Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
WBN Editor
Russian clings on to WBA title
Alexander Povetkin retained his WBA heavyweight title in a
gruelling battle with WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck at the
Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart Germany this evening.
The 32 year-old, who improved his record to 24-0 with the
win, looked to be blowing hard from round six but consistently found the target
with his jab and at the end of the fight, Huck looked worse for wear.
On my card, I had Huck taking the fight 116-113 as Povetkin
laboured through the second half of the fight, but the judges obviously thought
that the Russian did enough to keep his title with a majority verdict.
Both fighters’ threw their all into the fight in
what was one of the most entertaining heavyweight contests in recent times and
with scores of 114-114, 116-113 and 116-112, Povetkin made a successful second
defence.
Huck, 27, has enhanced his reputation was a game performance
and may now decide to stay at the higher limit as he didn’t look out of place –
even though he gave away 20lbs to the champion at yesterday’s weigh-in.
A rematch between the pair would be most welcome, although
former WBC champion Hasim Rahman has been assured that he will be granted a
shot at Povetkin after stepping aside for Huck, who lost for only the second
time in 36 bouts.