By James Slater: Long-reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight king Marco Huck won again this past Saturday, brutally halting a game but overmatched Rogelio Rossi in the 6th-round. This win marked the eighth title defence by the 26-year-old German star and Huck has even pondered the notion of moving up to heavyweight seeing as he is so dominant at 200-pounds.
It seems the move up to heavyweight is something most talented cruiserweights look at making, seeing as how both the money and the glory exist in the sport’s premiere weight class. Huck hasn’t exactly said he is moving up right away, but he has said he sees it happening, and a fight with one of the Klitschko brothers is something that is on his mind at this time.
“This may come sooner than many people think,” Huck said of a move up to heavyweight. “Anyone can see how [well] I am doing. In my weight class, I am smashing everyone up.”
Huck also stated how he is keen to get a big cruiserweight unification fight, and his trainer Ulli Wegner spoke soberly regarding his fighter taking on the Klitsckos any time soon.
“We will continue to dream later,” Wegner said. “First, Marco has enough hard fights in his own weight class in front of him. At some point it will happen, but Marco is only 26 so we have plenty of time.”
Meanwhile, Bernd Boente, manager of the Klitschkos, gave his take on Huck’s chances of taking on one of the brothers.
“Theoretically, anything is possible,” Boente said to AFP. “My phone number is well known, but first Marco Huck would have to prove himself and get in line in the rankings.”
It does seem as though everybody wants to fight the Klitschkos just now. If Huck, 34-1(25) – (the loss coming at the hands of Steve Cunningham, also a cruiser who has spoken about the possibility of moving up to heavyweight) – does move up he will be joining fellow “small” guys such as Evander Holyfield and, more recently, Tomasz Adamek. Huck, at 6’1.5,” is the same height as Adamek and an inch shorter than “The Real Deal.” On paper, then, it is possible Huck could be at least somewhat successful as a heavyweight.
If he can bulk up without losing his speed, it would be relatively easy to envisage Huck going in with Alexander Povetkin and doing well; the Klitschkos, however, look to be too big for him. In the meantime (and Team-Huck say they are in no rush to move up), it would be great to see Huck get busy trying to unify the belts at 200-pounds. Fights between the WBO boss and Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Antonio Tarver, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk and Denis Lebedev (if Lebedev can get past James Toney on Nov. 4th) would add some real excitement to the cruiserweight division. Huck also has unfinished business with former IBF ruler Cunningham (set to have a return with Hernandez soon).
Huck has plenty of good fights at cruiser to keep him busy until the seemingly inevitable move up to join the big boys.