“Główka” Triumphs in a Great War—Huck Falls in the Eleventh Round
Krzysztof Głowacki (25-0, 16 KOs) achieved something remarkable. In the ring in Newark, after a sensational and extremely close war, he stopped longtime world champion Marco Huck (38-2-1, 26 KOs). The Pole took his WBO cruiserweight title!
Everything began brilliantly. “Główka” landed to his opponent’s body with almost every punch, so he kept returning to that tactic. Just before the bell, he caught the defending champion with a short right hook. Huck was visibly rocked! “Be careful, he’s still very dangerous,” Fiodor Łapin warned from the corner. There was slightly less action in the second round. The German answered with a spectacular right hand, but the judges probably once again gave the round to the more active Pole.
In the third round, everything continued to go our way. Huck landed two straight rights upstairs, but the punches did not seem to bother Głowacki much. On both occasions, the Pole responded in kind—and then some. It was only in the fourth round that the champion found his rhythm. He did not gain an advantage, however, merely leveling the fight. A fierce exchange erupted. Both men absorbed several heavy shots, and a knockdown for either fighter seemed imminent.
Huck seized the initiative in the fifth round. He showed what he is known for. He was aggressive and, although he was not always precise, he punched with tremendous dynamism. “Listen, this guy is wired,” his new trainer, Don House, shouted to him. He was right. At 35 seconds, a powerful left hook swept Głowacki off his feet. The Pole went down as if struck by lightning. He rose at nine, clearly hurt, and the referee could theoretically have stopped the bout. Instead, he allowed the fight to continue.
Huck immediately moved in to finish the job. He walked into a left hook, though, and several seconds later also a left uppercut. This time, it was the German who had to retreat. When the bell rang, the fans rose from their seats and rewarded both gladiators with an ovation.
Both men slowed slightly in the seventh round. The opening belonged to Huck, but Głowacki clearly made his mark in the closing moments. The Pole landed two left hooks after ducking down. The first half of the eighth round was even, but later Marco hurt his opponent with a straight right. The punch apparently did not affect the Pole’s balance, but it clearly irritated his eye, which Głowacki grabbed.
The champion immediately launched an assault. Głowacki found himself in trouble, but ultimately emerged without suffering any serious damage. The pace returned to normal in the ninth round. Both men caught their second wind, although the Pole also had to deal with a cut above his right eye.
The war of attrition erupted once again in the tenth round. Heavy punches tore through the air, and both fighters bombarded each other without respite. Yet all of that was nothing compared with the events of the eleventh round.
At one point, Głowacki swung a wide left hook. It merely grazed the champion’s chin, but he immediately followed with a right hook. Huck hit the canvas! He got back up, though just as heavily as the Pole had earlier. The difference was that “Główka” had no intention of letting up.
He pounced on his wounded opponent like a tiger. He landed two more hooks, after which an unconscious Huck fell through the ropes! This time, the referee did not even begin the count. He stopped the fight immediately.
Głowacki halted Huck’s march and prevented him from breaking the record for successful title defenses in the cruiserweight division. The German’s run ended at thirteen. Bravo! We have a world champion again, and once more there is someone worth staying up all night to watch.
source: bokser.org
