David Haye will dump his world cruiserweight titles and move up in pursuit of heavyweight greatness after battering Enzo Maccarinelli to a dramatic second-round defeat at London's O2 Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Haye took just five minutes and four seconds to smash Maccarinelli into submission with two dynamite right hands, which left the stunned Welshman reeling around the ring with no hope of continuing.

Haye, who added Maccarinelli's WBO title to the WBC and WBA straps he already owns, said: "I'm ready to go up there and start taking on the heavyweights now. I've achieved all I can in the cruiserweight division, and it's time to go up and fight the best possible opponents and knock them out.

"I've always aspired to be the best at everything I do. The Americans have a craving for an exciting heavyweight - someone who can really fight and is willing to put it on the line. I hope they'll realise that's me. I'll set the world alight."

Haye's twisting career has taken him everywhere from Bracknell and Rotherham to the Playboy Mansion, but this was the night he finally turned into a major star in front of 18,000 fans. Crucially for his long-term aims, the fight was beamed live across the United States - and the Americans must have been impressed with the way he turned the fight billed as the Battle of Britain' into a cakewalk.

Having felt the force of a Maccarinelli left hand with just seconds on the clock, Haye shaded the first round despite picking up a cut around his left eye - which simply added to his sense of urgency. The Bermondsey man poured forward in round two, a right hook softening up his opponent, who was pushed backwards into a neutral corner and left in serious trouble by another big right hand.

Maccarinelli appeared to touch down, but instead of taking a count, he sagged into the ropes and shipped another booming shot. Its force left him reeling around the ring on wobbly legs, before referee John Keane intervened.

"I made a mistake and put my chin out," said a distraught Maccarinelli afterwards. "I had a plan but I didn't stick to it. It was such a stupid thing to do, and a massive lesson to learn."

There is a real sense now that Haye has silenced his doubters and is ready to cut through the swathe of average heavyweight champions and emulate the likes of Lennox Lewis. He said: "I'd fight Wladimir Klitschko in his next fight. I watched his pitiful effort in his last fight against Sultan Ibragimov, which was embarrassing. He won't be looking forward to fighting someone like me.

"I've probably got two-and-a-half years to get the job done. I don't plan on fighting into my 31st year. I believe that by then I will have achieved everything I want to achieve. Too many fighters out there have gone on too long. I'd like to build a legacy and retire with it intact. That's my ultimate goal."

Maccarinelli will fight on and probably get the chance to win a version of the cruiserweight title after Haye vacates his belts. Steve Cunningham, the IBF champion, appears an obvious next opponent once his bruises have healed.

nKevin Mitchell, the West Ham super-featherweight, stopped Carl Johanneson on Saturday night in the ninth round to add the British title to his Commonwealth belt.

nSamuel Peter stopped Oleg Maskaev in the sixth round, pummelling him with 12 unanswered power punches to force a stoppage and claim the WBC heavyweight title.

The 27-year-old Nigerian improved to 30-1 with 23 knockouts, while the 39-year-old Russian dropped to 34-6 when the fight was halted with four seconds left in the sixth.