Huck and Frenkel victorious; Braekhus, Pianeta
Ulli Wegner was full of praise for Marco „Captain“ Huck after he won the IBF Intercontinental Cruiserweight Title with a ninth-round TKO victory over Frantisek Kasanic in Bayreuth on Saturday night. The 23-year-old German floored his opponent with a series of power shots, and when he had him in big trouble again following several hard punches, the referee stepped in to wave the bout off. “I am proud and very pleased with Marco´s performance,” Wegner lauded. “He stuck to the game plan and did very well tactically. I was surprised how much shots Kasanic could take.” Huck not only landed power shots to body and head but also used to left jab to make impact. It was not long until Kasanic´ face was swollen. “Today I wanted to please my coach and show that I can box well,” a satisfied Huck said afterwards.
Huck defended well against the brave Slovakian, who proved his tremendous punching power and marched forward despite the damage Huck inflicted on him. But instead of rushing, Huck cleverly followed his coach´s orders to pick Kasanic apart. When the 32-year-old landed two strong lefts in the sixth, Huck replied with a couple of jabs and also fired in hard combinations to the body. “This was a tough test for Marco but he did very well,” Wegner added. Throughout the entire nine rounds it was Huck who landed the better punches. Much to the delight of the ferocious crowd, Huck eventually ended the battle with his trademark power in the ninth. “I know it´s a long way but it is my goal to become world champion,” Huck stated. “And I will accomplish that. Today was a step into the right direction.”
In the co-featured main event, Alexander Frenkel pleased his home crowd with a spectacular first-round KO victory over Cory Phelps. The newly-crowned IBF Youth Champion needed just 115 seconds to dump his opponent. “Alex is the hardest puncher in the cruiserweight division,”manager Wilfried Sauerland lauded. “He has a great future ahead. This was a good win for him. I am proud we have so many talented cruiserweights.”
Frenkel dropped Phelps twice, first with a right to the head and then again when he finished a nice combination with a huge left. “I am glad I won my first title so quickly,” he stated. “I had prepared well for Phelps and knew it would only be a question of time. Step by step I want to keep improving now.” Wegner praised the incredible punching power ofthe 23-year-old. “I was glad he missed one of his rights because otherwise the guy´s head would have fallen off. This was a good performance but it´s still a long way to reach the top. I will make sure he keeps working hard and continues to learn.”
On the undercard, Francesco Pianeta defended his WBC Youth Heavyweight Title with an impressive second-round TKO victory over previously unbeaten Michael Marrone. The 23-year-old landed several big hands for the referee to step in. Cecilia Braekhus celebrated her seventh victory in as many fights when she cruised to a unanimous points victory over Adelita Irizarry. The First Lady dominated from the first bell on and floored the American with a huge right uppercut followed by a left to the head. But the brave Irizarry refused to give up and managed to survive.For more pictures, please visit
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(photo credit: SE)