There is definitely no love lost. Britain´s Ola Afolabi (19-2-4, 9 KOs) did
say he would hug and shake hands with his opponent Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25
KOs) after their WBO Title Fight on June 8 at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in
Berlin, Germany – but the attending members of the press were not really
convinced after the pair´s previous war of words during Monday’s press
conference.
Before Afolabi started his attempt to calm things down, current WBO
Cruiserweight Champion Marco “Captain” Huck and the Interims Titlist were
involved in a heated exchange of words. The first one to trade verbal blows
was the 28-year-old German. “Afolabi is starting to get on my nerves. I beat
him in December 2009. After I fought Alexander Povetkin for the WBA
Heavyweight Crown, it was difficult for me to find the right motivation for
my rematch with Afolabi in May last year. However, I believe that I actually
won that bout, even though it was scored as a majority draw. That won’t
happen again. I will win in my own backyard. We won’t be playing cat and
mouse anymore. This will be a war – I won’t be holding back.”
That was the cue for Afolabi to start his own rant. “Huck shouldn’t be able
to call himself world champion anymore. In my opinion, he lost on three
previous occasions. He lost against Lebedev, he lost against me and also
against Arslan. He should only be able to call himself German Champion or
Champion of Berlin,” said the 33-year-old. The Brit stated that he is
planning to humiliate Huck in front of his own fans. “I would be ready to
take him on this weekend.” Then Afolabi directed his next words directly
towards Huck. “Everybody knows that I have always been a good technician,
but now my fitness level is also excellent. I will seriously hurt you come
June 8. You will need a wheelchair after the fight,” said the Los Angeles
based cruiserweight.
It is obvious that there is a lot of tension in the air, also partially due
to the duel between the two most popular and respected coaches of German
boxing. Once again Ulli Wegner (Huck´s coach) and Fritz Sdunek (works with
Afolabi) will stand in opposite corners.
Tickets for the big fight night at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin Germany
on June 8 are available at www.eventim.de and www.boxen.com.
(Pictures: Photo Wende)
