By Andrew Paterson

Over the course of the past 10 years Marco “Captain” Huck, 38-2-1 (26), has more often than not proven to be value for money.  He has always come to fight and is very rarely in a dull contest, even more refreshingly Huck has also been a very active fighter.

Consequently, a few questions are starting to linger—have the wars over the past few years finally caught up with the German based Serbian Cruiserweight or will his plans to move up to Heavyweight prove to be the shot in the arm his career needs?

Few will disagree that Huck has been good to watch but gradually there does seem to be a decline.  Back in 2007 Huck was involved in fantastic tear up with then IBF champion Steve Cunningham which saw both fighters trading very heavy shots and saw Huck bleeding from his left ear by the mid-way point in the fight.

Huck expended a lot of energy early in the fight in an attempt to boss Cunningham but the technically sound champion kept a cool head and began boxing well, which left Huck needing a knockout to win the fight.

Sensing that he needed the knock out and showing visible signs of tiredness Huck poured every last ounce of energy from his body in the 11th round to turn the tide of the bout.  However, in the 12th round Huck was badly hurt as the American went in for the kill, which prompted the challenger’s corner to stop the fight.

Fast-forward almost two years and Huck finally landed his first world title with a decision win over Victor Emilio Ramierz to claim the WBO title.  Less than three months after his crowning moment Huck would defend his title against Ola Afolbai in a tough 12-round battle that left many fans eager to see a rematch.

Huck fought and defended his title four times in 2010, three of which came by stoppage as he showed why he had become such a big crowd pleaser in Germany.  Then, in his last fight of 2010, Huck faced the WBO number 1 contender Denis Lebedev.  Huck looked slow and ponderous as he barely squeezed out a split decision victory (I had Lebedev winning the fight by four points) and was back in the ring four months later.

Another action packed fight ensued as Huck punished a teak-tough Ran Nakash over 12 rounds and then brutalised Hugo Garay three months later by stopping the challenger in 10 rounds.

The sinister streak in Huck was evident in his next title defence against Rogelio Rossi.  Huck was on the end of some low blows earlier in the fight that definitely riled the champion and he responded by dropping Rossi.  Huck finally sealed the deal in the sixth round by knocking Rossi out.

Not long after the fight Huck stated that he planned to move up to the land of the giants and campaign at Heavyweight with an eye on a money spinning fight with either Klitschko brother.  At the time the eldest brother, Vitali, was still campaigning and held the WBC trinket.

As it transpired, Huck signed up to fight Alexander Povetkin for the WBA “Regular” title in his heavyweight debut in February 2012.  Prior to the fight Huck was on the receiving end of death threats, however he shrugged these off and, unhindered by having to make the 200lbs Cruiserweight limit, Huck weighed in the day before the fight at a career high of 209 ½ lbs.

Povetkin, a former Olympic champion, carried a 26lb weight advantage over Huck, who was the betting underdog.  The big odds against him did not deter Huck and even though the opening round was tentative and Povetkin may have shaded the second and third rounds Huck staggered Povetkin in the fourth and backed him up and went in for the kill as he threw a huge barrage of punches.

By the mid-way point Povetkin, who had perhaps underestimated Huck, was tiring and was staggered again in the seventh round, again though Huck would receive further warnings for pushing Povetkin’s head down.  By the 10th round Huck was sporting a swollen eye and in the 11th he was cut over the same eye as both fighters continued to slug it out until the end of the fight.

A majority of observers felt that Huck had done just enough to deserve the nod but it was Povetkin who emerged victorious with the majority decision victory—both men knew that they had been in a fight.

Huck had showed he could hang with the heavyweights, but he dropped back down to cruiserweight, making five more defences of his title, but Huck’s last fight of 2014, and it does appear it will his last fight of the year, was a dirty affair and forgettable fight against Mirko Larghetti.

The excellent performance against Firat Arslan in January was quickly forgotten as a tired and lethargic looking Huck only fought in very brief spurts and spent a great chunk of the fight on the back foot, even though he was robbed of the knockout after stopping Larghetti nanoseconds after the final bell.

So, what has caused this recent downturn in form?  Is Huck, at the age of 29, and presumably at the peak of his physical powers burnt out?  Since winning the title in 2009 Huck has now equalled the record of thirteen WBO Cruiserweight title defences set by Johnny Nelson, who recently called Huck out in a bemusing turn of events.

Throughout the vast majority of his career, he has, on average, fought a minimum of three or four times a year, though in the last two years those appearances are dwindling.

Or could it be that Huck’s wee excursion up to the big boys earlier in 2012 and then the subsequent move down in weight has taken something out of him that has now resulted in him struggling to make weight?  Some people will argue that this is not the case seeing as he only gained 9½lbs for the Povetkin fight.

To add a bit of weight to their argument people could argue that David Haye weighed 217lbs for his Heavyweight fight against Tomasz Bonin in April 2007 and then made 199¾lbs for his world title fight against Jean Marc Mormeck seven months later.

However the difference is the time frame between fights for Haye and Huck, and let’s not forget that Haye was on borrowed time at Cruiserweight at that point and was stripping fat from his body to make weight and probably had to sacrifice muscle in the process.

Was the 9½lbs that Huck put on muscle which then had to be taken off to meet the 200lb Cruiserweight limit?  Huck may walk around outside training camp around 215 or 220lbs so maybe those extra pounds aren’t an issue but how comfortable does he make the weight?

It’s possible he has issues with the weight though there hasn’t been any indication coming from the camp that the weight is an issue.  Judging by previous Cruiserweight fights it appears from the outside looking in that he manages the weight fine but then again we don’t know exactly what is going on behind closed doors.

There is also another question and one that could possibly explain Huck’s most recent downturn in performances.  He has been involved in some great scraps, has he taken too much punishment that may have robbed him of a few more years at the top whilst he supposedly enters his prime years?  If you take into consideration some of the fights above, and a particularly tough and brutal 2012, then the answer is almost certainly yes.

Huck will start 2015 free from his long term promoter Sauerland Events and will promote his own fights under his new company Huck Sports Promotions, registering with the BDB on 10th October 2014, and with the marketing side being carried out by the Hamburg based company UFA Sports, who have worked with Felix Sturm over the years.

According to Huck the reason for the separation from Sauerland was to achieve his ultimate goal of facing Wladimir Klitschko.  Whether that fight happens remains to be seen, meanwhile it will be interesting to see if the Huck of old will show up in the Heavyweight ranks or if he will turn into another Cruiserweight falling short to take the biggest crown in all of sport.

David Haye managed to take a slice of the crown, but failed to grab it fully whilst the greatest Crusierweight of all time Evander Holyfield did manage achieve the Holy Grail.

One thing is for certain, thanks to the nonsense created by the WBA in terms of belts on offer, Huck could grab a meaningless “world title” should he face off against a well past his best Ruslan Chagaev; and that is the fight he should be aiming for if he really wants the Klitschko fight, particularly if the WBA make him mandatory challenger for their equally baffling “Super title”.

Either way, an excursion to heavyweight could either regenerate Huck or prove to be a huge mistake, but we’ll have fun whatever happens—that’s just the Huck way.

Catch Andy on Twitter @andyp792 or listen to the live Nuthouse podcast every Sunday at 8.30pm UK time / 3.30pm EST - http://mixlr.com/the-nuthouse/