Marco “Captain” Huck (25-1, 20 KOs) made a successful third defence of his European cruiserweight title, stopping Vitaliy Rusal (23-1, 16 KOs) in the fifth round of their meeting in Bamberg. Much to the delight of the sell-out crowd of 4,000 fans, the 24-year-old used his trademark explosiveness and punching power to leave the challenger without a chance. Huck had little trouble to hold the Ukrainian at bay, rocking him with several hard combinations in almost every round. “I have never seen Marco landing so many big right hands,” coach Ulli Wegner praised. “He stuck to the game plan and fought very well.”
It was a flurry of punches that ended the one-sided encounter in the fifth, with Rusal losing his mouth piece following the onslaught. He beat the standing count – only for the referee to wave the bout off when he was in big trouble again a few moments later..
“I am pleased with my performance,” Huck said. “Rusal is a strong fighter, but I did what my coach told me. I always want to delight the crowd and that is what I did tonight.” Rusal was disappointed about the outcome. “I am not happy with the way I fought,” he said. “I would do many things differently if we fought again.”
In the co-featured main event, Alexander Abraham (25-0, 17 KOs) defended his EE-EU light-middleweight title with a fourth-round TKO victory over Magomed Abdurakhmanov (14-3, 7 KOs). The younger brother of IBF champion King Arthur Abraham pleased his hometown fans with numerous strong hits, while at the same time showing great reflexes. He landed big in the first round before a powerful left uppercut dusted Abdurakhmanov in the second. Things got worse in the third when Abraham battered his opponent´s face. After a painful body shot early in the fourth, the challenger spat out his mouth piece and retired. “I kept hitting him and at some point he just grew very tired,” Abraham said. “It was a pleasure to fight in Bamberg. I enjoyed being in the ring tonight.”
Coach Ulli Wegner added: “Alex did very well. He has incredible reflexes, even better than his brother´s. He has a great future ahead of him.” Wilfried Sauerland was quick to agree. “If he keeps fighting like he did tonight, he can make it to the top. He is certainly from a very talented family.”