needs to do and to be honest I could prepare for a fight on Mars. At the end of the day it is down to what happens when the punches start to fly and that is where I know Haye will fall apart."
Haye will return to London on Tuesday from his secret retreat in Miami and he remains as calm as Maccarinelli is confident.
"Unlike Maccarinelli I've been in a big fight and I know how to handle it," said Haye, who won his titles when he went to France last November and knocked out Jean-Marc Mormeck.
There will be two battles next Saturday - the one in the ring and the one involving the two trainers.
Maccarinelli's main man is Joe Calzaghe's dad, Enzo. "Haye will not stand a chance against Enzo's power," claimed Calzaghe Snr.
Haye's lifelong friend and trainer, Adam Booth, is equally convinced.
"I've never known him not hurt an opponent - this fight will be like the others," said Booth.
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JONATHAN PEARCE
ALEC STEWART
THE MOLE