Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck

Date	9 September 2017
Venue	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
Title(s) on the line	WBO cruiserweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oleksandr Usyk Marco Huck Nickname "The Cat" "Käpt'n" Hometown Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine Berlin, Germany Pre-fight record 12–0 (10 KO) 40–4–1 (27 KO) Age 30 years, 7 months 32 years, 9 months Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) Weight 199+1⁄2 lb (90 kg) 198+4⁄5 lb (90 kg) Style Southpaw Orthodox Recognition WBO Cruiserweight Champion The Ring/TBRB No. 1 Ranked Cruiserweight WBO No. 9 Ranked Cruiserweight The Ring No. 7 Ranked Cruiserweight TBRB No. 10 Ranked Cruiserweight
Result
Usyk defeats Huck in the 10th round via TKO

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck was a professional boxing match contested on 9 September 2017, for the WBO Cruiserweight championship.[1]

Background

Having made two defences of the WBO belt he had won from Krzysztof Głowacki in September 2016, Oleksandr Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series in July 2017 as odds on favourite to win.[2][3] At the WBSS draft Gala, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 8 July 2017, Usyk, who was the number one seed, chose to fight former WBO champion Marco Huck. When asked why he chose Huck, Usyk said, "Because of my fans." Huck, who was equally excited, replied that Usyk was his 'wish opponent'.[4]

n 26 July it was announced that the fight would take place at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin on 9 September 2017. This would mark the second time Usyk would fight in Germany as a professional, having fought there in his third professional bout in April 2014. It would also mark the first fight of the tournament.[5][6][7]

On 6 September, at the final press-conference, Huck pushed Usyk in the face-off. In regards to the shove, Huck said, "I wanted to show Usyk that he is in my hometown and that he should be prepared for the battle of his life on Saturday." Usyk, who remained professional and calm, replied, "If you want to be a great champion, you have to beat the best and Huck is one of the best. I chose to enter this tournament because it is a path to achieve my dream of unifying all the belts."[8][9] As he was leaving the building, Usyk claimed he would 'bury' Huck.[10]

The fight

Usyk had little trouble in the fight, using his footwork to completely outboxing Huck and continuously landing punches.[11] In round 8, Usyk tripped on Huck's feet and Huck lost a point on the scorecards as he threw a punch at Usyk when the latter was down. Usyk continued to land combinations with little to no response from Huck until referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight in the tenth-round.[12]

Aftermath

With the win, Usyk progressed to the semi-final stage of the Super Series and was to face the winner of the Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez, scheduled for 30 September.[13][14]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[15]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
Baltic & Nordic countries	Viasat[16]
Belgium	VOO[17]
Bulgaria	Nova
Canada	Super Channel
Germany	SAT.1
Russia	Match! Boets[18]
Singapore	StarHub
Sub-Saharan Africa	TVMS
Turkey	Tivibu Sports[19]
United Kingdom	ITV
Ukraine	Inter

References

1. "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
2. "Oleksandr Usyk joins World Boxing Super Series". The Ring. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
3. Joe O'Neill (10 July 2017). "World Boxing Super Series Betting Odds". irish-boxing.com. Irish Boxing. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
4. "Usyk-Huck Among the Cruiserweight Fights Determined for WBSS - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. 8 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
5. "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck on September 9 in Berlin - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
6. "Usyk-Huck opens WBSS cruiserweight tourney". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
7. "Oleksandr Usyk-Marco Huck set for September 9 - The Ring". The Ring. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
8. "Huck Pushes Usyk at Final Press Conference in Berlin". World Boxing Super Series. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
9. "Marco Huck Pushes Usyk At Final Press Conference In Berlin". Ringsidefightingnews. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
10. "Usyk Vows To "Bury" Huck After Being Shoved at Press Conference - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
11. "Oleksandr Usyk got the WBSS started in triumphant fashion". Bad Left Hook. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
12. "Usyk Sees Briedis as Semi-final Opponent". World Boxing Super Series. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
13. "Usyk vs Huck results: Oleksandr Usyk stops Marco Huck to kick off World Boxing Super Series". Bad Left Hook. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
14. "Usyk Stops Huck in Tenth, Advances in WBSS Tournament - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. 9 September 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
15. "BoxRec - event".
16. "MTG will be the exclusive home of the World Boxing Super Series in the Nordic and Baltic regions". europawire.eu. EuropaWire. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
17. "TV PARTNERS". worldboxingsuperseries.com. World Boxing Super Series. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
18. Andrew Karlov (14 October 2017). "Groves vs Cox. Where to watch live". ringside24.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
19. WBN Staff (9 September 2017). "WBSS agree further European media rights deals". worldboxingnews.net. World Boxing News. Retrieved 19 April 2024.

Preceded by vs. Michael Hunter	Oleksandr Usyk's bouts 9 September 2017	Succeeded by vs. Mairis Briedis
Preceded by vs. Mairis Briedis	Marco Huck's bouts 9 September 2017	Succeeded by vs. Yakup Saglam