\n<\/p>\n
The Englishman, born to a Albanian father and a British-Yemeni mother, became hooked on the sport when his mum brought him to a boxing gym aged five.<\/p>\n
“I was doing loads of sports at the time. But when I started sparring at about nine I just fell in love with it,” he says.<\/p>\n
“The first time I got punched I thought ‘I have to get him back’. I used to get angry when I’d get hit. You have to learn to take one and land two in a minute.”<\/p>\n
Maca caught the eye of Matchroom because of his remarkable amateur record. He has seven titles in the junior ranks, including five national titles.<\/p>\n
He also won a silver medal at the IBA World Junior Championships representing Albania in 2023.<\/p>\n
While he was earmarked to be a potential Olympian, he has long had his sights on linking up with Hearn – even cornering him at an event with fellow future Matchroom fighter and heavyweight Leo Atang.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t get ringside [tickets] back then,” Maca jokes. “We spoke to Eddie and said we wanted to sign with him one day. He said, ‘come to me when you’re a bit older, boys’. And now here we are.”<\/p>\n
Like Maca, Atang will make his professional bow as an 18-year-old. He fights on Jack Catterall’s undercard in Manchester in July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n