Former cruiserweight titleholder Marco Huck is returning to the ring two months later than he had hoped.
Germany’s Huck will face Dmytro Kucher, of Ukraine, in a scheduled 12-round bout for a minor title on Nov. 19 at TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany, promoter Kenan Hukic announced at a news conference on Monday.
Huck was supposed to face England’s Ovill McKenzie on Sept. 24 at the Festhalle Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, but the fight was canceled four days beforehand when McKenzie withdrew, claiming he was ill.
The 31-year-old Huck (39-3-1, 27 KOs) will face Kucher (24-1-1, 18 KOs), 32, who won the European cruiserweight title in his most recent bout when he knocked out former world titleholder Enzo Maccarinelli in the first round on June 10.
“The last time I fought in Hannover was June 3, 2006, against an opponent [Nuri Seferi] from Switzerland,” Huck said at the news conference. “The crowd cheered me on and I won comfortably. Hence, I was very excited to be fighting here again. I chose an extremely difficult opponent in Kucher. I am convinced that a knockout is guaranteed. We have two strong punchers facing each other. We will just start hitting one another. As long as I have prepared well, I know I am the better out of the two of us.”
Huck will be seeking his second win in a row since Poland’s Krzysztof Glowacki took his world title in a major upset in August 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. He rallied for an 11th-round knockout to keep Huck from breaking the all-time division record for title defenses. Huck entered the fight tied with England’s Johnny Nelson for the most title defenses (13) in division history.
Huck rebounded in February to knock out rival Ola Afolabi in the 10th round of their fourth meeting.
“I am preparing for the toughest fight of my career,” Kucher said. “This will be the first fight in Germany for me, so I am excited. But it doesn’t really matter to me if I’m fighting at home or abroad. I see this as a 50-50 fight. Everything is possible. Marco has a strong will, character and is tough. He has everything a champion needs.”
Huck-Kucher will air on German terrestrial network RTL, which Hukic said drew 4.38 million viewers for Huck’s February bout against Afolabi.
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