Exclusive - Maccarinelli heading to Russia in European title bid

Former WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli is set to challenge Alexander Frenkel for the vacant European cruiserweight title in St Petersburg, Russia on 27 April. It looks a daunting task for ‘Big Mac’ on away soil against Germany’s Frenkel who is unbeaten in his 22 fights (17 early).

Knockout artist Maccarinelli, 31-4 (24), hasn’t looked the same fighter since he was swept aside in two rounds by David Haye in their big cruiserweight unification clash which took place two years ago this week.The Welshman suffered a stunning one-punch KO against the British born Ola Afolabi when attempting to regain his WBO crown and more recently was pummeled in three rounds by Denis Lebedev last July, prompting Enzo to consider retirement.

Maccarinelli decided to rededicate himself to boxing and has since strung together back-to-back first-round wins against Krisztian Jaksi and Zoltan Czekus, but question marks remain over how much the Welshman really has left.

Frenkel has impressed on the European circuit and has a reputation for being heavy-handed but has so far been matched fairly conservatively. The German’s stand out win is a first-round knockout over faded former IBF champion Kelvin Davis in November.