ENZO Maccarinelli will be part of the WBC Night of Champions celebrations in Cardiff on Thursday.

The 29-year-old former WBO cruiserweight king will join the likes of fellow Welsh greats Enzo Calzaghe, Nathan Cleverly, Eddie Avoth along with global sensations such as Miguel Cotto, Roberto Duran, Vitali Klitschko, Leon Spinks and Erik Morales.

The three-day international boxing festival, being held at the Cardiff International Arena between Thursday-Saturday is a celebration of the sport, with around 100 current and former world champions along with current rising stars expected to hit Cardiff next weekend.

The event includes: the world film premiere of "Risen: The Howard Winstone Story", a bio-pic of Merthyr boxing legend, Howard Winstone — a sporting great who overcame all odds to win a World Boxing title despite losing the fingers on one hand in an accident.

An official pre-Olympic tournament between British Olympic hopefuls in Team GB and a Rest of the World Team.

The Night of Champions gala awards dinner, honouring some of the sport's greatest champions, as well as the unsung heroes that have made boxing great.

Chris Barney