Trainer stops fight after fifth round as eye completely closes up.
Enzo Maccarinelli was unable to defeat WBA light-heavyweight champion Jurgen Braehmer in Rostock on Saturday night, after suffering from a badly swollen eye.
The Welsh challenger battled on until the end of the fifth round, but trainer Gary Lockett had seen enough and told the referee that he was unable to allow his fighter to carry on.
The 33-year-old has suffered a series of serious stoppages in the last few years, with growing calls for him to retire from the sport before he suffers a potentially long-term damaging injury.
However, he continues to return with the belief that he is capable of another shot at a world title and appeared to be able to stand up to Braehmer, only for his eye to start showing signs of swelling as early as the first round after a clash of heads.
With his vision increasingly impaired as the fight went on, Braehmer began to target the weakness and landed a few solid hooks on the blind side, but to Maccarinelli’s credit he pressed on into the fifth and continued to battle away.
Nevertheless, with the state of his eye deteriorating, Lockett warned his fighter that he had one more round left before he would throw in the towel, and while there were further signs of promise, it wasn’t enough for the trainer to risk Maccarinelli’s health.
It was a seventh defeat in a 45-fight career for the Welshman, while Braehmer improved to 43 wins from 45 bouts.
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