PROMOTER Frank Warr-en has provisionally book-ed the Cardiff Inter-national Arena in Decem-ber for a world boxing showdown between Brit-ish rivals Enzo Maccar-inelli and Johnny Nelson - but Maccarinelli is refusing to look that far ahead.

A fight-off between the WBU and WBO cruiserweight title holders is the bout Swansea's Maccarinelli craves and believes he is now ready for.

But first he has to defeat Danish challenger Jesper Kristiansen at the Newport Centre tomorrow to retain his crown and Nelson has to beat Rudiger May in Germany a day later to keep his, and Maccarinelli is taking nothing for granted.

"I treat everyone the same, regardless of what is at the end of it. I've seen so many boys in my position, young, talented boys who look perhaps one or two fights down the line and they never come.

"They get over-confident and look too far ahead. I'm getting it into my head that if I don't beat this guy I won't get Nelson and so I'm looking at Jesper Kristiansen on Friday night. On Saturday morning you can ring and ask about someone else.

"In my mind I am ready for Nelson. Everyone knows how highly I regard him. But I have to deal with someone else first."

Former European cruiserweight challenger Kristiansen, 32, has won 25 of his 31 fights with one draw and four losses and one no decision bout compared to Maccarinelli's 18 wins and one loss.

He has been stopped only twice, by Mohammed Benguesmia in losing his WBO intercontinental cruiserweight crown in 2001 and more tellingly by England's Gary Delaney in ten back in April 2000.

Delaney was up and down off the canvass like a yo-yo before being stopped in eight by Maccarinelli earlier this year, which suggests the Welshman will have a distinct edge.

But Kristiansen, a man of few words, is undaunted.

"I don't think he'll have the chance to knock me out on Friday. I know he's a big puncher, a stronger puncher probably than anyone I have faced, but I'm not worried about that and anyway, he can't knock me out if he can't hit me," he said yesterday.

He added: "I haven't devised any particular strategy. I'll deal with whatever comes up before me in the ring." Maccarinelli added: "It's nice to be back in action so quickly after the last fight (a points win over Ismail Abdoul in June) because I was a bit stale on that occasion because I had been out for five months.

"But I showed everyone I could box and that I had the stamina for 12 rounds, which some had doubted, and on Friday I hope to get back to basics (which is knocking people out)."

He had been expected to stop Abdoul, but said: "It was a good fight for me because a year or two ago I would have lost my patience and tried to kick him or something out of frustration.

"Before he fought me he had fought two world title contenders and had met them head on.

"We thought he would be the same against me but as soon as I cracked him in the first round he was basically on the back foot."

Of Kristiansen, he said: "He's a good mover, tall and rangy and likes to box off the back foot and he's a a bit of a counter-puncher.

"But he does seem to make a lot of mistakes and with the punches I have, I know I can exploit them."

Around 1,000 tickets have been sold for the 1,400 Newport Arena with others available at the box office on 01992-550888.