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Maccarinelli retains cruiserweight title

22/07/2007

Enzo Maccarinelli retained his WBO cruiserweight title against Wayne Braithwaite with a unanimous points decision after a bruising 12-round encounter in Cardiff.

Maccarinelli won 119-108, 118-109 and 120-107 after his punching power proved too much for the challenger to counter.

However, the Welshman had to absorb his fair share of punishment as Braithwaite stood toe-to-toe with the champion.

The pair traded powerful blows in the opening rounds but Maccarinelli was able to land better quality shots.

In the fifth round the Guyanese fighter caught Maccarinelli with a right upper-cut but the champion immediately retaliated with a left hook which floored Braithwaite just before the bell sounded.

The 26-year-old continued to probe with his jab and landed some effective body punches. This seemed to quell the threat of Braithwaite and the Welsh fighter was able to celebrate at the end of the 12th round in the knowledge he had done enough to retain the title.

Elsewhere, super featherweight Alex Arthur retained his WBO interim title after knocking out Georgian fighter Kobo Gogoladze in the tenth round.

Arthur knocked Gogoladze down in the sixth and eighth rounds with two outstanding left hooks that forced standing eight counts, but the challenger bravely fought on.

Gogoladze was deducted a point in the ninth round for a head-butt and Arthur eventually won the bout after another left hook in the tenth round. Gogoladze survived the count but Arthur's relentless pressure caused the referee to stop the bout.

The Scot is now the number one contender for Joan Guzman's WBO super featherweight title and would be the Dominican's next mandatory opponent.

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