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Marco Huck kept hold of his WBO cruiserweight title earlier tonight with a thumping KO of challenger Rogelio Omar Rossi at The Arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany.
Southpaw Rossi came into the bout with the Interim WBO Latino, South American and Argentine titles in tow but that same resume was utterly devoid of world level opponents, while in contrast, Huck was engaging in his tenth world title bout.
The first round saw Rossi get down to business from the start, throwing jabs and looking to land left hands to the head and body. Huck mainly sat back, blocking and trying to get a read on the awkward challenger.
Huck’s activity level went up a few notches after Rossi was cautioned by referee Paul Thomas for a shot that strayed low.
The champion got in a good right near the bell, shaking Rossi and providing an omen for things to come.
Rossi went back to harassing Huck in the second, throwing many jabs that fell short of the mark before rushing the champion on occasion and invariably getting in a few glancing blows.
Huck focused on blocking and jabbing while waiting to time a counter left hook the challenger’s slow right jab. The champion tried a few forays but was ineffective at dissuading Rossi, who continued to stalk and throw.
Near the end of the round, Rossi hit Huck with a left that was below the belt-line, causing Huck to come to life, lashing out in retaliation before the bell rang.
The Argentine lefty opened the third true to form, pitching a seemingly ceaseless jab at Huck, who was waiting to land a big punch and getting hit here and there by his dogged antagonist.
After landing another left south of the border, Rossi had a point taken away. This just spurred the challenger on to greater effort as he went after Huck with both hands, getting in a few shots despite the ragged approach.
Huck was credited with a knockdown in the closing seconds of the frame, although Rossi appeared to have been hit on the back of the head and then shoved down while in a crouch.
The fourth started and Huck was still getting hassled by Rossi, who got in close to score with body shots behind the never ending jab.
While Huck finally started to dial in some good right hands, Rossi was canvassed with a left to the back of the head after the bell to end the round and Huck lost two points for the infraction.
The fifth started like all the previous rounds until a full-fledged scrum broke out, with both fighters throwing punches with little regard to defense.
Huck got in a clubbing left to the side of Rossi’s head and the challenger was down, beating the count but looking worn out upon regaining his feet.
Rossi bravely resumed his approach but by now Huck was landing right hands whenever he cared to before sending the challenger down with a left to the body, right to the head, once again in the closing seconds of the round.
The sixth started with Huck throwing a counter right over the first left hand body shot Rossi threw and the challenger was staggered but carried on.
The end came during a brief but brutal assault by Huck that saw Rossi absorb three rights in a row, with the final blow knocking out the challenger.
Huck retains his WBO belt, moving to 34-1 (25), while Rossi drops to 17-3-1 (11).
