Big-punching cruiserweight contenders Mairis Briedis and Marco Huck will square off for the vacant interim WBC world title on April 1st at Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany, exclusively live on BoxNation.
‘The Channel of Champions’ will be the only place to see the undefeated Breidis, with an outstanding record of 21 wins and 18 knockouts, take on the once dominant man of the division in Huck.
32-year-old Huck dominated the 200-pound division from 2009 to 2015, making a division-record tying 13 defences before his shock knockout loss to Poland’s Krzysztof Glowacki.
Huck, however, is looking to regain his spot at the top of the division as he takes on the highly-touted Latvian Breidis, who was the mandatory challenger to face Liverpool’s Tony Bellew before his move up to heavyweight to take on David Haye.
Following that fight, Bellew must decide if he will remain at heavyweight or move back down to cruiserweight. If he does so, he will be obligated to face the Briedis-Huck winner next up. If he decides to stay at heavyweight the Briedis-Huck winner will become the full titleholder.
Huck currently holds the lightly recognised IBO world title, which will also be on the line, as he looks forward to following in the footsteps of his hero Muhammad Ali.
“I am a professional boxer for 12 years now and I’ve been waiting a long time for the opportunity to get a unification fight“, said Huck. “I am very excited that this is finally happening and that I am even able to fight for the prestigious WBC title, in which my beloved idol Muhammad Ali has been world champion in. This is great for me. Mairis Briedis is still undefeated and has the reputation of being a very unpleasant opponent with a very hard punch. I prefer opponents of this calibre, for the bigger the challenge, the better I perform. I will be preparing very intensely because if I do my homework well, a fight is usually decided in my favour before it even gets started.”
The 32-year-old Briedis is hoping to prove he is the real deal when he takes on the toughest opponent of his career.
“I am incredibly happy about the upcoming fight against Marco Huck. He is a true cruiserweight legend and has already had a lot of incredible fights,” said Briedis.
“In this fight we will battle for the WBC title, which means for both of us – all or nothing! I know that Marco will also give his best. Therefore, let the best man win!,” he said.
