ENZO MACCARINELLI destroyed the remnants of Roy Jones Jnr in the fourth round of their cruiserweight contest in the VTB Arena in Russia. Jones, 46, had been making unwelcome noises about challenging for another world title but he will now hopefully retire after his ninth career loss.
Credit, of course, must go to Maccarinelli for his assured triumph, bullying Jones into the ropes before expertly firing an uppercut and booming right that had his famed rival out before he hit the floor.
But the Welshman – who bossed the opening two rounds while Jones rallied in the third – beat a shell of a great fighter who lost for the fifth time by knockout. Ten years ago such a statistic would have been unthinkable.
What is next for Maccarinelli remains to be seen, and this victory certainly puts him back in the shop window, but for RJJ – one of the greatest fighters of all-time – this has to be the end.
