Marco "Captain" Huck will celebrate a special homecoming on December 29 when he takes on IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham in his home city of Bielefeld. After comprehensively beating Vadim Tokarev on points in a title eliminator back in May, the undefeated 23-year-old has now set his sights on a belated Christmas present. "It´s like a dream coming true," he said. "My first world title fight will also be the first fight in my home city. That is perfect. It´s almost too good to be true."

In early November, Team Sauerland had won the purse bid to bring the fight to Germany. Unbeaten in 19 bouts (14 KOs), Huck is confident he will get the better of his American opponent (20-1, 10 KOs), who won the title from Krzysztof Wlodarczyk last May. The Polish fighter had handed Cunningham the sole loss of his career when the two fought for the vacant IBF title in November 2006. "This will be the toughest and the most important fight of my career," Huck vowed. "But I have worked hard to get this chance. I will not let my home fans down. I will give everything to keep the belt in Germany."

Together with IBF middleweight champion King Arthur Abraham and coach Ulli Wegner, Huck is currently shaping up in training camp in Kienbaum near Berlin.