The stakes have been raised for what was already a very big fight in the cruiserweight division tomorrow in Germany. Top of the division staple Marco Huck (40-3-1, 27 KOs) and rising contender Mairis Briedis (21-0, 18 KOs) of Latvia meet for the WBC Cruiserweight Championship that Tony Bellew kind of, sort of vacated by fighting at heavyweight and then being hurt. Bellew has dibs on the winner if he wants it, but before we get there we have a great fight to watch tomorrow.
32 year old Marco Huck has been a staple on the cruiserweight world scene since a failed world title bid a decade ago against Steve Cunningham. He won the WBO belt two years later and defended it twelve times before falling in a come from behind upset KO delivered by Krzysztof Glowacki. Huck has rebounded with two decent wins, including finishing rare four fight series against Ola Afalobi that was entirely unnecessary, and now faces Briedis.
Huck is Huck. He is a known commodity at this point. Sometimes he is exciting, sometimes he is not. He is often dirty and he almost always wins. The question is at 32, a decade into elite level boxing, what does he have left?
Mairis Briedis is somehow the same age as Huck at 32. He turned pro the year Huck won his title and has not fought anywhere near the same level of competition. Even if Huck is faded, and I feel that narrative is a little over blown here, he still represents by far the highest level of competition Briedis has faced.
This is not to say the Latvian cannot win. I do not like how easy he is to hit and I do feel his one punch power is a little inflated, but he really puts his hands together with deceptive to deliver vicious assaults when given the opportunity. Just ask Olanrewaju Durodola. I question whether he is truly an elite athlete, however, and slightly favor Huck. I am very excited to watch when I get a chance too though. This is one of those fights where you really get to find out truth in quality.
Note: I will probably put up a quick results when I find out the outcome and an in depth response later when I have had a chance to procure the fight. Not always super easy to get them from overseas, but I am sure this one will be available.
