Briedis beats Huck on points for WBC cruiserweight belt
DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Mairis Briedis of Latvia defeated Marco Huck by unanimous decision to take the WBC cruiserweight title and the German's minor IBO belt on Saturday.
The judges scored it 116-111, 117-110, 118-109 in favor of the undefeated Briedis, who didn't look troubled at any stage of the one-sided bout. Briedis looked fitter, sharper and more precise, using his jab to good effect and leaving Huck on the back foot.
"We had planned on a knockout but Marco's a strong opponent," Briedis said.
Huck, the former WBO champion, stepped up his efforts in the final rounds but Briedis was always in control and he improved to 22-0 (18 KOs).
The Serbian-born Huck dropped to 40-4-1 (27 KOs).
"Perhaps the pressure was too much," Huck said. "He was simply good today. That's sport."
The WBC title was made vacant when champion Tony Bellew was declared emeritus champion as he would have been unable to defend his belt for some time. Bellew broke his hand in his heavyweight victory over David Haye on March 4 but will be able to fight for the title again when he has recovered.
