McKenzie handed Commonwealth chance and Maccarinelli incentive

Ovill McKenzie has been handed two huge incentives on Friday night - the Commonwealth title and a future showdown with former world champion Enzo Maccarinelli.

The Derby-based Jamaican [pictured sparring with Lee Jevons, who is also on the bill] boxes for the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight in Halifax this weekend [November 11] on a show that'll be broadcast live by up-and-coming Sky channel BoxNation.

But before serious talk of a Maccarinelli showdown can take place he first has to beat another scrapper from the land of the dragon, solid Jeff Evans, the Gary Lockett-trained Welsh 12st 7lbs monarch who's only tasted defeat once in ten [eight wins and a draw, one inside], over 12. The winner is then likely to meet the ex-WBO champion in a money-spinning first defence next year.

The slimmed-down Swansea banger, 32-5 (25), has been accustomed to life behind the microphone in recent weeks as BoxNation's colour commentator but steps between the ropes for the first time in 14 months and for the first time at light-heavyweight on the nine-bout undercard. Presuming he comes through a six-rounder unscathed, the former European cruiserweight champ will be jostling at the front of the queue for a crack at a belt he's never held. 

Though some would prefer Evans to prevail over the 36-minute distance and set up that all-Welsh title dust-up, durable and dangerous McKenzie starts as favourite. A former holder of this belt who also won the cruiserweight Prizefighter title in 2009, the hardy 31-year-old has suffered back-to-back defeats to Tony Bellew but twice dropped the Liverpudlian in their epic first meeting last year.

Bellew sensibly boxed on the back foot in their July British and Commonwealth title rematch, but 29-fight [18 wins, seven stoppages] Ovill is a heavy-handed, come-forward threshing machine who is deterred by little and encouraged by a lot. Against the ambitious, well-schooled but relatively-untested Evans, whose first step up in class saw him outpointed in Prizefighter by Ingle-trained English 12st boss Paul David, the East Midlander should have a little bit too much class and experience.

Image courtesy of Gavin Burrows.