Marco Huck retained his WBO cruiserweight title via split decision in a brutal battle with tough challenger Denis Lebedev at the Max Schmelling Halle in Berlin, Germany on Saturday night.
Huck,31-1-(23), making his fifth title defence was judged the winner on two cards by scores of 115-113, 115-113 while the third official made Lebedev the winner, 116-112.
As expected the fight started fast as both boxers tried to stamp their authority. Huck landed the heavier shots early on but mandatory challenger Lebedev kept moving forward in bid to sustain applied pressure. Huck continued to rain in the heavier accurate shots but Lebedev always looked strong and never let the champion relax for one moment. It was a close and keenly fought fight throughout but Huck’s cleaner work just gave him the edge.
Huck said afterwards that he thought Lebedev may have fractured his ribs in the fourth round.
Lebedev loses for the first time and drops to 21-1-(16).
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On the undercard Unbeaten heavyweight Alexander Povetkin improved to, 21-0-1(15) when he scored a 10 round unanimous decision win over Nicolai Firtha. Povetkin was always in control of the fight as the clear 98-92, 100-90, 99-91 scoreline suggested. Povetkin complained after that he may have broken right hand in round one.
In other action, a WBA cruiserweight eliminator, Yoan Pablo Hernandez knocked out Ali Ismailov in the opening round. A right hand to the chin did the damage as Ismailov failed to beat the count. The time of the ko was 2:23.
Another heavyweight in action was Kubrat Pulev, who improved to, 10-0-(5) with a clear 80-72 points win on all cards against ex European champion Paolo Vidoz.
Other results
Heavyweight Francesco Pianeta w ko 1 Mike Middleton
Light heavyweight Dustin Dirks w pts 8 Alpay Kobal
Light heavyweight Erik Skoglund w tko 1 Mile Nikolic
December 18, 2010
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