By Peter Wells (twitter @boxingbrains): When Marco Huck and Ola Afolabi fight, it can be hard to predict who will be the victor, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that both fighters will leave it all in the ring. And, as everyone predicted we were treated to a third all-or-nothing war between the pair of Cruiserweights who just have a knack of serving up a delightful brawl.
For the 2nd time in the trilogy, Marco Huck, the German fighter, was awarded the decision – the 2nd fight was scored a draw. Although each fight has been tight, so far I have agreed with each of the decisions – basically I don’t believe any of the fights were biased towards the home fighter, Huck, which is the common accusation when a boxer is awarded the win in a close fight in his homeland.
For anyone who has watched the 2nd bout then I’m sure you’ll agree that this fight was more in line with that encounter than the 1st meeting. The one difference between fights 2 & 3 was that on Saturday it was Afolabi who looked the stronger of the two in the second half of the fight before the Champion rallied in the latter stages.
Afolabi – a British born fighter now based in America – has been labelled as the fighter who’s always the bridesmaid but never the bride. And so the curse continues for Ola, but during each fight it has been evident the former WBO Interim Cruiserweight champion has improved. Sadly for Afolabi, Huck himself always manages to ‘up’ his game and when he is in deep trouble he has been able to rely on his immense heart to will him over the finish line.
Afolabi started the fight with clear intent, behind the jab he controlled proceedings, while repelling the sporadic attacks from Huck. ‘Captain’ Huck stole rounds 3 and 4 when coming to life in the final minute of the respective sessions. Rounds 5 and 6 were tough to call – I gave a round apiece – as there were the first signs of fatigue setting in.
With stern instructions from his corner still ringing in Marco’s ears, the WBO Cruiserweight champion began to plod forward with authority. Afolabi’s stern jaw saved him from a trip to the canvas, but the sign was clear, Huck was taking over and it seemed as though Afolabi had no answer.
Ola Afolabi needed a strong final four rounds and in being so determined not to go home empty handed he stumbled out towards Huck, throwing all his tired body could muster. Both fighters were exhausted but it was the visitor who’s desperation was edging him back into contention for the victory.
But just when there seemed as though there could be no more twists in the story line, Marco Huck came close to stopping Afolabi, who was out on his feet by the time the final bell rang. A champions finish merited a champions victory, and so the judges agreed. John Madfis handed in a wide score line of 117-111 (Huck), while Lahcen Oumghar scored the fight even 114-114 and Deon Dwarte’s 115-113 (Huck) scorecard was in line with my own. With the majority decision defeat, Ola Afolabi falls to 19-3-4(9).
Next up for Marco Huck – whose record improved to 36-2-1(25) – is a rematch with Firat Arslan whom Marco controversially beat on points last November. The fight is likely to take place during October in Germany.
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