Marco Huck’s heavyweight comeback: clear points victory against Vaclav Pejsar. But the former world champion needs more speed, precision and power to achieve higher title ambitions.
Former long-term cruiserweight world champion Marco Huck returned to the ring at the Heristo Arena in Halle on Saturday evening and secured a points victory over Vaclav Pejsar – but it was not a performance in the style of the former “Captain” Huck.
The now 41-year-old, who now competes at heavyweight, showed flashes of his typical aggression and forward momentum at times, but was unable to assert himself consistently over the scheduled ten rounds.
A brief flash of explosiveness
Huck (44-5-1, 28 knockouts) ended up with a clear points decision on the judges’ scorecards. Nevertheless, his timing looked rusty for long stretches, and his punching frequency dropped noticeably, especially in the middle rounds. The explosiveness that characterized his prime phase during his reign as WBO cruiserweight world champion was only visible in short sequences.
Although Huck largely set the pace and controlled the distance, he rarely shifted up a gear. Instead of precise series of punches and combinations, he relied more on physicality and pressure. It was his first outing in 16 months – he had last defeated Evgenios Lazaridis unanimously on points in Berlin.
Pejsar shows taker qualities
Pejsar (26-23, 21 knockouts), a robust but limited heavyweight from the Czech Republic, was seen as a tough test beforehand. The Czech had already been in the ring with solid European competition, but regularly failed when the level increased significantly. Against Huck, too, he proved above all that he was a taker. Despite some hard hits, he stood his ground without seriously taking control of the fight or turning the momentum.
All in all, it was a professional, albeit unspectacular performance from Huck – a work victory instead of an exclamation mark. If the Berlin really still harbors ambitions of another heavyweight title run, he will need to be in much better shape, more active and, above all, exert constant offensive pressure against higher-class opponents.
“Discipline, experience, focused teamwork”
At any rate, coach Jihad Ali Khan was satisfied. “Marco Huck showed yesterday why he has been one of the world’s best for years. Ten rounds, unanimous victory, a clear and convincing performance,” said the coach. It should not be forgotten that his opponent Vaclav Pejsar had not come here to play a supporting role, but was highly motivated.
“He was not facing an ordinary boxer, but the longest world champion in the history of the World Boxing Organization,” emphasized Khan. “Beating a name like that means international attention and sporting recognition.” This is exactly what spurred Pejsar on. Behind Huck’s success “are discipline, experience and focused teamwork. Marco gave the answer in the ring, calm, confident and dominant over all ten rounds.”