Matt Chudley recaps this past Saturday's cruiserweight battle between Marco Huck and Ola Afolabi.

Marco Huck claimed the full WBO cruiserweight title by outworking Interim Champ Ola Afolabi at Ludwigsburg Arena in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany on Saturday. The gritty German consistently produced the greater amount of offense to triumph by scores of 115-113 twice and 116-112 over the tricky and awkward American based Brit.

Afolabi looked to upset the rhythm of the German aggressor early by jabbing to the head and body but as he would throughout the fight, Huck picked his moments and looked to launch a few attention grabbing flurries spread over the course of the round.

The best punch of the early going was a right hand around the guard of Afolabi in the second, but unfazed the London born fighter was content to cover up and take the oncoming, responding with single shots and occasionally shaking his head and upper body in an act of defiance to try and discourage Huck.

While much of the work put forward by the house fighter was being caught on the gloves and arms of Afolabi, right hands where splitting his guard when he was pushed up against the ropes by the stronger fighter.

Afolabi's best moment in the fight came in the 5th round after Huck was stunned by an unintentional clash of heads. Aware of his opponent’s discomfort, Afolabi tried to pour it on but Huck managed tie-up and see out the round before regaining his composure.

Both fighters where visibly tiring by the 6th round, and over the second half of the fight, the action became increasingly scrappy. Afolabi used the tactic of ducking down low to avoid Huck's punches, while Huck was looking to shove Afolabi, and in the 9th round, the fighters were encouraged to fight clean by referee Joe Cortez.

Knowing that the fight was getting away from him, Afolabi began to fight with more passion in the 10th and 11th rounds and had Huck on the retreat, but showing the poise of a veteran, Huck looked to hold while attacking at the end of the rounds.

He landed a few solid right hands at the end of the 11th, and after barely throwing a punch in the first half of the final round, closed strong over the final 30 seconds, pressing Afolabi against the ropes and firing in right hands to seal the unanimous decision.

The two 115-113 scores where booed by the local crowd, while the 116-112 was met with approval and was probably a fair reflection of the fight.

Present at ringside was cruiserweight BJ Flores, who had been calling for a fight with Huck but with the American wanting the fight in the US and renowned for making lofty demands, a fight would seem unlikely. Extremely popular and part of the hottest stable in Europe with Sauerland, a voluntary defense of the belt in his homeland would seem a certainty next for Huck.

Another possibility is a unification bout with Panamanian Guillermo Jones, as the aging WBA champ has struggled to find opportunities since dethroning German Firat Arslan. Jones, the 37 year old former welterweight has been inactive since September of last year after seeing two scheduled fights in France with Jean Marc Mormeck and Valery Brudov fall through.

Under the guidance of Dino Duva, Afolabi will once again face the hard road back, as with his slippery style he’s unlikely to find too many willing opponents.

On the under-card…

With famed trainer Teddy Atlas working his corner for the first time, Alexander Povetkin made light work of limited 27-2 American Leo Nolan. The 37 year old from Detriot was unable to cope with the pressure of the Russian Olympic Gold Medalist and succumbed in the 3rd after being dropped twice.

Next up for the 18-0 Povetkin will be another stay busy fight or a chance to fight for the Interim IBF heavyweight title as he awaits the winner of Wlad Klitschko vs Eddie Chambers.

In an 8 rounder following the withdrawal of the previously scheduled Lamon Brewster, Italian southpaw Francesco Pianeta pitched a shutout of 10-6-1 Russian journeyman Evgeny Orlov to move his ledger out to 20-0-1.

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