10 months later, Marco Huck and Firat Arslan to fight again

Marco Huck (left) still thinks that he defeated Firat Arslan when they fought in November. (AP)

Last November, cruiserweight titleholder Marco Huck and Firat Arslan engaged in a physical, back and forth fight that ended with Huck escaping with a narrow decision. In September, they will do it again. On Thursday, Sauerland Event announced that Huck (36-2-1) will defend his WBO title against Arslan (33-6-2) on September 14th in Stuttgart, Germany.

“I still believe that I won our first fight,” Arslan said. “I should be the world champion. I won’t let my second chance to capture the crown just slip away. This is a fight right on my own home turf.”

While Arslan, 42, last fought in April, Huck, 28, will be making a quick return to the ring after defending his title last month against archrival Ola Afolabi. Both Arslan and Huck have fought once since their showdown last year, with both picking up decision wins. 

Huck remains convinced he won the first fight, but he understands Arslan’s desire for a rematch. 

“I understand that Firat is disappointed, I was in the same position after I fought Alexander Povetkin,” Huck said. “I saw myself as the winner in that match up, but the judges didn’t. That is exactly why I always said that I would give Firat a rematch even if he wasn’t my mandatory challenger.”

-- Chris Mannix