WBO honors Głowacki. Knockout of Huck named fight of the year

World Boxing Organization, one of the four major sanctioning bodies in world boxing, presented awards to its best fighters. The annual congress of the organization, headed by president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, is being held in Orlando, Florida. The official ceremony took place overnight from Thursday into Friday, Polish time. The award for Krzysztof Głowacki for his August knockout of Marco Huck in Newark was essentially a formality.

Fight of the year and bore of the year
The 29-year-old cruiserweight world champion (90.7 kg) received the award in the “Fight of the Year” category. It should, of course, be remembered that in Orlando only bouts sanctioned by the WBO were judged. The world’s best fighters also compete for IBF, WBA and WBC titles. Even so, the success of the modest fighter from Wałcz is hugely significant. The dramatic battle with Huck, in which Głowacki rose from the canvas and knocked out the longtime German champion, was judged better than the fights in the 16 other weight categories—from strawweight (47.6 kg) to heavyweight (+90.7 kg).

And yet this year WBO titles were won or defended by such outstanding fighters as Wladimir Klitschko at heavyweight, Sergey Kovalev at light heavyweight, Timothy Bradley at welterweight, Terence Crawford at junior welterweight, Vasyl Lomachenko at featherweight and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at welterweight. Each of them could appear in the top ten of any pound-for-pound ranking.

After the most expensive and, at the same time, one of the dullest fights in boxing history against Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather did not deserve the trophy intended for Głowacki. The bout generated nearly 600 million dollars in revenue. The American might possibly have been named Fighter of the Year, but it is difficult to say whether the WBO sent him an invitation to Florida at all. Shortly after the Las Vegas fight, the organization stripped him of his title. It was, of course, about money. Mayweather earned 220 million dollars for the bout with Pacquiao, but afterward he did not want to pay the Puerto Ricans 200,000 dollars.

Huck’s protests come to nothing
Głowacki arrived in Orlando on Thursday morning after an overnight flight with promoters Andrzej Wasilewski and Tomasz Babiloński. After landing in the United States, he already knew that the WBO had rejected Huck’s protests. He therefore will not have to face the German immediately in a rematch. Olympic champion Oleksandr Usyk is first in the cruiserweight rankings, with Huck second. One of them will presumably become the mandatory challenger.

In his next fight, however, “Główka” will make a voluntary defense of his title. His opponent will be another fighter. The most likely scenario remains a bout in the first weeks of 2016 in the United States. Promoter Babiloński does not rule out other possibilities, however.

“It will only become clear where and against whom Krzysztof enters the ring. We would most like a fight with the Argentine Victor Ramirez, who was gifted the IBF title. We would also very much like to organize a show in Poland so that Krzysztof could appear before his compatriots,” Babiloński said. Głowacki is scheduled to begin preparations next week in Warsaw.

Przemysław Osiak/przegladsportowy.pl
Photo: Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions