By Ian S Palmer
WBO Cruiserweight Champion Marco Huck of Germany will take on undefeated Italian Mirko Larghetti at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle/Westphalia, Germany on Saturday, August 30. Huck will be attempting to tie the record of 13 successful cruiserweight title defenses which was set several years ago by Johnny Nelson of England. This bout was originally scheduled for March 29 in Berlin, but it had to be postponed after Huck fractured his right thumb while sparring.
The 29-year-old Huck, who was born in Serbia, will enter the ring with an impressive 37-2-1 record with 26 Kos to his name while the 31-year-old Larghetti is 21-0 with 13 Kos. Huck won the crown back in 2009 and has faced some pretty good boxers over the years. He also stepped up to the heavyweight division to take on Alexander Povetkin in 2012 and lost via a controversial majority decision. Huck’s other loss was a 12th-round TKO to American Steve Cunningham in 2007. However, Huck has managed to beat fighters such as Firat Arslan, Denis Lebedev and Ola Afolabi.
Nelson, who now works as a boxing television pundit, said he’s hoping Huck will eventually break his record, but added, “Marco is a very tough, capable champion who is on a roll, but he still needs to be tested away from Germany as a champion. It’s not just about being champion, it’s believing you are champion and the world believing you are the best in that division, and until he decides to start globetrotting as champion, the question will be there.”
Nelson made these remarks since Huck has fought outside of his homeland just once in his career, which was back in 2007 when he travelled to Switzerland in 2007. Huck’s promoter Kalle Sauerland said if Huck manages to beat Larghetti there’s a good chance he may hit the road for his next bout, possibly in the USA. He said Huck hopes to either unify the cruiserweight titles or try his luck once again in the heavyweight division.
Of course Larghetti is hoping to derail those plans by upsetting the champion on his home turf on Saturday night. Larghetti is relatively unknown though, even in his homeland of Italy. He’s unbeaten and has decent power, but this will be a step up in class for him. The Italian took a tune-up fight after the postponement was announced back in March. He took on Attila Palko in June and stopped him in the second round. Larghetti moves well in the ring and is a decent is a boxer-puncher with good skills, but Huck has seen it all before and usually comes out on top when all is said and done.
Prediction
Huck has a lot of stamina and likes to stay active. He’s more experienced than Larghetti, has a couple of inches in height on him, and will be motivated as he wants to eventually break Nelson’s record. The champion also has solid power and a strong chin. Larghetti will obviously give it his best shot and he could take Huck the distance, but if he does, he’ll fall short via the judges’ scorecards.
