Although I planned on moving to heavyweight immediately after knocking out Mormeck in Paris, I've now decided to stick around at cruiserweight for one final fight. In order for me to do this, the final fight had to be one that excited me. This contest with Maccarinelli does just that. He's a popular, big puncher from Wales with as many weaknesses as he has strengths. Enzo's been built up as some major force and I'm looking to make a mockery of the hype he's received when we clash on March 8.

A fight with Maccarinelli is the only remaining bout at cruiserweight that appeals to me. Take me out of the equation and Maccarinelli is the next best fighter in the division. He hasn't beaten many, if any, world-class contenders and has been heavily protected from day one, but you can't argue with the way he has beaten who has been put in front of him.

It's fair to say, though, that while I stepped up to the elite level against Mormeck in France, Maccarinelli will be stepping up to the elite level for the first time against me in March. This will be the first time he's tasted the leather of someone with just as much ambition as himself and with better punch power and speed. I've boxed Maccarinelli's upright, European style many, many times before as both a world-class amateur and a world-class professional. Can Enzo say the same about me?

If Maccarinelli or his team are relying on me struggling to make the weight for this fight, they can forget that, too. Though it would be more comfortable for me to be making my heavyweight debut on March 8, there is plenty of incentive for me to make 14 stone 4 lbs for one final time. I haven't been out of the gym since beating Mormeck in November, and am not a million miles away from the 14 stones 4 lbs limit even now.

Ultimately, a fight like this is worth delaying my heavyweight adventure for. Too often in boxing a showdown like this one would not happen. There would be a million and one excuses from both sides as to why the fight should not go ahead. I don't go about my career with that kind of attitude. I want to take risky fights that have people split over whether I can win or not. The more people that doubt my ability to win a fight the more I am determined to make the fight reality.

A lot of fans see this fight with Maccarinelli as a 50/50 fight and, while I personally don't think it will be anywhere near as competitive as that, that kind of feedback tells me it's a fight that needs to be made. I am the number one cruiserweight in the world and it is my duty to knock out the best contender out there. What kind of champion would I be if I refused to fight a man who some people in Swansea believe has got my number?

The reason we no longer get the Benn-Eubank rivalries of former years is because everybody is scared of losing nowadays. Nobody wants to put everything they've got on the line. It's taken Maccarinelli nearly 30 fights to step up and take on his first genuine world-class fighter. I traveled to France and beat the undisputed champion (Mormeck) in my 21^st fight.

We're two very different kinds of fighters but we'll both put it all on the line come March 8. I've no doubt this will be, on paper, the most exciting and explosive all-British fight since the days of Benn and Eubank.

And then the first bell rings, and my first right hand lands.