| Date | 9 September 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Max-Schmeling-Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBO cruiserweight title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Usyk defeats Huck in the 10th round via TKO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck was a professional boxing match contested on 9 September 2017, for the WBO Cruiserweight championship. [1]
Having made two defences of the WBO belt he had won from Krzysztof Głowacki in September 2016, Oleksandr Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series in July 2017 as odds on favourite to win. [2] [3] At the WBSS draft Gala, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 8 July 2017, Usyk, who was the number one seed, chose to fight former WBO champion Marco Huck. When asked why he chose Huck, Usyk said, "Because of my fans." Huck, who was equally excited, replied that Usyk was his 'wish opponent'. [4]
n 26 July it was announced that the fight would take place at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin on 9 September 2017. This would mark the second time Usyk would fight in Germany as a professional, having fought there in his third professional bout in April 2014. It would also mark the first fight of the tournament. [5] [6] [7]
On 6 September, at the final press-conference, Huck pushed Usyk in the face-off. In regards to the shove, Huck said, "I wanted to show Usyk that he is in my hometown and that he should be prepared for the battle of his life on Saturday." Usyk, who remained professional and calm, replied, "If you want to be a great champion, you have to beat the best and Huck is one of the best. I chose to enter this tournament because it is a path to achieve my dream of unifying all the belts." [8] [9] As he was leaving the building, Usyk claimed he would 'bury' Huck. [10]
Usyk had little trouble in the fight, using his footwork to completely outboxing Huck and continuously landing punches. [11] In round 8, Usyk tripped on Huck's feet and Huck lost a point on the scorecards as he threw a punch at Usyk when the latter was down. Usyk continued to land combinations with little to no response from Huck until referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight in the tenth-round. [12]
With the win, Usyk progressed to the semi-final stage of the Super Series and was to face the winner of the Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez, scheduled for 30 September. [13] [14]
Confirmed bouts: [15]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Baltic & Nordic countries | Viasat [16] |
 Belgium | VOO [17] |
 Bulgaria | Nova |
 Canada | Super Channel |
 Germany | SAT.1 |
 Russia | Match! Boets [18] |
 Singapore | StarHub |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | TVMS |
 Turkey | Tivibu Sports [19] |
 United Kingdom | ITV |
 Ukraine | Inter |
Muamer Hukić, best known as Marco Huck, is a Bosniak German professional boxer. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2015, and is the joint-longest reigning cruiserweight world champion of all time, having made thirteen consecutive successful defenses, a division record shared with Johnny Nelson. Huck also held the IBO cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017, the European cruiserweight title from 2008 to 2009, and has challenged once for the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title in 2012.
Ismaikel "Mike" Perez is a Cuban and Irish professional boxer who holds the WBA Intercontinental Cruiserweight title and challenged once for the WBC cruiserweight title in 2017.
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the undisputed championship in two weight classes, at cruiserweight and heavyweight, and reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from May to June 2024. He has also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022.
Anthony Lewis Bellew is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles between 2010 and 2014, the European cruiserweight title from 2015 to 2016. As an amateur, he is a three-time ABA heavyweight champion. He portrayed antagonist boxer Ricky Conlan in the films Creed and Creed III.
Yuniel Dorticós Pao is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former cruiserweight world champion, having held the WBA (Regular) title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF title from 2019 to 2020.
Denis Aleksandrovich Lebedev is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He was a unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA title from 2012 to 2018, and the IBF title in 2016.
Jai Opetaia is an Australian professional boxer. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2022 until 2023. He currently holds the Ring magazine and lineal cruiserweight titles. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2012 Youth World Championships and represented Australia at the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games. As of February 2023, Opetaia is ranked the world's best active cruiserweight by The Ring magazine, and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, second by BoxRec, and third best by ESPN.
Krzysztof Głowacki is a Polish professional boxer who has held the WBO junior-heavyweight title twice; from 2015 to 2016 and again in 2019. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 2008 EU Championships.
Mairis Briedis is a former Latvian professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2024. He was a three-time cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and Ring titles from 2020 to 2022; the WBC title from 2017 to 2018; and the WBO title in 2019. Upon winning the WBC title in 2017, he became the first Latvian to hold a world boxing title. He was awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 2017.
Murat Georgievich Gassiev is a Russian former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2016 to 2018, and the WBA (Unified) title in 2018.
The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG.
The 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division was a World Boxing Super Series professional boxing tournament that took place between September 2017 and July 2018 in several countries. The Super Series featured eight top-rated cruiserweight boxers in a single-elimination tournament. Its winner will hold world titles for all four of boxing's major sanctioning bodies, The Ring Magazine title, as well as the Muhammad Ali trophy. The tournament was organized by Comosa AG. A super middleweight tournament was held concurrently, with prize money for both competitions totalling US$50 million.
Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov was a professional boxing match contested on September 23, 2017, for the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight championship.
The 2018–20 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division was a World Boxing Super Series professional boxing tournament which took place between October 2018 and September 2020 in several countries. The Super Series features eight top-rated cruiserweight boxers in a single-elimination tournament. The tournament was organized by Comosa AG.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk, billed as The Perfect Storm, was a professional boxing match that was contested between WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, and former undisputed cruiserweight champion and the WBO's heavyweight mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk. The bout took place on 25 September 2021 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Usyk winning by unanimous decision.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Derek Chisora, billed as Fright Night, was a professional boxing match contested between former undisputed cruiserweight champion and the WBO's heavyweight mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk, and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight champion, Derek Chisora. The bout took place on 31 October 2020 at The SSE Arena, with Usyk winning by unanimous decision.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis was a professional boxing match contested on 27 January 2018, for the WBC and WBO cruiserweight championship.
Murat Gassiev vs. Yuniel Dorticos was a professional boxing match contested on 3 February 2018, for the WBA and IBF cruiserweight championship.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev was a professional boxing match contested on 21 July 2018, for the undisputed cruiserweight championship.
Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez was a professional boxing match contested on 30 September 2017, for the WBC cruiserweight championship.