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WBOcruiserweight king Marco Huck had his toughest test yet as champion, getting through a difficult defense against previously undefeated Denis Lebedev by split decision last night at Max SchmelingHalle in Berlin, Germany.
Huck, normally the aggressor in his bouts, chose to try and box his way past the shorter southpaw Lebedev, who turned in a good performance for his first world title clash.
The champion was the better man in the early frames, keeping his composure but eventually, Lebedev succeeded in pushing Huck back and this wore down the champion.
Lebedev came on in the middle rounds, punishing Huck but by the tenth stanza, the champion had regained the initiative, landing big shots that had the challenger on the defensive.
Fighting through what was later reported to be a rib injury, Huck finished strongly to make his case and was rewarded by winning two cards by margins of 115-113 while Lebedev was favored by the third at 116-112.
Huck is victorious by split decision, improving to 31-1 (23), and retaining the WBO strap on the fifth consecutive occasion while Lebedev loses for the first time in his career, falling to 21-1 (16).
There was other crusierweight action as towering Cuban lefty Yoan Pablo Hernandez, 23-1 (12), won the biggest bout of his career by crushing former WBO title challenger Ali Ismailov, 18-4-1 (13), in the first round.
Hernandez, who at 6’4 enjoyed a seven inch height advantage over Ismailov, pummeled his rival thru the ropes at 2:23 of the opening frame.
With the victory, Hernandez is now the mandatory WBA title challenger.
Heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin, 21-0 (15), was back in action, winning a wide ten round UD over Nicolai Firtha, 19-8-1 (8).
