Huck Wins Split Decision Over Lebedev to Keep Title
Marco Huck predicted that his fight against challenger Denis Lebedev would be the toughest defense of his title yet. That was saying a lot, considering he had made four previous defenses of the strap he won in August of 2009 while retaining one of the busiest schedules of any of the beltholders in the sport. Huck was right with his prediction in both ways, it was a tough and back and forth contest, and he did successfully retain his title.
Lebedev went into the fight as the number 3 rated boxer in the cruiserweight division rankings from ProBoxing-Fans.com, and Huck was #2. So while the fight was getting little attention paid to it in the United States, it was a legitimate title scrap with a worthy champion and a worthy contender. Each man had their moments in the battle but it was Huck who was able to control more of the action. His best weapon was a straight right hand which Lebedev couldn’t defend, while Lebedev was trying to force the action and apply pressure. Huck took home a Split Decision by final scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112.
That means that once again, the only fight in the division that really matters is the rematch between Steve Cunningham and Huck. Cunningham defeated Huck via 12th round TKO in defense of his own IBF title at the end of 2007. It was Huck’s sole defeat, and the two have beaten every other top cruiserweight in the world.
Considering the other big names in the division, such as Tomasz Adamek and David Haye, are now plying their trades as top heavyweights, Cunningham vs. Huck II makes even more sense. Considering that Cunningham is now under the same Sauerland promotional banner as Huck, and that the cruiserweight division in 2010 is almost entirely sustained on the European front, the fight is all but inevitable.
