By Ben Dirs

Maccarinelli (right) has now won 28 of his 29 fights

Enzo Maccarinelli defended his WBO cruiserweight title with a fourth-round knockout of Mohamed Azzaoui at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The Swansea man landed with a huge left to the body in round two and his Algerian foe never fully recovered.

Maccarinelli, again displaying fine all-round boxing skills, landed another massive left hook to the kidney in round four and Azzaoui was counted out.

Azzaoui cried foul, but replays showed the killer punch was a legitimate one.

The 27-year-old Maccarinelli started sloppily and was caught several times in the first round by his 31-year-old opponent, who was previously unbeaten in 24 fights.

He was ranked with the WBO, WBC and IBF and undefeated and I thought I did a good job Enzo Maccarinelli

But Maccarinelli started working behind his jab in round two and his first punch of note, a cracking left into the ribs, was a sign of things to come.

A right uppercut also wobbled Azzaoui in the third round as Maccarinelli continued to demonstrate that he is far more than a slugger.

And Maccarinelli rammed home his advantage in the fourth when he caught Azzaoui off-balance and delivered a huge body shot to clinch victory.

"I'm enjoying this new-found stature as a 'boxer'," said Maccarinelli, who has now won 28 of his 29 fights as a professional.

"I'd seen some tapes and knew I could out-jab him, out-box him. He was ranked with the WBO, WBC and IBF and undefeated and I thought I did a good job.

"In the Calzaghe stable Enzo trains us to fight and we adapt on the night. I watched a bit of footage but not too much. I'm pleased with the performance.

"The plan was to keep throwing the jab, a couple of right hooks to the body switched it to the left, then back with the right and I threw a final shot which caught him and he had no chance of getting up from it."