German cruiserweight Marco Huck successfully retained the WBO title for the 10th time with a unanimous-decision win over compatriot Firat Arslan on Saturday.
The decision was greeted by a chorus of boos, as the crowd felt the 42-year-old Arslan had done more than enough to beat a man 15 years younger.
“This fight was the biggest scam that I’ve ever seen. It’s a disgrace,” Arslan’s coach Dieter Wittmann said.
Arslan, a southpaw, forced the initiative throughout and rocked the defending champion with a left uppercut to leave him with a bloody nose in the second round.
Huck finished the third with a flurry of punches to rouse the crowd and he responded again in rounds seven and eight, but the elusive Arslan appeared unbothered, even raising his arms in triumph after the ninth.
Arslan’s intensity dropped slightly then, and Huck was compelled to finish strongly before the judges awarded it 115-113, 115-113 and 117-111.
Former WBA cruiserweight title holder Arslan, who dropped to 32-6-2 (21 KOs), was furious.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this decision. I’ve seldom landed so many clean punches and he only scuffed me,” Arslan said. “How can such a thing happen? This kind of thing is ruining boxing.”
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