Sometimes boxing rivalries tell their own story and in the case of this weekend's WBO Cruiserweight title bout between Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25) and Ola Afolabi (19-2-4, 9) we get another fantastic chapter in a brilliant rivalry.
The two men, who meet for the 3rd time first fought back in December 2009 with Huck taking a much debated unanimous decision. In 2012 they met for a second time with the bout declared a 12 round draw in what was a contender for both fight of the year and round of the year (round 12).
If the story continues in the way it's been going then this should be an absolutely barn burner due to the fact the previous two were. Though maybe the most telling fact going in to the bout is the that both men know what to expect from the other and both know they have the power to rock the other (even though neither man has been down in 24 rounds together).
The 28 year old Huck goes in to this bout as the favourite (8/15) though this doesn't really tell us everything we need to know about Huck.
The hard nosed and usually fun to watch Serbian born German is a fighter who has been involved in a number of hard, draining battled in his 38 fight career, especially in recent bouts. At the low level his power and aggression has seen him stopping opponents with relative ease. At genuine world level however Huck has been unable to quickly dispose of his opponents and as a result has been involved in tear up after tear up.
With a combined 72 rounds of action against Steve Cunningham, Ola Afolabi, Denis Lebedev, Alexander Povetkin and Firat Arslan, Huck is a fighter with a lot of miles on the clock. As well as the 72 rounds against those world class fighters Huck has been in 12 straight world title fights and has fought a staggering 10 bouts since the first Afolabi bout.
Aged just 28 Huck is showing the signs of his wars. His battle with Firat Arslan last time out made Huck look like only a shadow of the fighter he was 2 fights earlier. Sure he may just have been unable to get up for the fight though the fact he was out worked in almost every one of the 12 rounds was still a worry.
Whilst Huck is a crude, hard hitting, teak tough fighter Afolabi is much more skilled fighter who's much smoother, much more accurate and far more technically sound. He lacks the power of Huck though is certainly the better pure boxer and has also shown a level of toughness that matches that of Huck.
Afolabi at 33 years old is the older fighter in terms of "real years" but is by far the less "damaged" fighter in terms of ring years. Aside from the 2 wars with Huck, Afolabi hasn't been forced to go in to the trenches too much and is probably a very "young" 33 for a boxer. He certainly seems to have more in the tank than Huck despite twice failing to defeat him.
For me a lot depends on what Huck has left, though with his bout against Arslan it don't look like there was much at all left for Huck. A fighter can only go to the well so many times before the well runs dry and that's what I think will happen here.
Prediction-Afolabi UD12
Showing posts with label WBO Cruiserweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBO Cruiserweight. Show all posts
Friday, 7 June 2013
Friday, 2 November 2012
Marco Huck v Firat Arslan
WBO Cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (34-2-1, 25) looks to make the 10th defense of his belt this coming weekend as he faces veteran Firat Arslan (32-5-2, 21) in what looks likely to be Huck's final bout as a Cruiserweight and possibly Arslan's last career bout.
The 42 year old challenger has been there, seen it and gotten the T-shirt in his his 15 year career that has seen him becoming a staple of the Cruiserweight division. He has literally been in with a who's who of the division, especially in the last 5 or 6 years, and he's also held his own with not only some of the best of his generation but also of the emerging fighters in the division.
Arslan would really make a name for himself between 2006 and 2008 as he scored successive victories over the likes of Grigory Drozd, Valery Brudov, Virgil Hill and the always dangerous Darnell Wilson as he claimed the WBA Cruiserweight title, a title he defended three times. Sadly however for Arslan his advanced age didn't help him hold the title for long as he suffered a 10th round TKO loss to Guillermo Jones and a year later an 11th round TKO loss to Steve Herelius in an interim title bout.
Following the losses to Jones and Herelius, some expected Arslan to bow out of the sport gracefully with a then solid record of 29-5-2 (18) however Arslan seemed to think there as still life in the old dog. On his return to the ring, just 9 after losing to Herelius, Arslan stopped Michal Bilak before gaining revenge over Lubos Suda who had beaten him back in 2003. The come back then saw Arslan defeating Orlando Antonio Farias before scoring an eye opening draw with the highly touted Alexander Alekseev.
In terms of his style Arslan is a very tough fighter, he's in your face and brings a lot of pressure whilst looking to work from behind his high guard. Despite being in his 40's he has a respectable work rate even if it's not particularly high as he attempted to do enough to either just nick rounds or grind down opponents. If you allow Arslan to dictate either the tempo or the distance of a fight he can spring an upset on anyone however at just 5'11" he is short for a Cruiserweight and can be kept at range by a decent boxer.
Whilst Arslan is certainly coming to the end of his career, the 27 year old Huck is still well with in his prime and the former kick boxer is unarguably one of the most fun to watch fighters in world boxing. Despite having only been a professional for 8 years Huck has been one of the key names in the Cruiserweight division for 6 of them (since claiming the European-Union title in 2006).
As a Cruiserweight Huck is seen as a crude, caveman style fighter who is hugely powerful, teak tough and whilst not the most skilled has the physicality to win bouts with his power and raw aggression. Despite this he's not unbeatable with Steve Cunningham holding a 12th round TKO victory over Huck, although that was way back in 2007, the one and only time that Huck has been beaten at Cruiserweight.
Following the loss to Cunningham, Huck has rebuilt his career well claiming the European title and then the WBO title as he's swathed through a number of very skilled fighters including Jean Marc Monrose,Victor Emilio Ramirez, Ola Afolabi (twice), Denis Lebedev and Hugo Hernan Garay. However there is a lot of debate about whether or not the victories over Lebedev and Afolabi were above board (with a lot of debate over both bouts).
Despite suffering his only Cruiserweight loss back in 2007, Huck is current 0-1-1 in his last 3 having scored a draw Afolabi last time out and a loss in a WBA Heavyweight title bout to Alexander Povetkin in his fight prior. In both of these Huck came on strong after losing a number of early rounds and in all honesty he could well have won both bouts due despite losing a number of early rounds. Against Arslan, Huck will likely start faster than he did in either of those bouts.
I imagine this will be very fun to watch as both men are happy to stand in front of opponents and land their own shots between their opponents attacks. Neither guy is a typical "boxer" and neither guy particularly likes to take a backward step, this would therefore look, at least on paper, like a really exciting to watch bout. Sadly despite the brilliant combination of styles, it's hard to see Arslan managing to keep up with Huck's pace and power. As a result of Huck being the younger, more powerful, bigger, stronger, tougher man...it's impossible to go against Huck.
Prediction: Huck by TKO6
The 42 year old challenger has been there, seen it and gotten the T-shirt in his his 15 year career that has seen him becoming a staple of the Cruiserweight division. He has literally been in with a who's who of the division, especially in the last 5 or 6 years, and he's also held his own with not only some of the best of his generation but also of the emerging fighters in the division.
Arslan would really make a name for himself between 2006 and 2008 as he scored successive victories over the likes of Grigory Drozd, Valery Brudov, Virgil Hill and the always dangerous Darnell Wilson as he claimed the WBA Cruiserweight title, a title he defended three times. Sadly however for Arslan his advanced age didn't help him hold the title for long as he suffered a 10th round TKO loss to Guillermo Jones and a year later an 11th round TKO loss to Steve Herelius in an interim title bout.
Following the losses to Jones and Herelius, some expected Arslan to bow out of the sport gracefully with a then solid record of 29-5-2 (18) however Arslan seemed to think there as still life in the old dog. On his return to the ring, just 9 after losing to Herelius, Arslan stopped Michal Bilak before gaining revenge over Lubos Suda who had beaten him back in 2003. The come back then saw Arslan defeating Orlando Antonio Farias before scoring an eye opening draw with the highly touted Alexander Alekseev.
In terms of his style Arslan is a very tough fighter, he's in your face and brings a lot of pressure whilst looking to work from behind his high guard. Despite being in his 40's he has a respectable work rate even if it's not particularly high as he attempted to do enough to either just nick rounds or grind down opponents. If you allow Arslan to dictate either the tempo or the distance of a fight he can spring an upset on anyone however at just 5'11" he is short for a Cruiserweight and can be kept at range by a decent boxer.
Whilst Arslan is certainly coming to the end of his career, the 27 year old Huck is still well with in his prime and the former kick boxer is unarguably one of the most fun to watch fighters in world boxing. Despite having only been a professional for 8 years Huck has been one of the key names in the Cruiserweight division for 6 of them (since claiming the European-Union title in 2006).
As a Cruiserweight Huck is seen as a crude, caveman style fighter who is hugely powerful, teak tough and whilst not the most skilled has the physicality to win bouts with his power and raw aggression. Despite this he's not unbeatable with Steve Cunningham holding a 12th round TKO victory over Huck, although that was way back in 2007, the one and only time that Huck has been beaten at Cruiserweight.
Following the loss to Cunningham, Huck has rebuilt his career well claiming the European title and then the WBO title as he's swathed through a number of very skilled fighters including Jean Marc Monrose,Victor Emilio Ramirez, Ola Afolabi (twice), Denis Lebedev and Hugo Hernan Garay. However there is a lot of debate about whether or not the victories over Lebedev and Afolabi were above board (with a lot of debate over both bouts).
Despite suffering his only Cruiserweight loss back in 2007, Huck is current 0-1-1 in his last 3 having scored a draw Afolabi last time out and a loss in a WBA Heavyweight title bout to Alexander Povetkin in his fight prior. In both of these Huck came on strong after losing a number of early rounds and in all honesty he could well have won both bouts due despite losing a number of early rounds. Against Arslan, Huck will likely start faster than he did in either of those bouts.
I imagine this will be very fun to watch as both men are happy to stand in front of opponents and land their own shots between their opponents attacks. Neither guy is a typical "boxer" and neither guy particularly likes to take a backward step, this would therefore look, at least on paper, like a really exciting to watch bout. Sadly despite the brilliant combination of styles, it's hard to see Arslan managing to keep up with Huck's pace and power. As a result of Huck being the younger, more powerful, bigger, stronger, tougher man...it's impossible to go against Huck.
Prediction: Huck by TKO6
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