by James Slater – Tonight in Germany, WBO cruiserweight king Marco Huck once again proved to be too good for a gutsy challenger, as he won via a 9th-round corner retirement over a very game Brian Minto. The approx 199-pound Minto, having dropped down from battling heavyweights, was pulled out by his corner at the end of the 9th-round. Serbian-born Huck is now 29-1(22), Minto, the older man by a decade at age 35, is now 34-4(21).
Though Minto, who had slimmed down considerably since his last fight – a losing effort against big puncher Chris Arreola – tried his best tonight, he was outclassed by the defending champion. As is always the case, “The Beast” pressed the action, and he took the fight to “Kapt’n'” Huck, but he was on the receiving end of the more accurate punching. Defending his belt for the third time, Huck broke through in a big way in the 3rd-round, as he put Minto down with a hard right hand.
Minto, showing courage, beat the count and continued to fight as hard as he could, but he was put down again in the 5th-round. The former heavyweight was so dazed at the end of the 5th that he walked to the wrong corner at the end of the punishing three-minutes of action. The fight was an enjoyable, if one-sided one to watch, and the fans got their money’s worth.
Huck could perhaps have got the job done quicker than he eventually did, but that view perhaps takes away from the challenger’s gigantic effort. Downed for a third time in the fight in the 9th-round, Minto was then pulled out by his corner and not allowed to see round-ten..
Huck, who again and again makes a strong case for being the best of the current belt holders at 200-pounds, may get criticised for having fought as guy who was both coming in off a loss and who hadn’t earned a shot at the WBO title, but the 25-year-old’s performance cannot really be faulted. Given a far sterner test than he was last time he fought, when he stopped Adam Richards inside 3-rounds, Huck rose to the challenge in front of his adoring fans.
What we need now – and it has been said before – is for Huck to face a legitimate top-ten opponent; preferably in a country other than his usual venue of Germany. Huck has boxed outside of Germany just twice and he has never fought outside of Europe as a pro. A most exciting fighter, isn’t it time the U.S fans got to see Huck in action live?
Still, it’s hard to criticise Huck too much. He fights on a regular basis, has won against good men like Ola Afolabi, Victor Ramirez and now Minto and he continues to improve a little in each fight he has. Huck’s punches looked quite fierce tonight, and it really would be interesting to see how the other champions and top contenders would cope with them.
For the record, tonight’s fight was Huck’s fifth bout in the last 12 months. No other reigning “world” champion can boast such an activity level.