Marco Huck

Marco Huck
Huck in 2008
Statistics
Real name	Muamer Hukić
Nickname(s)	Käpt'n ("Captain")
Rated at	Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Reach	195 cm (77 in)
Nationality	German
Born	(1984-11-11) 11 November 1984 Ugao, SFR Yugoslavia (now Serbia)
Boxing record
Total fights	44
Wins	40
Wins by KO	27
Losses	3
Draws	1

Muamer Hukić (born 11 November 1984), known professionally as Marco Huck, is a German professional boxer known for his aggressive style and punching power.^[1] He has held the IBO cruiserweight title since February 2016, having previously held the European cruiserweight title twice, from 2006 to 2009; and the WBO cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2015. During his reign as WBO champion, Huck made thirteen consecutive successful defenses, which is a division record shared with Johnny Nelson.

Early life

Huck is an ethnic Bosniak, born in Serbia, who moved to Germany with his family when he was eight years old, since becoming a naturalized citizen.^[2][3]

Kickboxing career

Muamer started Taekwondo and Kickboxing at the age of ten. As an amateur kickboxer, he won a gold medal at the W.A.K.O European championships in 2002 and 2003.

Titles in kickboxing

Amateur Kickboxing

• 2003 W.A.K.O. World Championships 2003 in Paris, France −86 kg (Full-Contact)
• 2002 W.A.K.O. European Championships in Jesolo, Italy −86 kg (Full-Contact)

Boxing career

Early career

He then decided to switch to boxing, having participated in the sport since he was 15.^[4]

Huck has notable victories over opponents such as Michael Simms, Claudio Rîşco, Pietro Aurino and Vadim Tokarev. Before challenging for his first world title, Huck gained a record of 19 wins with no losses.

Huck vs. Cunningham

Huck challenged Steve Cunningham on December 29, 2007 for his first world title, the IBF Cruiserweight title. After eleven hard fought and exhausting rounds, the twelfth begun; Cunningham was landing hard shots as Huck kept moving forward. Following a rough clinch between the two, Cunningham landed a vicious straight right counter, the fighters clinched and Huck fell. Once he was back on his feet, Huck walked back against the ropes signalling that the shot had hurt him and Cunningham went straight in for the attack. For the remainder of the round, Cunningham chased his German counterpart across the ring hitting him with a barrage of hard shots which ended when Huck's corner threw in the towel and ended the beating.^[5]

European champion

Huck won the EBU (European) cruiserweight title in September 2008 after defeating Jean Marc Monrose via a 12th round stoppage win.^[6] Huck made three successful defences defeating Fabio Tuiach, Geoffrey Battelo and Vitaliy Rusal, with all coming inside the distance.

WBO cruiserweight champion

On August 29, 2009 Huck challenged Argentine boxer Victor Emilio Ramirez for his WBO world cruiserweight title at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany. On fight night, Huck went the 12 round distance and claimed the WBO title on unanimous decision. The judges score it (116-111 x2 & 115-112) in favor of Huck.^[7]

Huck went on to make 8 successful defenses of the title from December 2009 up until October 2011. Notable opponents he defeated included unanimous decisions over Ran Nakash and Ola Afolabi, the latter who he went on to fight a further three times, TKO wins over Matt Godfrey and Brian Minto and a split decision win over future unified world champion Denis Lebedev.

Heavyweight

Huck vs. Povetkin

After the loss to Cunningham, Huck won six straight fights by knockout. On March 13, 2010, Huck won the WBO junior-heavyweight title from Victor Emilio Ramírez by unanimous decision. After a string of defenses, Huck challenged Alexander Povetkin for the WBA Heavyweight title on February 25, 2012. It was a close and painful fight, Povetkin looked physically exhausted as him team urged him from his corner while Huck was in good condition for most of the fight. Povetkin was awarded a somewhat controversial Majority Decision in the end.

Return to cruiserweight

Huck vs. Afolabi II

After failing to capture a heavyweight title, Huck returned to the cruiserweight division. Huck made a ninth successful defence on May 5, 2012 at the Messehalle in Erfurt, Germany against Ola Afolabi (19-2-3, 9 KOs), a rematch to their first match which took place in 2009. The match ended in a majority draw as judge Ingo Barrabas and Paul Thomas had it 114-114 and Zoltan Enyedi scored it 115-113 in Huck's favor.^[8]

Huck vs. Arslan

Huck next defended his title against German boxer Firat Arslan (32-5-2, 21 KOs) at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen on November 3.^[9] Huck defeated Arslan via 12 round unanimous decision, after the scores of 115-113, 115-113, 117-111 were read out to boos. Many fans and pundits ringside felt as though Arslan had done enough to win. Arslan's coach Dieter Wittmann commented, "This fight was the biggest scam that I've ever seen. It's a disgrace."^[10]

Huck vs. Afolabi III

Following the controversial ending were Huck defeated Arslan, the WBO made Ola Afolabi as the new mandatory challenger for Huck's WBO title. The fight took place at the Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin on June 8, 2013. Afolabi had not fought in 13 months, last fighting in the majority draw with Huck in May 2012. The fight went the full 12 round distance with Huck claiming the majority decision thus successfully retaining the title an 11th time. The judges score the fight 117-111, 115-113 & 114-114. Huck gathered an early lead in the fight winning at least 5 of the first 7 rounds, before Afolabi started getting into the fight.^[11]

Huck vs. Arslan II

On January 25, 2014 Huck made a defence fighting Firat Arslan for a second time at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart. Huck scored his 26th stoppage victory after he stopped Arslan in round 6. Arslan started off the fight defensively, however after a couple of rounds, Huck found his way through with power shots. Huck dropped Arslan twice in the bout.^[12]

Huck matched the record for most consecutive world title defenses at cruiserweight, held by Johnny Nelson, when he successfully retained the WBO cruiserweight title against Mirko Larghetti on August 30, 2014, his thirteenth successful consecutive title defense.^[13]

Huck vs. Głowacki

Huck was due to make history against undefeated Krzysztof Głowacki, as it was to be his fourteenth defense, a new record. The bout took place on August 14, 2015 in Huck's American debut at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Premier Boxing Champions. Głowacki came out extremely aggressive and was effective early, going as far as to rock Huck in the opening round. As the rounds went on, Huck took control and in the sixth, he dropped his Polish counterpart with a huge left hand, Głowacki staggered to his feet and as the ref allowed the fight to continue, Huck came in to finish and Głowacki threw back everything he had, rocking Huck in the process and keeping him from ending the bout. The fight continued, and it was becoming more and more clear that Huck was taking control, he hit Głowacki with a huge punch in the tenth but his opponent survived. Coming into the eleventh round Huck was ahead on all three scorecards, he out-boxed the now desperate Głowacki for most of the round. Until after throwing a barrage of shots, Huck moved back with his hands down and Głowacki threw a vicious left-right combination and Huck tumbled back. He got back up on rubbery legs, and as the ref allowed the bout to continue, Głowacki rushed in and threw everything at Huck while he lay on the ropes, he took two huge right hands as he dropped down against the ropes, just as the referee came in and waved off the bout. Huck lost his WBO cruiserweight title and failed to break the record.^[14]

Huck vs. Afolabi IV

Huck met Afolabi for a fourth time on February 27, 2016 at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Germany.^[15] Huck claimed Afolabi's International Boxing Organisation cruiserweight title with the victory after Afolabi failed return for round 11. Referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight on doctor's advice due to the bad condition of Afolabi's left eye. By round seven Afolabi's left eye was swollen shut. In the Post fight interview, Afolabi stated that he would have continued to fight, but he thanked the officials for protecting him as he was unable to do so.^[16]

Huck was scheduled to defend his IBO world title against British boxer Ovill McKenzie (25-12-1, 13 KO’s) at the Festhalle Arena in Frankfurt on September 24.^[17] On September 20, a week before the fight, McKenzie pulled out of the fight due to illness. It was said that McKenzie had been given medical advice from health professionals. McKenzie later retired.^[18][19]

Huck vs. Kucher

On October 18, it was announced that Huck would be defending his IBO title against Ukrainian boxer Dmytro Kucher (24-1-1, 18 KOs) on November 19 at the TUI Arena in Hanover. Kucher, ranked number 6 by the WBC, was regarded a dangerous first defence, having only lost to world cruiserweight challenger Illunga Makabu. Kucher was coming off an impressive first round knockout off former WBO champion Enzo Maccrinelli in June, also sending him into retirement. Kucher claimed the EBU title by defeating Maccrinelli.^[20] Huck retained his IBO title with a 12 round unanimous decision win over Kucher. Huck was pressured throughout the whole 12 rounds with Kucher adopting a southpaw stance and giving Huck problems. Huck hurt Kucher in the 8th round after landing a hard right hand and then attempted to finish him off, but could only throw him on the canvas. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 117-111, 119-119-109 and 117-111.^[21][22]

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
44	Win	40–3–1	Dmytro Kucher	UD	12	19 Nov 2016	TUI Arena, Hanover, Germany	Retained IBO cruiserweight title
43	Win	39–3–1	Ola Afolabi	RTD	10 (12), 3:00	26 Feb 2016	Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany	Won IBO cruiserweight title
42	Loss	38–3–1	Krzysztof Głowacki	KO	11 (12), 2:39	14 Aug 2015	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Lost WBO cruiserweight title
41	Win	38–2–1	Mirko Larghetti	UD	12	30 Aug 2014	Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
40	Win	37–2–1	Firat Arslan	TKO	6 (12), 1:56	25 Jan 2014	Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
39	Win	36–2–1	Ola Afolabi	MD	12	8 Jun 2013	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
38	Win	35–2–1	Firat Arslan	UD	12	3 Nov 2012	Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
37	Draw	34–2–1	Ola Afolabi	MD	12	5 May 2012	Messe, Erfurt, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
36	Loss	34–2	Alexander Povetkin	MD	12	25 Feb 2012	Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany	For WBA (Regular) heavyweight title
35	Win	34–1	Rogelio Omar Rossi	KO	6 (12), 1:09	22 Oct 2011	Arena Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
34	Win	33–1	Hugo Garay	TKO	10 (12), 1:10	16 Jul 2011	Olympia Eishalle, Munich, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
33	Win	32–1	Ran Nakash	UD	12	2 Apr 2011	Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
32	Win	31–1	Denis Lebedev	SD	12	18 Dec 2010	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
31	Win	30–1	Matt Godfrey	TKO	5 (12), 2:18	21 Aug 2010	Messe, Erfurt, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
30	Win	29–1	Brian Minto	RTD	9 (12), 3:00	1 May 2010	Weser-Ems-Halle, Oldenburg, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
29	Win	28–1	Adam Richards	KO	3 (12), 2:30	13 Mar 2010	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
28	Win	27–1	Ola Afolabi	UD	12	5 Dec 2009	Arena Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, Germany	Retained WBO cruiserweight title
27	Win	26–1	Victor Emilio Ramírez	UD	12	29 Aug 2009	Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany	Won WBO cruiserweight title
26	Win	25–1	Vitaliy Rusal	TKO	5 (12), 2:58	9 May 2009	Jako Arena, Bamberg, Germany	Retained European cruiserweight title
25	Win	24–1	Geoffrey Battelo	TKO	3 (12), 2:57	24 Jan 2009	Erdgas Arena, Riesa, Germany	Retained European cruiserweight title
24	Win	23–1	Fabio Tuiach	TKO	2 (12), 2:22	25 Oct 2008	Weser-Ems-Halle, Oldenburg, Germany	Retained European cruiserweight title
23	Win	22–1	Jean Marc Monrose	TKO	2 (12), 1:17	20 Sep 2008	Seidensticker Halle, Bielefeld, Germany	Won European cruiserweight title
22	Win	21–1	Frantisek Kasanic	TKO	9 (12), 2:52	17 May 2008	Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany	Won vacant IBF Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
21	Win	20–1	Leon Nzama	TKO	5 (8), 1:06	12 Apr 2008	Jahnsportforum, Neubrandenburg, Germany
20	Loss	19–1	Steve Cunningham	TKO	12 (12), 1:56	29 Dec 2007	Seidensticker Halle, Bielefeld, Germany	For IBF cruiserweight title
19	Win	19–0	Vadim Tokarev	UD	12	26 May 2007	Jako Arena, Bamberg, Germany
18	Win	18–0	Ismail Abdoul	UD	12	20 Jan 2007	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Retained European Union cruiserweight title
17	Win	17–0	Pietro Aurino	TKO	2 (12)	16 Dec 2006	BigBox, Kempten, Germany	Won vacant European Union cruiserweight title
16	Win	16–0	Rachid El Hadak	KO	8 (8), 2:24	23 Sep 2006	Rittal Arena, Wetzlar, Germany
15	Win	15–0	Nuri Seferi	UD	10	3 Jun 2006	TUI Arena, Hanover, Germany
14	Win	14–0	Lee Swaby	RTD	6 (8), 3:00	4 Mar 2006	EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany
13	Win	13–0	Claudio Rîşco	KO	7 (8), 2:15	28 Jan 2006	Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
12	Win	12–0	Michael Simms	UD	8	17 Dec 2005	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
11	Win	11–0	Rüdiger May	UD	10	3 Sep 2005	Internationales Congress Centrum, Berlin, Germany
10	Win	10–0	Leri Okhanashvili	TKO	2 (8), 2:19	2 Jul 2005	Karl-Eckel-Weg Halle, Hattersheim am Main, Germany
9	Win	9–0	Tipton Walker	TKO	2 (8), 1:50	11 Jun 2005	BigBox, Kempten, Germany
8	Win	8–0	Stefan Kusnier	KO	1 (6)	21 May 2005	Hala Sportowa MGOKSiR, Zdzieszowice, Poland
7	Win	7–0	Muhammed Ali Durmaz	TKO	4 (6)	23 Apr 2005	Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
6	Win	6–0	Aleksandrs Borhovs	TKO	4 (6)	12 Mar 2005	Stadthalle, Zwickau, Germany
5	Win	5–0	Ervin Slonka	TKO	4 (6), 1:23	10 Jan 2005	Boxtempel, Berlin, Germany
4	Win	4–0	Tomas Mrazek	TKO	3 (6)	18 Dec 2004	Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany
3	Win	3–0	Wlodek Kopec	TKO	1 (4), 2:26	4 Dec 2004	Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
2	Win	2–0	Pavel Zima	TKO	1 (4), 1:48	20 Nov 2004	BigBox, Kempten, Germany
1	Win	1–0	Pavel Cirok	TKO	1 (4)	7 Nov 2004	Rockfabrik, Nuremberg, Germany	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marco Huck.

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Marco Huck from BoxRec