By Terence Dooley
Ola Afolabi, 29, is in a confident mood ahead of his WBO cruiserweight title showdown with Marco Huck in Germany on Saturday night. Ola, who shot to prominence when destroying Enzo Maccarinelli in March, believes that he has tussled with better fighters than Huck during his many sparring trips, the man known as ‘Kryptonite’ even claims to have tied Vitali Klitschko in knots during their recent sessions.
“There is just one reason why Marco Huck is the world champion instead of me. He was lucky to get the chance to fight Victor Emilio Ramirez on August 29,” said Ola when speaking to STV.
“I would have been ready, too. I had worked really hard. I did six weeks of sparring with Vitali Klitschko in America and made him look really bad. On Saturday I will win Huck’s title for sure.”
However, Huck boxes with a maturity that belies his 25-years, the champion is adamant that he will treat the German fans to a clinical performance, and win. “I have no doubts that I will defend my title,” declared Huck.
“Winning the title has really changed my life. It put my life into the focus of the public and many, many boxing fans. But I have not changed as a person. I keep working hard, with my coach Ulli Wegner being very strict in practice. I am 100 percent ready for the clash, both mentally and physically. It will be a great fight against Afolabi.”
Ola hails from London but spends the majority of his time in California. The slickster defused Enzo before hammering him to defeat in the ninth round; however, Ola has not fought since. Huck, though, is a decent boxer and will have learned a lot from his 2007 reversal at the hands of Steve Cunningham. Ola is in for a tough night.
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