By Terence Dooley
Herbie Hide continued his winning streak by brushing aside Gabor Halasz earlier this evening. Hide, a Nigerian by way of Nottingham, but who now fights out of Germany, notched up his thirteenth consecutive win, and is well on his way to a shot at the WBC cruiserweight title.
Hide, 37, excited the Hermann-Neuberger-Halle crowd with his movement and speedy punching. However, opponent Halasz, 31, who has also been stopped by Joe Calzaghe victim Mario Veit, as well as former WBA world cruiserweight title-holder Firat Arslan, was not at the races, he was rescued at 2:20 of the third.
In recent times the outgoing Hide has challenged David Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli to domestic dust-ups. Haye is a heavyweight, and Hide cannot withstand their shots, as he showed in fights against Vitali Kltischko, Riddick Bowe, and even Joseph Chingangu, who defeated Hide in two-rounds in 2001.
Enzo, though, is a different proposition for Herbie. Since relocating to cruiserweight, Hide has shown slightly stiffer punch resistance, there is considerable power there also, and a fight between the two men has long sat at the top of British boxing fan’s wish list.
Herbie, who is 48-4 (43), holds the WBC Intercontinental title, this, coupled with his #2 ranking, makes him an ideal opponent for Enzo, should the Welshman overcome the undefeated Dennis Lebedev at the MEN next month. Halasz lives to lose another day; he drops to 26-13 (10 early).
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