Povetkin beats Huck in hard-fought, majority decision

#3 ranked Heavyweight boxer Alexander Povetkin defeated Marco Huck, who was competing in his first bout since moving up from Cruiserweight, in a majority decision in Germany. One judge scored the fight a draw, while the others gave it to Povetkin by a small margin of 3 and 4 rounds. We scored the fight for Povetkin by three rounds.

Generally Povetkin started the rounds strong with clean jabs and combinations, then in the 2nd half of the round Huck would scrap, fighting "dirty" and letting his hands go, which tended to fluster Povetkin.

Throughout the fight Povetkin would duck low and Huck would come over the top and hit Povetkin at or near the back of the head. Huck often continued to fight in the clinch, with both fighters' elbows and fists flying wildly and erratically. And many times in the later part of rounds, Huck's jabs found their mark first when both fighters made their move simultaneously.

Here is our round-by-round recap and scoring:

1. Huck does pretty well, doesn't look intimidated, and lands more shots overall. 10-9 Huck
2. Povetkin takes control with jabs and combos. 10-9 Povetkin; 19-19
3. More of the same, Povetkin landing solidly on Huck. 10-9 Povetkin, 29-28
4. Huck rocks Povektin a couple of times this round, surprising Povetkin. 10-9 Huck; 38-38
5. Hard fought round by both, Povetkin generally more effective. 10-9 Povetkin, 48-47
6. More combos from Povetkin, punching thru Huck's guard. Huck still scrapping though. 10-9 Povetkin, 58-56
7. Huck flusters Povetkin again with wild flurries, Povetkin very tired looking. 10-9 Huck; 67-66 Povetkin
8. Povetkin reasserts control in first half of round, though Huck has some moments later, more shots to back of head. 10-9 Povetkin, 77-75
9. Lots of jabs from both, more scrapping, but not as much contact. 10-10; 87-85 Povetkin
10. Povetkin starts strong with clean punches, Huck comes back with more scrapping. Back of head punch from Huck at bell. No clear winner; Povetkin should have been warned about ducking low and Huck about rabbit punching by now. 10-10; 97-95 Povetkin
11. Clean shots from Povetkin start the round, rocking Huck. Povetkin lands a few after the ref had separated them, Huck connects with another rabbit punch. Povetkin came on strong at the bell, Huck landed just after. 10-9 Povetkin; 107-104
12. Povetkin looked very strong at the start of the round, but Huck connected with a huge right in the middle. Povetkin battled back though. Both fighters were very tired at end of a great round. Hard round to score, very typical of the fight where Huck came on strong in the 2nd half of rounds after obviously losing the first half. Call that another 10-10, 117-114 Povetkin

The German judges scored it: 114-114; and 116-113, 116-112 Povetkin.

Huck fans complained, but considering the venue I don't think they have much ground to stand on. Povetkin clearly had more clean shots throughout the fight, and the fans oversold the amount of Huck's flailing that actually landed.

Still, it was a very game effort from Huck, taking on an undefeated fighter in his first heavyweight outing and not really being in danger of being taken out. Generally a very good, exciting fight; I wouldn't doubt if there were a rematch. Given this performance, Huck would be a potentially dangerous opponent for anyone else in the division, save perhaps the Klitschkos of course.

Comments

[Dino]

Box died tonight. Huck is clear and deserved winner. Things that you are writting above are shame for your profession. Regards

[SportsRatings]

Not a chance. If Huck couldn't get the decision in Germany, there's no way he won the fight. This result wasn't even among the top 10,000 most controversial decisions in boxing history.

[Contender]

Huck: Over 50 rabbit punches the whole fight.