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The third time proved to be the one Marco Huck will want to remember as the fixture of German boxing defended his WBO cruiserweight crown with a majority decision last night over England’s Ola Afolabi at Ma Schmeling Halle in Berlin.
Afolabi had given Huck fits in two previous WBO title challenges, a close points loss in 2009 and a draw one year ago, and it was a genuine 50/50 fight going into last evening.
In the early rounds, the Briton showed he meany business by backing up the champion behind the jab, launching wide left hooks and a right hand to the body that bothered Huck.
Huck displayed patience in dealing with Afolabi’s aggressiveness, keeping a tight guard and carefully choosing his moments to lash out, whipping left hands that only served as a defense clearer for the big right hands that inevitably followed.
This pattern played out throughout the fight with Afolabi getting progressively more ragged as the rounds wore on, the punishment dealt out by Huck taking its toll.
Afolabi’s commitment to going forward and continuing to throw punches paid off at points as he would nail Huck with hard shots, but he could never put together an effective offense.
Huck nullified the challenger’s efforts by retreating with good footwork and presenting previously unseen boxing skills, blocking a lot of punches and attacking when the Los Angeles resident was off balance.
After 12 rounds, Huck won a majority decision on scores of 114-114, 115-113 and a rather wide 117-111.
“Captain Hook” improves to 36-2-1 (25), having made 11 defenses of the WBO strap. Afolabi drops to 19-3-4 (9).
It would be interesting to see Huck engage in a meaningful unification fight against WBA champ Guillermo Jones, IBF king Yoan Pablo Hernandez or WBC boss Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.
